Victim opened his home to suspected killer, police say
When his parents kicked him out of their home for his gang lifestyle, Marco Lopez found a refuge in Segundo Reynoso, Palatine police say.
The Palatine father opened his doors to the 17-year-old, welcoming him into his family's home on the village's northeast side, police said.
But Reynoso, 38, grew concerned about Lopez's influence on his teenage son, authorities said. He eventually blocked Lopez from staying at the home, which police said angered the reputed member of a Chicago street gang.
Early Wednesday, prosecutors said, Lopez entered the Reynoso apartment and opened fire on the father and his son, Luis, 15, who belonged to the same gang. Both died a short time later.
Lopez was charged Friday with two counts of first-degree murder. Judge Jill Cerone Marisie ordered Lopez, who has a lengthy arrest record, held without bond. He could face life in prison if convicted because of the circumstances of the crime.
Lopez and Luis Reynoso knew each other for years but recently had a falling out, police say. The two were arrested in connection with a string of burglaries, and Lopez feared that Luis had become a police snitch, police and prosecutors say.
Police say Luis Reynoso did not inform on Lopez.
Those suspicions, however, may have driven Lopez to gun down the boy and his father, while Luis' two younger sisters slept nearby, prosecutors suggested Friday in bond court.
The prosecution also has a witness whom Lopez asked three or four weeks ago if Luis was an informant, Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Maria McCarthy said in bond court.
In recent days, Lopez had been staying with two friends in a Palatine apartment, McCarthy said.
On Tuesday night, Lopez took out a revolver that he had brought with him and told his friends he was going out to handle something, McCarthy said. He added, "Don't trip" - gang slang for don't tell anyone, she said.
Shortly after midnight, Lopez entered the Reynosos' apartment on the 1900 block of Green Lane North, shot Luis three times in the chest and his father once in the eye, McCarthy said. Luis' mom was at work at the time of the shootings.
The bullet went through Segundo Reynoso's chest and lodged in his shoulder. He collapsed in the hallway outside the apartment in the Baldwin Green complex.
Several witnesses saw Lopez fleeing the apartment, police said.
A short time later, Lopez returned to the apartment where he was staying - this time without the gun - told his friends he had taken care of things and again said, "Don't trip," McCarthy said.
Lopez has three pending juvenile court cases and has been arrested in a fourth case in which he hadn't yet appeared in court, McCarthy said.
The charges include felony theft last April, possession of controlled substance and criminal trespass last May, and criminal damage to property last October after a police officer saw him writing gang insignia on an apartment building, authorities said.
In the pending case, Lopez admitted he took a television and other items from an apartment that was ransacked in January, McCarthy said.
In addition, several bond forfeiture warrants have been issued for Lopez for failure to appear in court, she said.
Palatine police said many residents of Baldwin Green came forward to help with the investigation, angry that a father and son had been senselessly killed, leaving behind a mother and two daughters, ages 5 and 7.