A man accused of being the second gunman in a mass shooting earlier this month was on probation for burglary and AWOL from a pending felony gun case when he opened fire on the victims at a liquor store in Back of the Yards, according to prosecutors.
The shooting at Goldmore Food & Liquors, 1949 West 51st Street, about 8:34 p.m. on March 14 injured five individuals, including a woman alleged of being one of the other shooters.
Prosecutors claimed security video showed the lady, Angela Flores, 21, pulling out a revolver, racking the slide, and then opening fire on customers who were playing video games inside the store.
A second video purportedly shows Luis Vargas, 24, and at least one other person shooting into the booze store from the outside.
Vargas and Flores “instigated” the fight with the group inside the store, according to Judge Mary Marubio, who issued a detention order keeping Flores in jail pending trial.
She said witnesses and camera footage helped detectives identify Vargas and Flores.
Vargas is charged with three counts of attempted murder after reportedly shooting three victims: a 22-year-old guy in the chest, a 47-year-old man in the belly, and a 46-year-old man in the wrist.
Chicago police officers apprehended Vargas after discovering a revolver with an extended magazine in his belt.
According to court documents, a judge jailed Vargas on a separate firearms accusation one year ago, but a different judge eventually permitted him to return home to await his trial. He never appeared in court again, according to court records.
Vargas confessed in writing to possessing a defaced firearm inside a crossbody bag that he flung while fleeing authorities in the 5400 block of South Winchester on April 30, 2024, according to prosecutors.
He was on probation for burglary at the time.
Prosecutors and Judge Ankur Srivastava agreed that Vargas’s gun allegation posed a public safety concern and warranted his imprisonment. However, four months later, on September 5, Judge Angela Munari-Petrone consented to allow Vargas to return home. Eleven days later, Vargas failed to appear in court, leading to the issuance of an arrest warrant.
He is the fourth individual charged with shooting or attempting to shoot someone in Chicago this year while on felony pretrial release. These four guys are accused of killing or attempting to kill 16 people, including nine Chicago police officers.
The “not horrible” series
This report continues our coverage of those accused of killing, shooting, or attempting to kill or shoot others while on pretrial release for a felony. CWBChicago launched its series of reports in November 2019 after Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans publicly claimed, “We haven’t had any horrible incidents occur” as part of the court’s bond reform project.
The actual number of killings and shootings committed by those awaiting trial on felony charges is certainly far higher than the figures presented here. According to city records, since 2017, the CPD has charged less than 5% of non-fatal shootings and 33% of homicides.
