A man was ordered held without bail Sunday following a fatal police-involved shooting last weekend in the Heart of Chicago neighborhood.
Erik Martinez, 34, of the 1800 block of South Ruble Street, was charged in a warrant with murder and four counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, according to police. Martinez was ordered held without bail Sunday at the Leighton Criminal Court Building.
About 1:30 a.m. Aug. 29, 10th District Cmdr. Frank Valadez and a police officer assigned to the district were on routine patrol when they saw someone fire shots from a vehicle into another occupied vehicle near the corner of 23rd and Wood streets on the South Side, according to a statement from the Chicago Police Department. In court, Sunday prosecutors said Martinez was the gun man.
Valadez and the officer pursued the vehicle, and near the intersection of 19th Street and Ashland Avenue, the vehicle struck several parked cars, according to the statement.
As officers tried to intercept, the suspects deliberately reversed their vehicle to strike the commander and the officer, police said in the statement.
The officers fired their weapons, striking at least one person who continued to flee but was later taken into custody after striking additional vehicles, the statement said.
One of the vehicle’s occupants, who suffered a gunshot wound, was pronounced dead at the scene at 3:56 a.m. The man was Rafael A. Cruz Jr., 29, of the 1900 block of South Jefferson Street in Chicago, who died of a gunshot wound to the back, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. His death was ruled a homicide.
Police have found additional suspects who are being questioned as part of the investigation. A handgun was recovered from the suspects’ vehicle.
Valadez and the officer suffered injuries that weren’t life-threatening.
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During a news conference Monday about gun violence and illegal weapon seizures, police Superintendent Garry McCarthy said it was unfortunate Cruz was killed during the incident, but he praised Valadez and the other officers who responded.
“An individual who is running a district, a high-ranking police official … was involved in a shootout at 1:30 a.m. on a Saturday … that’s the time that these individuals are out on the street working.”
“That’s leadership,” McCarthy said.