Murder charges dropped against N. Aurora man

Five murder counts against a North Aurora man in a 1995 gang slaying were dismissed Friday because detectives are unable to locate a tipster who named a different triggerman in the killing.

But 32-year-old Michael L. Diaz won't be walking out of the Kane County jail a free man, at least not until a second fatal shooting case in which he's charged is resolved.

Diaz, through his attorney, filed court papers seeking to have his murder charges in the shooting death of David Jimenez dropped, in part because Aurora police cannot find a confidential informant who could exonerate him.

The motion also sought to have the case tossed out because a set of fingerprints on the alleged getaway vehicle have been destroyed.

Judge Grant Wegner ruled Diaz, who was set for a trial Monday, should be allowed to use the informant's testimony, especially if it pins the killing on someone else.

Diaz, of the 100 block of Hickory Street, smiled at the ruling and shook hands with his lawyer, Liam Dixon, as he was led from court back to jail.

"We're very happy with the resolution," said Dixon, who added the loss of the informant's identity made the case difficult for prosecutors. "There's obviously evidence someone else did this crime."

Diaz was indicted last June in the highly touted "Operation First degree Burn," a sting that accused 30 people in 22 unsolved homicides, 13 of which were more than a decade old.

In addition to the Sept. 27, 1995, shooting of the 31-year-old Jimenez on Bangs Street in Aurora, Diaz and another man are accused of gunning down 17-year-old Larry Wesby on Aug. 28, 1995, on East Indian Trail.

The loss of the fingerprints in the Jimenez murder, which were destroyed about a year before Diaz was accused, are not enough to dismiss the case, Wegner said.

And if the confidential informant is identified, prosecutors have the opportunity to reopen the case, Wegner said.

John Barsanti, the county's state's attorney, said he will review the matter and decide if his office will file an appeal to Wegner's decision.

He called the judge's ruling disappointing but not unexpected.

"This isn't a complete shock to us," Barsanti said. "Everything that could have come back to hurt us we disclosed voluntarily. ... The question for us is, 'What do we do next?' "

Diaz is scheduled to stand trial in Wesby's killing in late April.

Also Friday, he pleaded not guilty to an aggravated assault charge stemming from a fight in the jail.