A man has been charged with murder in connection with a shooting involving Chicago Police that left Rafael A. Cruz Jr. dead more than a week ago in Pilsen.
Erik Martinez | Chicago Police
Erik Martinez, 34, has been charged with one count of first-degree murder and four counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, according to Chicago Police.
Ogden District Cmdr. Frank Valadez and an officer assigned to the district were on patrol near 23rd and Wood about 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 29 when they saw someone firing shots from one vehicle into another, according to a statement from police.
Valadez and the officer pursued the vehicle in their squad car to the intersection of 19th and Ashland, where the vehicle hit several parked cars, according to police.
They got out of their squad car and moved in to arrest the suspects when the driver “purposefully reversed” the vehicle to hit Valadez and the officer, police said.
Valadez and the officer then fired their weapons, hitting at least one of the vehicle’s occupants, police said. The driver tried to drive away, but stopped after the vehicle hit other parked vehicles.
Cruz, 29, of the 1900 block of South Jefferson, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. A Sunday autopsy found he died of a single gunshot wound to the back and his death was ruled a homicide.
Several other people related to the incident were later located and questioned by Area Central detectives, police said. A handgun was recovered from the vehicle.
Valadez and the officer suffered non-life-threatening injuries, police said.
Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy released a statement on the day after the shooting.
“Last night, Commander Francis Valadez and an officer witnessed an attempted murder and aggressively pursued those responsible. While the police-involved shooting is under investigation by the Independent Police Review Authority, the incident is a clear depiction of how the men and women of the Chicago Police Department are on the front lines, relentlessly targeting those individuals who torment our neighborhoods with gun violence.”
Martinez, of the 1800 block of South Ruble, was ordered held without bond on Sunday.
—Chicago Sun-Times Wire