Murder charge filed in fatal shooting of 14-year-old in Pilsen

Thousands of ex-offenders return to Chicago every year after completing their sentences, but the transition back to society can be difficult. | Sun-Times file photo

A Chicago Lawn man has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the fatal shooting of a 14-year-old boy last year in the Pilsen neighborhood, according to authorities.

Mark Ortega, 19, was ordered held without bail and booked into the Cook County Jail on Sunday, according to Chicago police and the Cook County sheriff’s office.

About 2:35 a.m. Aug. 6, 2017, Damien Santoyo, 14, was standing with two other juveniles on a porch in the 1700 block of South Newberry Avenue when people in a passing vehicle yelled gang slogans and fired shots, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Santoyo was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene at 2:50 a.m., authorities said. He lived in the Ashburn neighborhood on the Southwest Side.

Ortega’s next court date was scheduled for Oct. 5.

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