The U.S. Marshals Service announced this week that a fugitive task force working with the Chicago Police Department had arrested a Venezuelan migrant and “alleged cartel member” who was suspected of shooting another person in Little Village.
But court records show that no charges have been filed in the Feb. 4 attack, and a CPD spokesperson said a suspect was released from custody without being charged.
After the Sun-Times asked a marshals spokesperson about the case, a news release posted Monday to the federal agency’s website was taken offline. The spokesperson didn’t respond to a subsequent request for comment.
The release stated that a 29-year-old man “wanted by the CPD for attempted first-degree murder” in connection with the shooting in the 2500 block of South Kedzie Avenue had been arrested on Feb. 26, adding that he “was also charged with aggravated assault with a weapon and weapon possession.”
The man was apprehended in the 1100 block of South Cicero Avenue by the marshals’ Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force, which was working “in coordination” with Chicago police, according to the release. He was taken to the CPD’s Harrison District for processing.
At the time, CPD reported the gunman hopped out of a Ford SUV and fired shots at a 27-year-old woman before fleeing in the vehicle. The woman was struck “throughout the body” and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition, CPD said.
In contrast, the marshals’ service said “a male victim ... was struck multiple times during a drive-by shooting.”
A police spokesperson would only say that a person was arrested in relation the shooting but was ultimately let go. A spokesperson for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office said the case was “continued for additional investigation,” noting that “no charging decision has been made at this time.”
A 29-year-old man with a variation of the same name was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, illegal possession of ammunition and other offenses that stemmed from a Feb. 24 arrest in the same block on South Cicero.
The charges were brought on the same day as the arrest reported by the marshals service.
They were filed by a tactical officer with the Cicero Police Department, who reported the man was found with a Glock handgun and ammunition inside a vehicle. His listed address was an apartment in Cicero, according to court records.
The man was released from custody following his initial court hearing on Feb. 26 and was ordered to surrender any guns and to stay in Illinois unless he has permission to leave, court records show. His next court date was set for March 14.
He was arrested again on Sunday in the 300 block of South Plymouth Court and was charged with driving without a license and cited for disregarding a stop sign.
That block includes the shuttered Standard Club, which now serves as a migrant shelter. His address was listed as another shelter for asylum seekers at 1308 N. Elston Ave.
The case was dropped during his initial court appearance on Monday, records show.
