Teen to be charged as adult in run-down killing
Authorities upgraded charges against a Glenview teen accused of running down Maine East High School sophomore Edgardo De La Torre late last month in the parking lot of Niles' Golf Mill Shopping Center.
Francisco Moran, of the 10400 block of W. Michael Todd Terrace, had been charged as a juvenile with aggravated battery. In the wake of De La Torre's death last week, the 16-year-old defendant now faces first-degree murder charges. He will be tried as an adult for the attack, which police say resulted from a dispute over a girl.
A Cook County judge set his bond at $2 million Tuesday in Skokie.
Prosecutors say Moran and Edgardo knew each other as children and were friends at one time. Conflicts arose when they took different paths, said Andy Conklin, a spokesman for the Cook County State's Attorney's Office.
Some played out on the social networking site MySpace, Conklin said.
De La Torre, another victim and five witnesses were in the Golf Mill parking lot on Nov. 28 when they encountered Moran driving a black Chevy Cavalier stolen on Nov. 4 in the Niles area, Conklin said.
Prosecutors say Moran drove the vehicle toward the group, scattering them, After striking a 16-year-old and causing minor injuries, the defendant made a U-turn and deliberately drove toward De La Torre, who ran and was struck from behind, Conklin said.
The victim died several days later from the multiple cerebral-cranial injuries he received.
Moran fled, parked the car nearby and called his girlfriend, who picked him up and took him to his home. Police arrested him there about 11 a.m. the following day, Conklin said.
Moran made a videotaped statement confessing to being in the stolen car and striking both victims, Conklin said. Additionally, prosecutors indicated Moran was arrested this year for possession of cannabis and no driver's license. That case is pending, Conklin.
If convicted of first-degree murder, Moran could spend 20 to 60 years in prison. He next appears in a Skokie courtroom on Dec. 17.