A person who as soon as served a prolonged jail sentence for tried homicide is again in courtroom, this time dealing with full-blown first-degree homicide costs tied to a July 2023 homicide in Again of the Yards.
Prosecutors say 40-year-old Max Hernandez was the getaway driver for 2 gunmen who killed 24-year-old Leonardo Martinez and critically injured his 25-year-old brother on July 4, 2023. Hernandez was arrested just lately on the Pinckneyville Correctional Middle, the place he was being paroled on a separate gun case filed simply weeks after the Independence Day slaying.
Prosecutors in January charged 29-year-old Luis Vela with being one of many shooters who killed Martinez. Prepare dinner County prosecutors stated each males have been linked to the slaying by way of cellphone location knowledge, surveillance video, and DNA recovered from contained in the getaway automobile.
Round 7:20 a.m. on the day of the homicide, the shooters opened hearth within the 4400 block of South Wooden, hanging the Martinez brothers. Leonardo died on the scene. Detectives decided the getaway automobile had been at Diversey Harbor shortly earlier than the assault. Extra video from the harbor allegedly confirmed Vela stepping into the automobile whereas carrying the identical garments as one of many shooters.
Decide John Hock ordered Hernandez detained, calling him a hazard to the group.
“He exhibits a constant intent to kill others,” Hock stated, citing Hernandez’s 2008 conviction for tried homicide after he shot a rival a number of occasions within the 1800 block of South Carpenter Road.
Court docket data present Vela has his personal historical past of violence, together with a five-year sentence in 2017 for aggravated discharge of a firearm and possessing a stolen motorized vehicle. He’s nonetheless awaiting trial within the homicide case.
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