The second of three people accused of the fatal 2013 beating of a rival gang member after a party in west suburban West Chicago was sentenced to prison Tuesday.
Alejandro Martinez, 19, of Aurora, pleaded guilty to one count of armed violence for the Nov. 17, 2013, death of Thomas Tecuatl, the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office said. Judge Daniel Guerin sentenced him to 14 years in prison.
Prosecutors claimed Rios and two other defendants chased Tecuatl out of a house party on Pomery Street near Route 59 after Tecuatl pulled a knife during a dispute.
As they chased him, some partygoers armed themselves with items from the home, including a pick ax, pipe, bricks and bottles, prosecutors said.
A co-defendant, Anthony Rios, allegedly struck Tecuatl with a pike, while Martinez chased him down the block with a pick ax held above his head, the Sun-Times reported previously
Tecuatl ran, but slipped on wet pavement and fell, dropping the knife. Prosecutors allege the assailants then pummeled him as he “curled up in a ball.”
Eventually, they stepped back, making way for Jonathan Jimenez, who stabbed Tecuatl several times in the side with the knife he had dropped, prosecutors alleged.
All three defendants went back to the party after the murder, prosecutors said.
A homeowner found the 22-year-old Wheaton resident’s body on his lawn the next morning after stepping out to pick up the newspaper, the Sun-Times reported.
Rios, of West Chicago, pleaded guilty to armed violence March 3 and was sentenced to 17 years in prison, according to the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office.
Jimenez is awaiting trial on murder and mob action charges, the state’s attorney’s office said. He will next appear in court April 6 and faces a possible life sentence if convicted.
