Prosecutors want to block witness in Addison murder from leaving country

Prosecutors are seeking to bar a 16-year-old Addison girl at the center of a fatal shooting from leaving the country until she testifies against her former boyfriend.

Luis Villavicencio-Serna, 19, of Chicago, is being held on a $5 million cash bond in the DuPage County jail on first-degree murder charges.

He is accused of the May 16 shooting of Armando Huerta Jr., 18, on the 300 block of Dale Drive outside his apartment in the complex's parking lot.

Detectives were led to Villavicencio-Serna when they searched the slain teen's cellular phone and found a text message from the girl who had warned Huerta to stop calling because it was angering her boyfriend. She later cooperated with the police investigation.

Fearing for his daughter's safety, prosecutors say, the girl's father bought her a plane ticket for Mexico. The girl has received threats from Huerta's friends, who argue she intentionally fueled the rivalry.

Prosecutors asked DuPage Circuit Judge Peter J. Dockery to set a bond for the witness to ensure she appears in court when needed. Dockery set a Friday preliminary hearing on the matter.

Police rushed to the complex at 3:33 a.m. May 16 to a 911 call of shots fired.

Huerta was conscious, but suffered two gunshot wounds to his leg and lower back - the latter of which left him paralyzed. The Addison Trail High School senior, who was days from graduation, was pronounced dead 14 hours later.

The violence had "gang undertones," police said, but that the girl was the common thread between Huerta and Villavicencio-Serna.

Police caught up with Villavicencio-Serna May 17 at his Chicago workplace. They also interviewed three witnesses who were with the defendant in a Cadillac that morning who said they saw him shoot Huerta.

Prosecutors sought the high bond after arguing the defendant poses a flight risk because he is in the country illegally and still has family in Mexico, where he was born.

Huerta was born in the U.S. His family held his funeral last week in Mexico, where he was buried.

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