Elgin teen pleads not guilty to murder

An Elgin teen pleaded not guilty Wednesday to accusations he was driving the vehicle from which gang members shot and killed a Rochelle woman in January.

Raul Perez-Gonzalez, 18, of the 900 block of Jefferson Street, was arraigned on two counts of first-degree murder in Kane County Circuit Court before Judge Jordan T. Gallagher. If convicted, he faces between 20 and 75 years in prison or possibly the death penalty, prosecutor Greg Sams said.

According to police, Perez-Gonzalez was driving a white Ford Expedition Jan. 30 when one of his passengers shot and killed 22-year-old Paola Rodriguez, who was in another vehicle. Afterward, he drove to a Bloomingdale car wash and tried to wash away evidence, according to court documents.

The gunfire followed a verbal confrontation between rival street gang members just before 10 p.m. outside a fast-food restaurant on Bluff City Boulevard, police said. Rodriguez was riding with a group of men involved in the dispute.

Also charged with first-degree murder are Tony Rosalez, 18, and Manith "C.T." Vilayhong, 22, both of Elgin. Rosalez is accused of firing the shot that killed Rodriguez at the urging of Vilayhong; both have pleaded not guilty.

All three men are being held in the county jail without bond. Sams said the state is still weighing whether to seek the death penalty.

"It's on the table," he said.

Perez-Gonzalez is due back in court June 17. Rosalez and Vilayhong appear again May 8 and 20, respectively.