He shot her in the back as she ran away: prosecutors

The detention hearing for a Venezuelan man accused of murdering a Loyola University student was delayed on Monday due to his hospitalization for tuberculosis. Despite this, prosecutors disclosed new investigative details, revealing that the suspect was partially identified using facial recognition technology, which a local lawmaker is seeking to ban from law enforcement applications.

Jose Medina, 25, residing in the 6800 block of North Sheridan Road in Rogers Park, faces charges of first-degree murder and other felonies related to the killing of Sheridan Gorman, an 18-year-old freshman, at Loyola Beach’s pier early last Thursday.

Illinois law mandates that defendants facing potential detention must be present at their hearings. Therefore, the hearing couldn’t proceed without Medina. Nonetheless, prosecutors provided key information to Judge Luciano Panici Jr. to justify holding Medina until he is released from the hospital.

Prosecutors stated that Gorman and her friends went to the lakefront around 1 a.m. to take pictures. As Gorman led the way to the pier’s end, she encountered Medina, who was masked and hiding near the light beacon. As Gorman and her friends ran back toward the beach, Medina allegedly fired a shot, hitting Gorman in the back, which exited through her neck. She was declared dead at the scene.

Chicago police used surveillance video to follow the gunman to an apartment building on North Sheridan Road, close to the crime scene. Footage from the building showed the gunman unmasked, and a maintenance worker identified him as Medina, according to a source.

Police executed a search warrant at Medina’s apartment on Friday evening, recovering a .40 caliber handgun. Ballistics matched the gun to a shell casing found at the pier, prosecutors noted.

Detectives also shared the video with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which utilized facial recognition technology to connect the footage to Medina, as indicated by a CPD report.

This case highlights a new aspect of Illinois State Rep. Kelly Cassidy’s efforts to prohibit facial recognition technology in law enforcement. Cassidy, representing Rogers Park where the murder occurred, introduced a bill last Wednesday—just a day before the shooting—aiming to ban state and local agencies from using facial recognition technology and prevent collaborations with external entities for such identifications.

CWB Chicago first reported on Cassidy’s initiative Sunday night, detailing how facial recognition has become a crucial tool for detectives, particularly in identifying unknown offenders via CTA surveillance cameras. Although a facial recognition “match” alone cannot substantiate charges, it provides investigative direction when there are no other leads.

On Sunday, the Department of Homeland Security filed an immigration detainer with Chicago officials to prevent Medina’s release, identifying him as Jose Medina-Medina and labeling him as “a Venezuelan criminal illegal alien.” DHS stated that Medina “should have never been in our country” and had been released into the community by the Biden administration, then released again after a shoplifting arrest in Chicago.

Court records indicate that Medina was arrested in mid-June 2023 for allegedly stealing $132 worth of goods from the Macy’s at 111 North State Street in the Loop. He listed his address as 1222 West Touhy Avenue in Rogers Park, where a fieldhouse at Leone Beach Park had been repurposed as a migrant shelter. Leone Beach Park is located at the northern end of Loyola Beach.

Records reveal that Medina was released on his own recognizance following the shoplifting arrest and subsequently failed to appear in court. After his first missed court date in July 2023, Judge Peter Gonzalez granted a 30-day continuance. When Medina missed another hearing, Gonzalez issued an arrest warrant requiring a $50 deposit for release. Medina was not apprehended on this warrant until the search warrant was executed on Friday.

By Tuesday morning, a GoFundMe page set up to raise funds for “remembrance and memorial activities and creating a memorial and/or scholarship(s)” in Gorman’s honor had accumulated nearly $150,000.

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