Bail denied for Calif. man suspected of shooting Cicero police officer

A California man and convicted felon was ordered held without bail after he allegedly fired a handgun at two suburban police officers — wounding one of them — following a chaotic traffic stop this week on the Stevenson Expressway.

Daniel Mageo, 27, was formally charged Saturday with two counts of attempted first-degree murder of a peace officer and aggravated battery to a police officer.

“He is a poster child for no bail,” Cook County Judge John Fitzgerald Lyke Jr. said in court Saturday. “That’s exactly what he’s going to get, no bail.”

Authorities said Cicero police Officer Luis Duarte, 31, is in stable condition after he was shot three times — once in the shoulder, hip and leg.

Mageo is currently hospitalized after authorities said he was shot by another Cicero Police Department officer during the Thursday gun battle, and did not appear in court.

According to prosecutors, the incident began in Chicago in the 4100 block of South Cicero Avenue just after 5 p.m. Thursday, when two uniformed Cicero police officers in an unmarked squad car saw a black Mercedes driving erratically.

Authorities said the officers activated their vehicle’s emergency equipment and attempted to stop the Mercedes as it drove south.

The suspect’s Mercedes was then caught up at a stoplight at the intersection of Cicero Avenue and the Stevenson Expressway (I-55), prosecutors said, and the officers pulled their vehicle nose-to-nose with the suspect’s car.

“The defendant then exited the driver’s seat of the Mercedes with a black handgun,” Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Guy Lisuzzo said in court. “When the officers exited their vehicle, the defendant shot at them several times. Both officers returned fire with their service weapons.”

Duarte was hit by gunfire and fell to the ground, Lisuzzo said. Shots allegedly fired by Mageo also hit the officers’ vehicle. Mageo allegedly ran from the scene, northbound on Cicero Avenue, with Duarte’s 35-year-old partner pursuing him on foot.

During that chase, prosecutors said an unidentified eyewitness to the shooting with a concealed handgun exited his own vehicle, fired three rounds at Mageo, but did not hit him. That witness then pulled his car up alongside Duarte, blocked traffic and rendered aid to the wounded officer with help from another witness.

Mageo then allegedly weaved through traffic and ran toward a nearby sidewalk, as prosecutors said the 35-year-old officer fired several missed shots.

“The defendant pointed his handgun at the Cicero officer and shot several times. The officer shot multiple rounds at the defendant,” prosecutors said. Mageo was struck in the ankle and leg, and fell to the ground.

“The defendant then yelled for the officer to ‘just kill him,’” Lisuzzo said.

Police seized a 9 mm semi-automatic Glock pistol with an extended clip from the suspect, according to prosecutors.

Prosecutors said in court that Mageo was on parole for a July 2014 felony human trafficking conviction involving a child victim.

California authorities then issued an arrest warrant for Mageo in February after he allegedly removed a GPS bracelet that was part of his parole conditions. Mageo also has another active California warrant for an apparent sex offense, prosecutors said.

“We’re happy,” Cicero police Superintendent Jerry Chlada Jr. told reporters after Saturday’s hearing. Duarte is “finally resting comfortably” following two surgeries, the police superintendent said.

“I’m just glad that they’re both OK now,” Chlada said of his officers, though he declined to comment on specific circumstances surrounding the shooting.

“I support and back my officers 100 percent for their actions,” Chlada said, when asked whether the officers behaved properly during the gunfight.