Quantcast

The DNAinfo archives brought to you by WNYC.
Read the press release here.

Paraplegic Gangbanger Found Guilty of Murder in 2009 Drive-by

By Erin Meyer | March 21, 2014 10:49am
 Andrew Ruiz, a member of the Maniac Latin Disciples paralyzed from the waist down in 2000 by gunfire, was found guilty of shooting a man to death in Humboldt Park on Halloween night in 2009.
Andrew Ruiz, a member of the Maniac Latin Disciples paralyzed from the waist down in 2000 by gunfire, was found guilty of shooting a man to death in Humboldt Park on Halloween night in 2009.
View Full Caption
Cook County Sheriffs Department

COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — Jurors found a self-admitted gang member paralyzed by gunfire guilty Thursday night in a 2009 drive-by shooting that left one man dead and another wounded. 

Left without the use of his legs in 2000, Andrew Ruiz relies on a wheelchair to get around. To drive a car, the 33-year-old man needs specialized hand controls that operate the brakes and accelerator. 

But Ruiz's physical handicap did not stop him from shooting two men on Halloween night in 2009 as they waited for a light to change at Grand and Central Park avenues, a jury found.

Manny Roman, a 23-year-old Logan Square father, was out with a relative shortly after midnight when Ruiz pulled up next to their car at Grand and Central Park avenues and, without provocation, started shooting, prosecutors alleged. 

Ruiz was using sticks to control the gas and brake pedals of his car when he killed Roman in a drive-by because "it was Halloween and somebody was going to die," prosecutors said.

Claiming to have left his gang after he was shot five times in the chest by a rival in 2000, Ruiz testified that he passed out at a party on the night in question. His defense attorneys even called on the hostess of the party to vouch for Ruiz.

"Don't let this attempt at sympathy fool you," Assistant State's Attorney Toni Giancola warned jurors during closing statements Thursday. "He is a cold-blooded killer."

Five witnesses, including at least one who testified under threat of criminal charges, took the stand, and, with varying degrees of certainty and consistency, identified Ruiz as the shooter. 

After several hours of deliberation, jurors reached a verdict shortly after 8 p.m. Thursday, finding Ruiz guilty of Roman's murder and the attempted murder of a second man.

His defense attorney, Assistant Public Defender Preston Jones, said Ruiz will appeal the verdict.

Either way, Ruiz is likely to return to court soon, as he has another pending case in the unrelated murder of a man on the Eisenhower Expy. in 2010.