3 charged after reported home invasion, shots fired in unincorporated St. Clair Co.

St. Clair County sheriff’s deputies and Dupo police arrested three men after the report of an attempted home invasion and a shot fired at a residence in unincorporated Dupo, authorities said.

The sheriff’s 911 communications center received a call about midnight Wednesday reporting a possible attempted break-in in the 100 block of Lepere Court and shots fired, the department said in a news release. Officers arrived and separated those involved.

Timothy R. Durham, 29, and Michael E. Chancellor, 29, were each charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, a Class 4 felony, the St. Clair County Sheriff’s Department said. Joe A. Chandler, 36, was charged with reckless discharge of a firearm, also a Class 4 felony.

All three were arrested without incident and were being held in the St. Clair County Jail pending court proceedings, the sheriff’s department said.

Investigators said the man accused of trying to enter the home was the ex-boyfriend of a woman who lives there. The woman’s current boyfriend told deputies he saw the ex-boyfriend near a rear bedroom window, went outside with a gun and fired one shot, unsure whether he hit anyone, authorities said.

Deputies and police searched the area with help from K-9 officers from the East St. Louis Police Department and the sheriff’s department and recovered a rifle that had been discarded, the sheriff’s department said. Investigators later located the man who allegedly dropped the rifle and fled.

Anyone experiencing domestic violence can contact the Violence Prevention Center of Southwestern Illinois at 618-235-0892 or visit www.vpcswi.org.