2 Men Charged In Edgewater Crime Spree
UPDATED 03/01/11 6 a.m.
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Two men stand charged with murder and several other counts in a weekend crime spree in the Edgewater neighborhood, which left three people dead and a Chicago Police officer shot and wounded.
Augustin Toscano, 29, of the 2100 block of West Cullerton Street, and Raul Segura-Rodriguez, 36, of the 3000 block of South Keeler Avenue, are both charged with three counts of first-degree murder, one count of home invasion with a firearm, and one count of aggravated fleeing with bodily injury, police said Monday morning.
Toscano is also charged with aggravated battery to a peace officer, while Segura-Rodriguez is charged with aggravated battery with great bodily harm.
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A third suspect, Arturo Ibarra, 37, was shot and killed by police in the Saturday night incident.
"These guys set up narcotics deals, and at some point historically at other points in the past, some of these deals have ended up in somewhat the same manner," said police Organized Crime Unit Chief Nick Roti.
The other multiple killings total at least seven, Roti said.
"They worked in the narcotics business, so to speak, and they have no proclivity to killing if they want to, need to, if it's expedient for them," Roti said.
Gang investigators were conducting an unrelated surveillance Saturday evening when they noticed several people running from a building in the 5800 block of North Winthrop Avenue. Inside, two men were dead and one critically injured, with their throats split and duct tape restraining them.
Weis said the suspects fled in a vehicle, ramming a police car. They fired at police, injuring the officer near the intersection of Broadway and Thorndale Avenue.
After a chase, police stopped the vehicle and fatally shot and killed Ibarra, police said. The final shootout scene was at Greenview and Devon avenues, less than a mile from where the officer was hurt.
Authorities say the 39-year-old police officer who was shot is a member of the Gang Investigations Unit. He was reportedly doing well as last report.
One of the men found slain in the Winthrop Avenue apartment has been identified as Joel Diaz, 33, of the 5700 block of North Ridge Avenue, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's office. The other man was identified as Ramito Mendoza, 37, of the 1100 block of Grove Avenue in Bensenville, the medical examiner's office said.
Bond was denied for both Toscano and Segura-Rodriguez Monday when they appeared in Violence Court (Br. 66) at the Cook County Criminal Courthouse.
