An Indiana woman will remain in jail amid allegations she lied to buy the Glock 29 handgun that authorities say was later used in the shooting of two Chicago police officers at a city hospital.
Chicago Police Officer John Bartholomew died in the shooting. Another officer was wounded.
Olivia Burgos, 23, is charged with making a material false statement in the acquisition of a firearm.
Her next hearing is May 28 in the U.S. District Court in Hammond.
Burgos’ lawyer Visvaldis Kupsis declined to comment after the hearing.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Caitlin Padula argued Burgos’ strong history of drug abuse made her a flight risk.
Burgos bought the weapon at Range USA in Merrillville in May 2024 for her boyfriend, Edward Martinez, who gave her the money to buy it, prosecutors said.
Police first located her father, who contacted her on Facebook so investigators could talk with her. At the time, she was staying at a motel in suburban Harvey.
A different man gave her money to buy another gun on March 30, which was never recovered, Padula said. The prosecutor submitted a Facebook picture that Burgos told authorities was her boyfriend holding the gun used in the shooting.
Pedro Burgos, her father, a U.S. Steel contractor, testified that his daughter had a longtime addiction to drugs, including fentanyl and “maybe heroin.”
He acknowledged he had a reckless homicide conviction in the late 1990s.
Olivia Burgos has lived on-and-off with her family and, if released, her father’s plan was to get her into treatment immediately. His son, Pedro Burgos Jr., is serving a prison sentence for a LaPorte County drug dealing case through 2036, records show.
I told her she “gotta do what she’s gotta do, or she is gonna be in jail,” Pedro Burgos Sr. told Kupsis.
The parents worked long hours, and they couldn’t control the son’s behavior, Padula said in arguing Olivia Burgos should not be released.
Prosecutors detailed that the woman was a “serious” drug addict and used heroin and fentanyl three times a day just to maintain a baseline of her addiction. She dropped out of high school and had never spent more than five days in an inpatient treatment program before she left, prosecutors said.
Kupsis said his client was a victim of her addiction and her vulnerability allowed her boyfriend to take advantage of her. She was “forced into a tragedy” and not a flight risk, because she “really has nowhere to go,” he said.
Magistrate John Martin denied the request for bond.
The gun predictably led to “something tragic,” he said. “That’s what happened here.”
Alphanso Talley, 26, is charged in the hospital shooting.
After being arrested in connection with a store robbery on Saturday morning, Talley allegedly told police he had swallowed some drugs, so officers took him to Endeavor Health Swedish Hospital in the Lincoln Square neighborhood to get checked out.
What unfolded next was an act of violence that left one Chicago police officer dead and a second fighting for his life, authorities said. Talley allegedly was able to hide a gun until a CT scan was about to be performed. That’s when Talley allegedly pulled the pistol out from under a blanket, shooting one officer in the face and a second in the chin, authorities said. In outlining their case, authorities have not said how Talley ended up possessing the gun.
Prosecutors have charged Talley with murder, attempted murder and escaping from police, among other charges. He also had three warrants outstanding for his arrest, according to police.
baiduhai contributed.