As 14-year-old Brian DeLeon lay crumpled on the ground in the Logan Square neighborhood one week ago, three Maniac Latin Disciples gang members yelled to Esteban Miranda to stop wielding a baseball bat against the boy's head and body.
But instead of stopping, Miranda, 19, who was implicated by fellow gang members, continued beating DeLeon only steps from the Yates Elementary School playground across where DeLeon took a short cut as he walked home from his girlfriend's home.
"The others were yelling, 'He's a Neutron (Slang for a non-gang member), stop hitting him.' He wouldn't listen," according to the source. "The other three felt bad for the kid they knew he wasn't a gang member."
Miranda, of the 1600 block of North Maplewood Avenue, is set to appear in court this morning, where he faces one count of attempted first-degree murder and one count of armed robbery, authorities said.
Police said that Miranda brutally beat and left for dead DeLeon, a Phoenix Military Academy freshman, near Yates Elementary School. The boy remains in a coma at Children's Memorial Hospital.
Miranda, who police said is a member of the same gang as the other men with him that night, were cruising on Sept. 13 in a Geo Prism belonging to Miranda's sister. Their object that night was to beat up a member of their rival gang, the Spanish Cobras, with whom they have been having a heated rivalry.
Instead, they came upon DeLeon who the men in the car, including Miranda, knew was not gang affiliated.
Miranda allegedly beat the boy and left him on the ground, stealing the boy's cell phone. The boy had just missed a call from his girlfriend Dayana Vazquez, who had called him after the boy failed to notify her when he made it back to his home as was their routine, the source said. While they were driving, Miranda then called back the last number received on the telephone.
"He dialed the last number and it goes into voice mail, he yells, 'YLo Cobra Killa' B---h,''' according to the source, adding that it referred to a local faction of the Spanish Cobras known to frequent the area.
While police were never able to locate the phone, they were able to pull the voice mail message from the girl's phone as evidence. The girl told the Tribune last week that she heard the words "Cobra Killa','' and heard music.
Miranda was charged with robbery, a class X felony, because he stole the boy's phone. The car was also located nearby and inside police found the baseball bat
While Miranda had a lawyer and chose not to say anything to police, the other three men -- who are between 19 and 22 -- provided statements to the police implicating Miranda. Miranda was arrested on Sunday along with one of the other men and the remaining two were arrested on Monday.
News of the beating sent shockwaves through the community and spurred Yates Principal Harry Randell to invite parents and police to discuss safety around the Logan Square school.
Police said they received a single tip from the public which wrongly implicated an African-American member of the Latin Kings who was not involved.
Miranda is well known to police. In 2009, he pleaded guilty to a weapons charge and was sentenced to serve in the Cook County sheriff's boot camp, according to court records. The sentence ran concurrently with a aggravated DUI conviction from the previous year.
The most important leads came from the gangs themselves, police said. Investigators spoke with members of the Spanish Cobras, who put the blame on the Maniac Latin Disciples, with whom they said they are having current gang tensions. Members of the Maniac Latin Disciples implicated Miranda as well as the other three men with Miranda that evening.
No comments:
Post a Comment