Benito Juarez | Homicide Watch Chicago

Chicago man gets seven years for fatal gang-related stabbing of Benito Juarez in 2014 in Little Village

Jeff Mayes — Wed, 01 Jun 2016 12:33:06 -0500

By JORDAN OWEN
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Jose Marroquin | Illinois Dept. of Corrections

An alleged gang member was sentenced to seven years in prison last week after he pleaded guilty to fatally stabbing Benito Juarez of Cicero in Little Village in 2014.

Jose Marroquin, 36, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder before Judge Vincent Gaughan on Friday, according to Cook County court records.

Prosecutors said Marroquin and several friends were inside the Las Delicias restaurant at 4142 W. 26th at 4:40 a.m. April 27, 2014, when Marroquin saw 40-year-old Benito Juarez walk by outside.

After exchanging gang signs, Marroquin ran out of the restaurant after Juarez, and stabbed him once in the throat with a knife, prosecutors said. Juarez was helped across the street by his friends, where he collapsed.

Benito Juarez | Facebook

Juarez, of the 2100 block of South 50th Avenue in Cicero, died at Mount Sinai Hospital less than an hour later, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The stabbing was captured on the restaurant’s surveillance camera, prosecutors said.

Marroquin, of the 2700 block of South Kildare, turned himself in to Chicago Police after an arrest warrant was issued, according to court records.

Gaughan sentenced Marroquin to seven years in prison Friday, according to court records. He will receive credit for 282 days served in the Cook County Jail, and must also serve two years of supervised release.

He was booked into the Stateville Correctional Center on Monday, according to Illinois Department of Corrections records.

Jose Marroquin charged with murder in Little Village stabbing death of Cicero resident Benito Juarez

Michael Lansu — Sun, 18 May 2014 11:30:25 -0500

Jose Marroquin / Photo from Chicago Police

BY BRIAN SLODYSKO
Chicago Sun-Times

Jose Marroquin has been charged with murder for allegedly stabbing 40-year-old Benito Juarez to death last month in the Little Village neighborhood.

Prosecutors said Marroquin and several friends were inside the Las Delicias restaurant at 4142 W. 26th at 4:40 a.m. April 27 when he saw Juarez walk by outside.

After exchanging gang signs, Marroquin ran out of the restaurant after Juarez and stabbed him once in the throat with a knife, Assistant State’s Attorney Claire Savaglio alleged in court.

Juarez was helped across the street by his friends, where he collapsed, Savaglio said.

Juarez, of the 2100 block of South 50th Avenue in Cicero, died at Mount Sinai Hospital less than an hour later, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Benito Juarez / Photo from Facebook

The attack was allegedly captured on the restaurant’s surveillance camera, prosecutors said.

Marroquin, of the 2700 block of South Kildare Avenue, turned himself in to Chicago Police May 16 after an arrest warrant was for him, according to court records.

Marroquin, of the 2700 block of South Kildare Avenue, was ordered held on $750,000 bond Sunday.

-- Contributing: Sun-Times Media Wire

WEEK IN REVIEW: Eight killed in citywide violence

Michael Lansu — Mon, 28 Apr 2014 08:51:41 -0500

BY MICHAEL LANSU
Homicide Watch Chicago Editor

Eight people were murdered throughout Chicago last week, raising the city's homicide total to nearly 100.

Five of the eight killings happened over the weekend, which also saw 35 other people wounded by gunfire.

The most recent murder happened when 40-year-old Cicero resident Benito Juarez was stabbed during an argument in the 4100 block of West 26th Street about 4:40 a.m. Sunday, authorities said.

Several males approached Juarez as he walked, an argument ensued and Juarez was stabbed in the neck, authorities said. Juarez, of the 2100 block of South 50th Avenue in Cicero, died about an hour later at Mount Sinai Hospital, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Juarez is expected to be the 100th non-police-involved shooting Chicago death ruled a homicide by the medical examiner's office following a Monday autopsy.

In the Logan Square neighborhood, 21-year-old Cindy Bahena was fatally shot while riding in a vehicle in 3500 West Fullerton Avenue about 12:35 a.m. Sunday, authorities said.

A group of males standing on a nearby sidewalk yelled gang slogans at the vehicle then at least one person opened fire, according to police, who said the driver is a known gang member.

Bahena, of the 200 block of North Laramie Avenue, was struck by the gunfire and died at Norwegian-American Hospital at 12:47 a.m., according to the medical examiner’s office.

On Saturday, 17-year-old Jaquez Williams was standing in the 5500 block of West North Avenue when a gunman shot him in the head about 2 a.m., authorities said.

Williams, of the 5400 block of West North Avenue, was dead at the scene, according to the medical examiner's office.

In the Back of the Yards neighborhood, 21-year-old Martavian Emery was fatally shot while in the kitchen area of a home in the 5400 block of South Winchester Avenue about 1:15 a.m. Saturday, authorities. A second person in the kitchen was also wounded.

Detectives believe the gunman opened fire from outside the home, police said.

On Friday, 32-year-old Leonore Draper was fatally shot while in her car 11500 block of South Laflin Street about 10:35 p.m., authorities said.

Draper, of the 1100 block of South Laflin Street, was shot in the right arm and chest and died about two hours later at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, authorities said.

Family members said Draper had just attended A Charitable Confection, a fundraiser on the Near South Side to raise money for teen anti-violence group Project Orange Tree. The group was formed by King College Prep students after the shooting death of Hadiya Pendleton last year.

On Thursday, 22-year-old Darius Kelly was killed in a drive-by shooting in the 900 block of West 83rd Street about 6:25 p.m., authorities said.

Kelly, of the 200 block of West 95th Street, was shot multiple times and died at the scene, according to the medical examiner's office.

In the North Lawndale neighborhood, 19-year-old Demario Collins was in a vehicle in the 1600 block of South St. Louis Avenue when three males opened fire about 3:05 p.m. Thursday, authorities said.

Collins, of the 2100 block of South St. Louis Avenue, was shot in the head, arm and shoulder and died at Mount Sinai Hospital, authorities said.

The killings started about 6:15 a.m. last Monday when emergency personnel found Quinton Jackson with a gunshot wound to the head in the hallway of a building in the 7800 block of South Ingleside Avenue, authorities said.

Jackson, 22, of the 100 block of East 103rd Street, was dead on the scene, according to the medical examiner's office.

Nobody has been charged in any of the murders.

However, Ana Rosa Mora was charged with murder after her newborn son was found wrapped in a plastic bag in the 2700 block of North Hamlin Avenue about 8:30 a.m. April 19, authorities said. Autopsy results were initially inconclusive pending a police investigation.

Mora, 18, of the 2700 block of North Hamlin, was admitted to putting the live infant inside a plastic bag and leaving him lying in a gangway, police said.

On Saturday, Mora was ordered held on $500,000 bond.

Overall, the medical examiner’s office has ruled at least 104 Chicago deaths in 2014 a homicide — including five people killed by police.

Additionally, the state’s attorney’s office filed first-degree murder charges against a speeding motorist who killed an off-duty police officer while trying to flee police even though the autopsy ruled the death an accident.

Chicago Police, which counts murders different, have ruled at least five of the homicides as involuntary manslaughter, justified self-defense or accidents.

Benito Juarez fatally stabbed in Little Village

Michael Lansu — Sun, 27 Apr 2014 20:28:34 -0500

A Cicero man was stabbed to death during an argument in the Little Village neighborhood early Sunday.

Benito Juarez, 40, was walking in the 4100 block of West 26th Street when several males approached him about about 4:40 a.m., authorities said.

An argument ensued and Juarez was stabbed in the the throat area, authorities said. A police source said detectives are investigating if the attack was gang related.

Juarez, of the 2100 block of South 50th Avenue in Cicero, died at Mount Sinai Hospital at 5:24 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area Central detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire