Jose Ibarra | Homicide Watch Chicago

Indiana man found not guilty of murder for running down Jose Ibarra with SUV in Gage Park in 2013

Jeff Mayes — Thu, 03 Mar 2016 16:40:11 -0600

Wenceslao Arriaga | Chicago Police

By JORDAN OWEN
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

A northwest Indiana man was found not guilty Wednesday of the 2013 murder of Jose Ibarra--who was run over by an SUV during a gang fight in Gage Park--though he remains in custody at the Cook County Jail.

Judge Vincent Gaughan found 27-year-old Wenceslao Arriaga not guilty of murder Wednesday, according to Cook County court records.

Arriaga was accused of the July 21, 2013, murder of the 20-year-old Ibarra, who was killed during a back-alley fight as he came to the aid of his younger brother, whom prosecutors said was fighting with members of the Latin Kings.

Jose Ibarra | photo provided

Arriaga was driving a GMC Envoy and attempting to flee from the fight when the SUV struck two men at 3:20 a.m. in the 5700 block of South Central Park Avenue, authorities said.

Ibarra, of the 3500 block of West 58th Street, was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy found he died of multiple injuries and compressional asphyxiation from being struck and rolled over by an SUV. His death was ruled a homicide.

A police spokesman said at the time Ibarra had no gang ties, which family members confirmed.

An assistant public defender said in 2013 that Arriaga was defending himself and that he suffered stab wounds during the gang fight.

Arriaga, of Hobart, Indiana, remains in custody at the Cook County Jail on two active, no-bond warrants out of Indiana, according to a spokeswoman for the Cook County sheriff's office. Details about the warrants were not immediately available.

He also has a 2011 federal convicted for cocaine distribution.

Comment of the Day: "Nobody deserves to have their life taken away"

Chase DiFeliciantonio — Thu, 20 Feb 2014 16:01:54 -0600

Jose Ibarra was murdered while defending his brother in July 2013 in the Gage Park neighborhood. Reader "herblives" posted this about him:

"Nobody deserves to have their life taken away. May he rest in peace."

Brother remembers Jose Ibarra, killed Sunday morning

Cat Zakrzewski — Tue, 23 Jul 2013 18:35:11 -0500

Gage Park man, killed while defending his younger brother, shunned gang life

John Carpenter — Tue, 23 Jul 2013 17:20:32 -0500

By John Carpenter and Rummana Hussain
The thug life was all around Jose Ibarra, who sprinkled his artwork with anti-gang messages and calls for peace. Gang-bangers in his Gage Park neighborhood hassled him regularly.

Jose Ibarra

“I would try to defend him, and my brother would be like: ‘Let it go. Let it go,’ ” Pedro Ibarra said. “He was different than everybody else.”

Now, he’s dead.

Jose Ibarra, 20, was killed early Sunday morning in a back-alley fight as he came to the aid of his younger brother, who prosecutors said was fighting with members of the Latin Kings.

A Hobart, Ind., man has been charged with first-degree murder, accused of running over and crushing Jose Ibarra with his truck. Wencesiao Arriaga was ordered held in lieu of $1.5 million bail Tuesday.

Some initial media reports described the incident as a gang fight. But a police spokesman said Tuesday that Jose Ibarra did not have any documented gang ties.

“He wasn’t no gang-banger,” said Pedro Ibarra, 24. “He was a good kid. . . . I was his big brother, but I looked up to him like he was my big brother.”

Jose Ibarra graduated from John Hancock High School and was attending Malcolm X College, where he was studying art, his family said. Pedro Ibarra proudly showed some of his brother’s artwork, which included pictures sprinkled with anti-gang images and slogans.

The trouble Sunday started in the wee hours of the morning. Jose Ibarra, his 17-year-old brother, Juan, and other friends were hanging out in the alley behind the 5700 block of South Central Park, talking, Pedro Ibarra said.

At about 3 a.m., Arriaga and several others drove by the group in a GMC Envoy. In bond court Tuesday, Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Heather Kent described what police say happened next.

Those inside the truck allegedly flashed gang signs, prompting one person who was standing in the alley to break the vehicle’s back-seat passenger window, Kent said.

Those in the truck came out and started fighting with the group in the alley and shouted “King Love!” Kent said.

When the driver of the GMC and Jose Ibarra started throwing punches, Arriaga allegedly got in truck, revved the engine and drove back and forth before he tried to plow into Jose Ibarra, causing him to fall.

He got back up and resumed brawling with Arriaga’s friend, Kent said.

That’s when he was hit and pinned under the truck.

Some others started beating Arriaga, but he was able to break free and ran away, ripping his shirt as he hopped a fence, Kent said.

Arriaga was caught by police a short time later and was identified by several witnesses, Kent said. She said surveillance cameras captured the deadly act.

Arriaga was charged with murder and aggravated battery. He has a 2011 federal conviction for cocaine distribution and was on parole for that case.

Assistant Public Defender Marijane Placek told Judge Donald Panarese Jr. on Tuesday that Arriaga was defending himself in a fight with members of the same gang.

Arriaga, who supports his two children with a job at a Culver’s restaurant, suffered stab wounds in the face and stomach, Placek said, insinuating that the main witness in the crime, Juan Ibarra, could be biased given than he is the victim’s brother.

Pedro Ibarra said family members were frustrated that his brother’s body was lying next to the wrecked car “for hours.” They think he might have been saved if he had been taken to the hospital. But Chicago Fire Department Spokesman Larry Langford said fire crews quickly extricated Ibarra’s badly injured body from the wreckage and determined that he was dead.

Ibarra’s sister, Antonia, said the outpouring of support since Sunday is a testament to her brother.

“That’s how we knew that my brother had a lot of friends,” she said. “They have been coming around, offering their support.”

Cat Zakrzewski contributed to this report.