Waukegan:Gang execution survivor faces 9 counts murder

[fedupinwaukegan]

hock: Sounds like a summary from some movie out of Hollywood. ONLY it happened in my hometown. Makes me value how I grew up as a teenager. I wonder what plans the new police chief has to combat this. So what did the parents of the 14 year old do who was taken out of school and put in a safe house???



Gang execution survivor faces 9 counts of murder
Accused of killing North Chicago teen

May 8, 2009
NEWS-SUN STAFF REPORT

A Waukegan teenager who survived an execution attempt by members of his own gang has been arraigned for the murder of a North Chicago youth.

Sergio Vargas, 17, of the 100 block of South St. James Street pleaded not guilty Thursday to nine counts of first-degree murder in the March 22 shooting death of 15-year-old Jonathan Quebrado.

Quebrado, of North Chicago, was at Bob Woodward Park on Waukegan's south side on the afternoon of the shooting. He and a group of alleged gang members were hanging out when Vargas and fellow gang members fired 15 shots toward the rival gang before fleeing in a car, prosecutor Tim Niehus said.


Quebrado died days later at Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge.

Following the shooting, Vargas, Spencer Buckle, 17, of Zion and an unidentified 14-year-old were taken by their own gang to a "safe house" in Milwaukee, Niehus said.

They stayed in Milwaukee for several weeks, until April 11, when the gang decided to execute Buckle and Vargas. While the gang did kill Buckle, a bullet intended for Vargas' head went though the hood of his sweatshirt without striking him. He then escaped, Niehus said.

Vargas was arrested for the Waukegan shooting after talking to Milwaukee police about Buckle's death and the attempt on his life. He was indicted on first-degree murder counts Wednesday afternoon.

Vargas is being held in the Lake County Jail in lieu of $3 million bond.

The 14-year-old is in juvenile custody in lieu of $1 million bond.

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[fedupinwaukegan]

Here is another case of gang revenge where a younger family member paid with his life. Disturbing. The label 'urban terrorists' really seems to fit here.

Three charged in fatal Mundelein fire-bombing
Daily Herald Staff Report



Virginia Estrada moved her family from a rented Grayslake home two weeks ago to shield them from the gang members intent on destroying their lives.

The family secretly moved to Mundelein in hopes of starting fresh and away from the harassment, Mundelein Police Chief Raymond Rose said Monday. But the gang members followed.

Rose said the violence restarted early Saturday morning, when three men who had an "internal conflict" with Estrada's oldest son threw a Molotov cocktail through the window of the rental home on the 200 block of Prospect Avenue. The fire spread quickly, killing 12-year-old Jorge Juarez and leaving 11-year-old Virginia Juarez and the 44-year-old Estrada in critical condition.

Monday, police arrested Manuel Flores, 25, of the 24,000 block of West Brorson Avenue, Round Lake, and brothers Elver Hernandez, 20, and Edwin Hernandez, 17, both of the 800 block of Lange St., Mundelein, and charged them with first-degree murder for starting the fire that killed Jorge Juarez, Rose said.

All three are held in Lake County jail without bond. More charges could be filed after a grand jury indictment in the next couple of weeks, Rose said.

"This is really a tragedy, not just for the Jiminez family but for the entire Mundelein community," he said. "There is no reason why a 12-year-old boy should lose his life over gang activity like this."

Estrada is at Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, while Virginia Juarez remains in Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Rose said.

Estrada's 16-year-old daughter, Adriana Juarez, also was injured but was treated and released from Advocate Condell Medical Center on Sunday. Her unnamed 18-year-old son was not home when the fire started.

Rose would not comment on the conflict between the gang members and the teen, but added the violence against the family was property damage only before Saturday's fire.

"They left Grayslake after a number of incidents where their home and car windows were destroyed repeatedly," he said. "They left Grayslake to get away from these gang members but they chased him down and found him in Mundelein."

Originally, investigators thought the fire started on the home's front porch, but it was later determined the Molotov cocktail was thrown into the front window, Rose said.

Damage to the home was estimated at about $150,000, officials said. There were working smoke detectors inside the residence, officials said.

Rose said the fire spread quickly through the home because of the high winds.

Lake County Coroner Dr. Richard Keller said an autopsy of Jorge Juarez revealed he died of smoke inhalation.

Arson: Autopsy shows boy died of smoke inhalation


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