‘Serial murders’: Chicago man accused of killing 6 at random throughout 2020

CHICAGO — A man is accused of gunning down six people at random throughout 2020 when he was a teen and five new murder charges were recently filed.

Antonio Reyes, 21, of Chicago, is facing five counts of first-degree murder and four counts of attempted murder for what was described by Cook County State’s Attorney Eileen O’Neill Burke as “serial murders.”

Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling, along with O’Neill Burke and several members of CPD’s top brass, held a press conference Wednesday to shed light on the alleged random killings.

“None of these people had ever met Antonio Reyes before,” O’Neill Burke said. “And there’s nothing to suspect Antonio Reyes had any reason to target them, but that’s exactly what he did.”

Reyes, 16 and 17 at the time, was already in custody for the June 2020 murder of 26-year-old Luis Davalos-Garcia. Davalos-Garcia was parked outside of his girlfriend’s home in the 5800 block of South Rockwell with a “baby on board” sign in the windshield when he was gunned down.

Reyes was angry at the time of the shooting due to a breakup, according to prosecutors. He sent a video to person, who later became a witness for authorities, holding a gun with a laser sight driving around “minutes” prior to the murder.

He had been in Cook County Jail for Davalos-Garcia’s murder when detectives began to realize he was allegedly responsible for five other Southwest Side homicides throughout 2020.

CPD Chief of Detectives Antoinette Ursitti said a “significant” development in the investigation stemmed from a .40 caliber handgun that was recovered in the summer of 2020. She went on to say similar shell casings were matched to the gun at other crime scenes.

A timeline of the other murders is below, per Chicago police.

• 2600 block of West 59th Street on March 2, 2020
• 4100 block of South Sacramento Avenue on April 5, 2020
• 5200 block of South Homan Avenue on May 1, 2020
• 5400 block of South Homan Avenue on Nov. 8, 2020
• 4700 block of West 59th Street Nov. 9, 2020

The victim in the March shooting was Francisco Magana, 31, Claudio Cossio, 21, in April, Damian Duran, 16, in May, Jose Martinez, 31, on November 8 and Justin Gonzalez, 20, on November 9, according to the Sun-Times.

O’Neill Burke gave a glimpse into some of the everyday activities the victims were doing at the time of the killings.

“One victim was killed when he went to the gas station to buy a pop early one evening,” she said. “Another victim was sitting in a parked car with a friend on Palm Sunday afternoon when he was shot and killed. Another victim’s only crime was taking his family to buy a new puppy one afternoon; he was shot and severely wounded in front of his three children and he succumbed to his injuries months later.”

In that last shooting, Snelling said prosecutors were able to charge him with three counts of attempted murder after the children, ages 3 to 9, had a “barrage of gunfire hit the vehicle they were in.”

Additionally, Reyes was charged with attempted murder for allegedly trying to kill his cellmate with a shank. On Thanksgiving Day 2020, he was also charged with attempted murder after being accused of shooting a man in Gage Park.

“This speaks to the level of disregard this offender had on human life,” Snelling said.

Chicago police believes Reyes was the sole gunman and said they will “continue to work on cases” allegedly involving him. He pleaded not guilty Tuesday to the new charges and his next court date is scheduled for March 18.