Portage Park mass shooting: No bail for man accused of killing 3, wounding another outside bar
CHICAGO - A Chicago man was denied bail after allegedly shooting four people, killing three, outside a bar in Portage Park Sunday morning.
Samuel Parsons-Salas, 32, appeared in court Wednesday. He faces three felony counts of first-degree murder, one felony count of attempted first-degree murder and one felony count of kidnapping.
Prosecutors say a group of individuals was attending a birthday party for a 25-year-old woman at Vera Lounge located at 5554 W. School Street in Chicago.
The defendant was at the party with his girlfriend of 2 weeks. Around 2:20 a.m. there was a physical fight inside the bar and the woman who the party was for was hit, according to prosecutors.
A crowd of people went outside the bar, and the entirety of what follows was captured on surveillance video and audio.
Samuel Parsons-Salas, 32
A 50-year-old man, identified by police as Rickey Vera, father of the woman who was hit, approached Parsons-Salas in the middle of School Street wanting to know who hit his daughter, prosecutors say.
Parsons-Salas' girlfriend stood in between the two men. The defendant then fired his gun past his girlfriend three times striking Vera in the head and chest. He was pronounced dead at an area hospital.
At this time, the girlfriend got inside the driver's seat of a car.
The defendant turned and fired his gun six more times in the direction of a 27-year-old man, who was identified as Mario Pozuelos and was a family friend of the Veras. Pozuelos was hit in the head and throat.
Prosecutors say Vera's daughter was kneeling over her father who was lying shot in the middle of the street when the defendant "casually approached" her and shot her in the head at close range as she helped him.
The defendant walked over to Pozuelos and shot him again in the head at close range. He was pronounced dead at an area hospital.
Parsons-Salas ran to the car where his girlfriend had fled. On his way to the car, he saw a 23-year-old woman, identified as Mercedes Tavares, hiding behind a white van parked nearby. He shot her at close range. Prosecutors say the defendant shot her again as she was laying on the sidewalk. Tavares was the niece of Rickey Vera.
The defendant got in the car with his girlfriend, put a gun to her head and told her to drive to his house on Linder south of Irving Park. Prosecutors say she crashed the car trying to escape, but the defendant made her keep driving.
She was told by the defendant to take off her coat and throw it away. He also took her cell phone and destroyed it. He then forced her to go with him to an apartment on Montrose and when they got there she was not able to leave, prosecutors say.
Parsons-Salas was arrested on Monday around 2 p.m. after detectives received information that he was hiding at 5245 W. Montrose Avenue. Prosecutors day he tried to flee police by going out the back door. He was placed into custody after a short foot chase.
Detectives say the defendant was on parole. Police found his girlfriend inside the apartment on Montrose Avenue. Police did not say if she had any injuries.
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The 25-year-old girl who was celebrating her birthday remains in critical condition at an area hospital. The bullet shattered parts of her skull and there are bone fragments in her brain, according to prosecutors.
Multiple eyewitnesses positively identified Parsons-Salas as the shooter.
A total of 10 shell casings were recovered from the scene. Ballistics on those shell casings is outstanding.
The defendant made third party admissions apologizing for killing Mercedes Tavares and admitting that he shot everyone who "called out his name," according to prosecutors.
The defendant faces a potential natural life sentence in three different ways. Parsons-Salas' next hearing is on Jan. 2, 2023.
The complete bond proffer is included below:
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.