COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — Two years after a pizza delivery man was robbed and shot, authorities tracked down the shooter using DNA found on a Chicago Bulls hat he left behind, prosecutors said.
Mark Villanueva, 16 at the time of the alleged attack, was arrested and charged with attempted murder Sunday, almost two years after he shot a 46-year-old man in the chest and pinky finger during the robbery, Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Heather Kent said at a bond hearing Tuesday.
The man was walking back to his van after delivering a pizza in the 3500 block of West 83rd Place when Villanueva and a second unidentified offender started yelling at him, Kent said.
Villanueva, who was wearing a Bulls hat, pointed a gun at the delivery man's temple, she said. The delivery man pulled $80 from his pocket and handed it over.
But Villanueva, at the urging of his accomplice, demanded the man's wallet, Kent said. After he relinquished $200 more, Villanueva allegedly shot the delivery driver in the lower chest as the driver's female companion jumped out of the waiting van.
Villanueva then shot the delivery driver in the left pinky finger, Kent said. He also fired the gun in the woman's direction, but she dodged the shots by taking cover behind the van, Kent said.
The delivery driver survived but the bullet that struck him in the chest pierced his stomach, liver, esophagus and aorta, Kent said.
The two attackers fled, but Villanueva allegedly left his hat behind. Police linked the DNA found on the hat to Villanueva at some point after he was later arrested on gun charges and aggravated assault of a police officer in June 2012.
Villanueva, of the 2600 block of West 83rd Street, is charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery and armed robbery. He was ordered held without bond Tuesday.
