A 25-year-old man has been sentenced to 25 years in jail for a drive-by taking pictures that killed a Little Village nurse in 2019, against the law that investigators stated stemmed from mistaken gang identification.
Armando Lopez pleaded responsible to first-degree homicide in trade for the sentence from Decide Neera Walsh. Beneath Illinois regulation, he should serve the total time period, making him eligible for launch on October 14, 2044.
Lopez, of the 2800 block of South Christina Avenue, admitted his position within the November 12, 2019, killing of 32-year-old Frank Aguilar, a registered nurse at Misericordia Coronary heart of Mercy, who was shot and killed whereas strolling house within the 3700 block of West thirty second Road. Aguilar, nonetheless carrying his work scrubs, had simply completed doing laundry and was carrying the basket house when he was shot.
Police and prosecutors stated Aguilar was not the meant goal. Detectives decided that Lopez was driving a silver Jeep Commander when one in every of his passengers opened hearth, apparently mistaking Aguilar for a rival gang member.
“Sadly, it’s gang territory, it’s a rival gang territory,” the top of CPD’s detective division stated on the time. “And it seems that these people get in a automobile and so they’re like, ‘We’re gonna go goal the rival gang.’ And so they simply see anyone and determine, ‘Nicely, that appears like a rival gang member, we’ll shoot him.’”
“Right here was a person that was working laborious to get forward in life. Sadly, this promising life was lower quick,” CPD Capt. Gil Calderon stated shortly after the homicide.
Surveillance video from close by houses captured the Jeep rushing away after the gunfire. Days later, investigators noticed an analogous car being pushed by Lopez, who led officers on a chase earlier than being arrested on prices of aggravated fleeing and driving on a revoked license. He was later charged with Aguilar’s homicide.
Lopez was on bail for a pending felony gun cost on the time of the homicide.
