Two men were convicted of murder Wednesday in a 2013 shooting that killed a 14-year-old boy on the Southwest Side.
Michael Orozco was on his way to an ice cream shop with friends about 4:30 p.m. April 7 when he was shot in the chest in the 2200 block of South Leavitt, police said at the time. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital where he died less than an hour later.
Prosecutors claimed Javier Garza, 19, shot the teen in an apparent attempt to avenge his father’s murder, the Sun-Times reported previously.
Both he and another suspect, 21-year-old Damien Garza, were arrested after police on the scene radioed a description of the gunman’s vehicle and other officers located it nearby, police said at the time.
A third male was also taken into custody and later released. Both suspects and the victim were in gangs — a claim their families denied, the Sun-Times reported.
The Garzas are not related, Javier Garza’s mother told the newspaper after a 2013 court hearing in the case.
Both men were convicted Wednesday of various counts of murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery and aggravated discharge of a firearm following trials that began Monday before Judge James Linn, court records show.
Damien Garza, of the 4500 block of Wood Street, will next appear in court May 5, court records show. Javier Garza, of the 2900 block of North 75th Court in Elmwood Park, will next appear in court May 7.
