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Pilsen Man Charged With Murder After Gang Rivalry Leaves Two Dead

By Erin Meyer | November 4, 2013 6:05pm
 Mario Gutierrez, 18, of the 1900 block of West 21st Place, was arrested Friday and is facing two counts of murder in the first degree.
Mario Gutierrez, 18, of the 1900 block of West 21st Place, was arrested Friday and is facing two counts of murder in the first degree.
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Chicago Police Department

COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A Pilsen man is charged in the double murder of two men prosecutors described as rival gang members.

Mario Gutierrez, 18, served as the lookout when he and two fellow gang members of the Ambrose Street gang drove in to rival gang territory last year "to shoot and kill members of the Satan Disciples street gang," Assistant State's Attorney Jamie Santini said at a court hearing Monday.

Esteban Alvarez, 27, and Alejandro Munoz, 29, were with a group of people on a porch in the 2200 block of South Leavitt Street shortly before 1 a.m. in May 2012.

Gutierrez, his brother, Jesus — who was later killed when he crashed his car into a parked truck last December — and two unidentified accomplices allegedly saw the group and pulled into a nearby alley.

Armed with guns, Jesus Gutierrez and another teen got out and walked toward the gathering while Mario Gutierrez walked west down the alley to watch for cops, Santini said. 

"If he saw members of the Chicago Police Department this offender was to whistle loudly to alert his armed co-offenders," Santini said. "He positioned himself at the mouth of the alley and waited."

Jesus Gutierrez and the unnamed teen allegedly approached the porch, pulled out their guns and opened fire on the victims.

Munoz was shot multiple times, including once in the head, and died at the scene, Santini said. Alvarez was shot in the abdomen. He was able to escape but died later at Mount Sinai Hospital.

The three ran back to the waiting car and fled, Santini said. Jesus Gutierrez was identified by a witness as one of the gunmen. Mario Gutierrez, of the 1900 block of West 21st Place, was arrested Friday on an unrelated gun charge.

When officers asked him about his brother's involvement in the murder, Mario Gutierrez allegedly gave a recorded statement detailing his own role in the crime.

A Cook County judge ordered Gutierrez held without bail Monday on two counts of first-degree murder.