Man who shot 2 people outside Waukegan restaurant, leaving one dead, found guilty

WAUKEGAN, Ill. - A 20-year-old man has been found guilty of a shooting that left one person dead and another wounded in the parking lot of a north suburban Waukegan restaurant last year.

Jorge Medina, 20, was convicted by a jury in Lake County following a four-day trial that began on Monday, according to a statement by State's Attorney Eric Rinehart. Medina was found guilty of first-degree murder and attempted murder of two Waukegan men in May 2022.

On May 29, officers with the Waukegan Police Department responded to a report of two people shot in the parking lot of a local restaurant, prosecutors said. When they arrived, they found two men, both of whom were suffering from gunshot wound.

One of them men survived, while the other, identified as Stefan Filipovic, was transported to an area hospital where he died of his wounds later that day.

When the trial began on Monday, jurors heard from more than a dozen state witnesses, including officers who described how they were able to identify Medina as the gunman through witnesses accounts and surveillance video obtained from nearby homes and businesses.

Jorge Medina, 20. (Lake County states attorneys office)

One officer told the jury that surveillance video captured Medina getting into the vehicle of Fernando Andino

Surveillance video captured Medina getting into the vehicle of Fernando Andino, who would later testify that he dropped Medina off near the restaurant prior to the shooting. Medina then walked toward the parking lot where he shot both men.

After the shooting, Andino picked Medina up in his vehicle, and they fled the scene in his vehicle, according to prosecutors.

SUBSCRIBE TO FOX 32 ON YOUTUBE

Experts testified that gun residue was found on a piece of clothing in Medina's home, and the clothing matched the description of what Medina was wearing at the time of the shooting. Forensic analysis conducted by State's Attorney Cyber Lab Director JB Brooks revealed how phone calls were also made between Medina and Andino about the same time the shooting took place.

For his role in the shooting, Andino faces up to 30 years in prison, and must serve at least 85% of the sentence.

Medina faces between 45 years to life in prison, without the possibility of parole.

"This type of calculated attack warrants a very high prison sentence in order to protect the community and to tell others when you engage in violence, you will face arrest and severe consequences," Rinehart said in a statement.