CHICAGO (STMW) – A 15-year-old boy is the second suspect charged with the fatal beating of a Southwest Side teen and carjacking on New Year’s Day.
The boy was charged with one count of murder, said police, who were not releasing his name because he is a juvenile.
The first suspect, Vincent Lopez, 22, of the 5800 block of South Whipple, was charged in August with one count of first degree murder, police said.
Ezequiel Velasquez, 17, and a 21-year-old woman were headed westbound on 40th Street when they encountered a dark Chevrolet Suburban blocking the street near Pulaski Road about 6 a.m. Jan. 1, authorities said.
A group of several suspects got out of the SUV and approached the pair in their Chrysler Sebring to ask if they had any gasoline, police said.
When they replied they did not, the suspects pulled the woman from the car and began beating her, police said. When the teen got out of the car, the suspects began beating him, then used the car to push the SUV away from the scene.
Velasquez, of the 6100 block of South Massasoit Avenue, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, initially in serious condition, according to police and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.
He was pronounced dead at the hospital at 9:15 a.m. Wednesday, according to the medical examiner’s office.
The woman did not seek medical treatment, said police, who could not immediately say how she knew the teen.
The Chrysler was later found in the 4200 block of South Campbell Avenue, but no one has been arrested in connection with the attack, police said.
Police say Velasquez has a gang affiliation, and that the carjackers — believed to be ages 17 to 20 — are suspected of having gang affiliations as well, he said.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
