Suspects held without bail in slaying of DePaul student
A Cook County judge today ordered two reputed gang members held without bail in the killing of a DePaul University student at a Halloween party on the North Side last weekend.
Narcisco Gatica, 19, allegedly fired a TEC-9 semiautomatic weapon at people standing in a gangway outside the party at a home in the 1700 block of North Rockwell around 1:15 a.m. Sunday.
Gatica, described by police as a member of the Maniac Latin Disciples gang, is accused of killing DePaul political science major Francisco “Frankie” Valencia, 21, and wounding Valencia’s friend Daisy Camacho, a senior psychology major. Camacho was released from the hospital Wednesday.
Gatica and another reputed gang member, Berly “Billy” Valladares, were each charged Wednesday with first-degree murder and attempted murder. According to police, Valladares, 21, provided Gatica with the weapon.
DePaul students had rented the home on Rockwell for the party. According to police, three gang members crashed the party and were kicked out by the students. One of the ousted gang members then went to Valladares, a leader of a faction of the gang, seeking revenge, police said.
About 45 minutes after the gang members were kicked out, Gatica pulled the gun from his waistband and opened fire outside the home, police said.
Gatica and Valladares gave videotaped confessions to Grand-Central Area detectives Mike Landando and John Valkner, police said. The shooting was captured on video-surveillance cameras, and police recovered a TEC-9 that was linked to the shooting through ballistics tests, police said.
Gatica allegedly told police he thought he was firing at a rival gang member because the person’s hat was tilted sideways, the way gang members wear them. But Gatica later backed off that motive, police said.
Valencia’s mother, Joy McCormack, issued a statement Wednesday saying the family was “heartbroken” by his death.
“He led by example, volunteering at the Chicago Public Schools and for the Obama campaign, as well as traveling to Colombia on a humanitarian mission,” she said. “His ambition, idealism, intelligence, enthusiasm and commitment made him a natural leader, who strived to change the world.”