A Chicago man facing three counts of murder and other charges after a shooting in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood on Sunday was invited to the party where the gunfire occurred, authorities now say. Alex Maragos has more on what we’ve learned tonight.
A Chicago man facing three counts of murder and other charges after a shooting in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood on Sunday was invited to the party where the gunfire occurred, authorities now say.
Samuel Parsons-Salas, 32, was also charged with attempted murder and kidnapping in the incident early Sunday at Vera's Lounge on the Northwest Side.
"We hope that...this arrest and these charges bring some small sense of justice to these families," said Chicago Police Superintendent David Brown.
Police and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office said Ricky Vera, 50, and Mario Pozuelos, 26, were pronounced dead at the scene and Mercedes Tavares, 24, was taken to a hospital and pronounced dead.
Ricky Vera's daughter, Mariah Vera, 25, was taken to a hospital in critical condition with a gunshot wound to her head, authorities said. Police superintendent David Brown said Tuesday that she was, "fighting for her life."
"This incident is a tragedy," Brown said. "It should never escalate to a loss of life."
Ricky Vera’s brother owns the bar where several people gathered for Mariah's birthday Saturday night, family said. Police said Tuesday that Parsons-Salas was invited, but later told to leave. They did not elaborate why.
Local
Police said Parsons-Salas pulled out a gun and shot the victims in the parking lot, before fleeing with a woman in a car, who was the victim in the kidnapping.
Parsons-Salas was previously convicted in a home invasion, police said, and that he was just released on parole in September. The conviction was for a felony, meaning Parsons-Salas was prohibited from legally owning a gun.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
Chicago Police Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan credited detectives for working long hours on this case. Police said this is the fifth homicide in the 16th District in 2022, and all have resulted in arrests and charges.
In this case, Deenihan said a SWAT team was called in to apprehend Parson-Salas in the 5200 block of West Montrose on Tuesday. He added that Parsons-Salas tried to run away from officers as they closed in, but was apprehended a short time later without incident.
"The fear was, if this individual committed these acts, maybe he wasn’t going...down with[out] a fight," Deenihan said.
Parsons-Salas is due in bond court on Wednesday. Brown said on Tuesday that he wants Parsons-Salas to remain behind bars.
"Throw away the key," said Brown. "Get this person off our streets; don’t release him on electronic monitoring."
