Chicago Sun-Times

2 boys, 15 and 16, charged in Little Village murder

- BY MATTHEW HENDRICKSO­N, STAFF REPORTER mhendricks­on@suntimes.com | @MHendricks­onCST

Two teenage boys have been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a reputed gang member in Little Village last week.

David Guillen, 16, was charged as an adult and ordered held without bail Tuesday for the murder of Noe Mondragon Jimenez, the Cook County state’s attorney’s office said.

Guillen’s co-defendant, a 15-year-old boy, also faces a murder charge but is being charged as a juvenile. Because he is a minor, his name was not released by authoritie­s.

About 9:30 p.m. Thursday, Mondragon-Jimenez, 27, was walking with his girlfriend in the 4100 block of West 27th Street when they saw a dark-colored vehicle approach, prosecutor­s said.

Mondragon-Jimenez, a reputed member of the Two-Six street gang, was told by his girlfriend to be careful because she suspected the passengers in the car were members of the rival Latin Kings.

The couple continued walking when Guillen and the 15-year-old boy got out of the car with handguns attached with laser sights and began firing, prosecutor­s said.

After Mondragon-Jimenez collapsed to the ground, the younger boy allegedly walked up to him and struck him with the handgun. Guillen, meanwhile, ran back toward the car, prosecutor­s said.

Mondragon-Jimenez was shot 19 times and was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Hospital, prosecutor­s said.

Mondragon-Jimenez’s girlfriend, who is also a minor, said she recognized both suspects as former summer school classmates at Corkery Elementary School, prosecutor­s said. She also allegedly identified the teenage boys in a photo array.

The shooting was seen by two other witnesses, one of whom was also able to identify both boys as the shooters in a photo array, prosecutor­s said.

Eight 9 mm shell casings found at the scene were determined to have been fired from the same gun, but police ShotSpotte­r boxes recorded the shots being fired from two separate guns.

A police POD camera also later captured Guillen, whose face could be clearly seen in the footage. He also was caught on camera later that night, appearing to reenact the shooting for others, prosecutor­s said.

Guillen and the 15-year-old were taken into custody at their respective homes on Sunday, prosecutor­s said.

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