The preliminary hearing for Jose Bonilla, the fourth suspect in the Oct. 16 off-campus shootings in which two Marquette students were injured, has been postponed until Jan. 25.

Bonilla, 17, appeared in court Jan. 14 for his scheduled hearing. However, the hearing could not proceed because someone may hire private attorney Michael Hart on Bonilla's behalf instead of using the public defender, according to Judge Dennis Cimpl. Hart's office could not comment on whether or not he will take the case.

Bonilla is charged with four counts: first degree reckless injury, two counts of first degree recklessly endangering safety and second degree recklessly endangering safety.

If found guilty on all charges, Bonilla may serve up to 80 years in prison and pay $175,000 in fines.

The Milwaukee Police Department captured Bonilla in Milwaukee Jan. 5. He was taken into custody and placed on $80,000 bail. Before his capture, Bonilla was believed to have fled to Mexico.

He is the fourth and final suspect to be taken into custody for the shootings. The other three suspects were arrested and charged in October.

One of the Marquette students injured, College of Business Administration junior Thomas "TJ" Gannon was present in court last week.

Gannon suffered a bullet wound to his left shoulder and was hospitalized after the shooting. College of Business Administration senior Shane Gale, who did not appear in court, suffered the loss of his right kidney, according to a criminal complaint released by the court.

The shooting occurred when Bonilla and the other three suspects were refused entry to an off-campus party because they did not have a Marquette student ID. The four suspects then offered the Marquette students $20 to gain entry to the party without their IDs, according to the criminal complaint.

The preliminary hearing, where Bonilla will enter his plea, will be Jan. 25 at 8:30 a.m.

This article appeared in The Marquette Tribune on Jan. 18 2005.