Prison inmate charged in 2004 Carpentersville gang slaying

A former Carpentersville man locked up in state prison for his part in a 2005 shooting is facing new murder charges alleging he gunned down a rival gang member nearly six years ago in the victim's home.

Jesus Lechuga, 26, was indicted this week by a Kane County grand jury on two counts of first-degree murder stemming from the March 1, 2004, slaying of Jose Covarrubias in the 900 block of Chippewa Circle in Carpentersville.

The 23-year-old construction worker was shot in the head just after midnight that morning when he answered a knock on his bedroom window, authorities said.

Carpentersville police Cmdr. Tim Bosshart did not have information regarding a motive for the shooting, but said Lechuga and Covarrubias were members of opposing gangs.

Lechuga, he said, was a suspect from the start. But because there were no eyewitnesses to the shooting, it took investigators significant time to locate witnesses who could link him to the murder and determine if they were reliable.

"Typically when you're dealing with these kinds of people, there can be credibility questions, so we wanted to get them before a grand jury and get (their testimony) locked in," Bosshart said.

Investigators, Bosshart added, knew they could methodically build their case against Lechuga because he has been incarcerated on other charges since shortly after the murder.

Illinois Department of Corrections records show Lechuga was sentenced in June 2004 to seven years in prison for separate burglary and weapons offenses. He was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon just 12 days after the slaying when police found him with a loaded shotgun.

A Boone County judge later sentenced him to another 18 years behind bars for an aggravated battery with a firearm conviction stemming from a 2005 shooting.

Lechuga currently is serving his time at the maximum security Menard Correctional Center. Bosshart said the Kane County State's Attorney's office will take steps to bring him back to the county to face the new charges.

Covarrubias' family has stayed in touch with the case's lead investigator in the nearly six years since the shooting and were relieved to learn of the charges, Bosshart said.

"The parents have been cooperative from the beginning," he said. "We're really happy to get this cleared for their sake."