Teen held without bond in Glendale Hts. slaying

Walking his dog in the early morning hours, Corey Dale Krueger was seen as an easy target by a local teen with gang ties, prosecutors claim.

Isaias Beltran, 19, is accused of fatally shooting Krueger at close range during a recent robbery and will be held without bond on first degree murder charges, a judge ruled Saturday.

Officials say they are testing blood on a sweatshirt belonging to Beltran, of 547 Lynn Court, that they believe will implicate him as the shooter.

Police also believe they have recovered the gun used in the crime.

Krueger, a 35-year-old husband and father of two, was walking his dog near his Glendale Heights home early Wednesday before leaving for his shift as a sanitation worker in Joliet.

Prosecutor Joseph Ruggiero said Beltran had been out drinking with friends, spotted Krueger and then tried to rob him.

When Krueger "got loud," Beltran shot him in the head at close range with a 22-caliber gun, Ruggiero said.

"He would never ever start something, but he wasn't the type to back down, which may have led to his demise," Shaun Krueger, the slain man's older brother, said late Friday.

"It was a robbery gone bad," he said. "Was it really worth it? To take someone's life? I guess this is just a part of our society."

Ruggiero told the court Beltran ran to a friend's house with Krueger's possessions, then got in a car and took off until he and three others in 1991 Honda Civic were stopped by police for a traffic violation at about 3 a.m.

Beltran allegedly gave the gun and stolen property to one of two men who then fled on foot. One of them is believed to be a relative of Beltran.

Minutes later, police received a neighbor's complaint about a barking dog and found Krueger unconscious on the sidewalk with his dog at his side.

He was pronounced dead at Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove at 10:45 a.m. Wednesday.

During the bond hearing Saturday morning, just hours before Krueger's funeral, DuPage County Associate Judge Paul Fullerton asked Beltran if he had been convicted of any other crimes.

He responded that he had been arrested for aggravated battery of a police officer a year ago. Court records show he pleaded guilty.

But Ruggiero said that isn't his only other run-in with the law. He pointed to a thick folder with Beltran's name on it and said he has a "10 to 15-pound file" of his prior offenses.

Court records show he has recently been arrested for disorderly conduct, criminal damage to property, resisting arrest and obstructing justice.

Fullerton ordered Beltran held without bond "based on your history sir and the safety of the public."

Beltran has asked for a public defender and will appear in court again Jan. 14.

Daily Herald Legal Affairs Writer Christy Gutowski contributed to this report.