COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A Little Village man was charged in a 2013 homicide after police searching his house on an unrelated warrant found the murder weapon, prosecutors said Wednesday.
In that homicide, 18-year-old Alexander Lagunas was stopped near 31st and Pulaski about 12:30 a.m. on June 16, 2013, when someone in a silver Chevy Tahoe pulled up next to him, prosecutors said.
A man inside the SUV, later identified as 23-year-old Miguel Ruddy, flashed Two Six gang signs at Lagunas, prosecutors alleged. Lagunas believed Ruddy was a fellow Two Six and flashed back similar signs.
But Ruddy was actually a member of the rival Latin Kings, Assistant State's Attorney April Gonzalez said during a bond hearing Wednesday.
Ruddy shouted "King Love" as he unloaded his gun into Lagunas' car — fatally striking Lagunas multiple times and injuring a 22-year-old woman, prosecutors alleged.
Nine days later, on June 25, 2013, police searching Ruddy's Little Village home on an unrelated warrant seized a .22 caliber long rifle, Gonzalez said.
As prosecutors brought first-degree murder charges against Ruddy on Wednesday, they said an Illinois State Police crime lab was able to match the gun to shell casings and a bullet found on the scene of the June 16, 2013 homicide.
When asked why there was such a delay in charging Ruddy, proecutors pointed to lengthy wait times for test results and the fact that Ruddy had been charged in several other cases.
According to Gonzalez, Ruddy was identified as the shooter by a witness inside the Chevy Tahoe. Surveillance video placed the SUV at the scene, and Ruddy allegedly admitted to two other people he was the shooter, prosecutors said.
Ruddy, of the 2400 block of South Springfield Avenue, was previously convicted in 2015 of aggravated DUI and 2014 of possession of a defaced firearm. He has prior misdemeanor convictions for DUI, unlawful use of a weapon, criminal defacement and reckless conduct.
Ruddy also goes by the names Moises Padilla and Miguel Rudy, according to court records.
Cook County Judge James Brown on Wednesday ordered Ruddy held without bail, calling Ruddy "a danger to the community."
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