West Chicago murders: 17-year-old allegedly shot two men to death during robbery
Xavier Arevalo
WEST CHICAGO, Ill. - A 17-year-old from West Chicago was arrested over the weekend and charged as an adult in the shooting deaths of two men.
Xavier Arevalo faces two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted armed robbery with a firearm, prosecutors said.
West Chicago police responded to a disturbance call around 6:14 p.m. Saturday in the 700 block of West Forest Avenue.
Upon arrival, officers found a green Honda Civic with the driver’s side door open.
Inside the vehicle, officers discovered two men, Alejandro Rios and Antonio Delgado, who were pronounced dead at the scene with apparent gunshot wounds to their faces and chests, prosecutors said.
Investigators located two loaded firearms and several boxes of THC cartridges inside the car.
Authorities allege that Arevalo and 18-year-old Ivan Ramirez, currently hospitalized with a gunshot wound, had arranged to meet with Rios and Delgado to purchase over $1,000 worth of THC cartridges.
Upon the victims’ arrival in the Honda, Arevalo allegedly entered the front passenger seat while Ramirez took the rear driver’s side seat. Ramirez then reportedly announced a robbery, with both suspects allegedly armed.
Arevalo is accused of shooting Rios in the head and chest and Delgado multiple times in the chest before both suspects fled the scene on foot.
Shortly after, officers learned of a gunshot victim at a nearby hospital, where Arevalo was subsequently taken into custody. Ramirez, identified as the gunshot victim, remains hospitalized.
"The violent shooting death of two men, allegedly at the hands of a seventeen-year-old, will not be tolerated in DuPage County and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law," said DuPage County State's Attorney Robert Berlin. "Acts of extreme violence, as alleged in this case, not only affect the family of the deceased, but also blanket the entire community in fear and disbelief that such a horrible event happened just outside their front door."
A judge granted the state's request to deny pre-trial release for Arevalo, whose next court appearance is set for Dec. 9. Ramirez faces the same charges as Arevalo and is expected to appear in court at a later date, prosecutors said.