Crime & Law
Man Charged in Killing of Loyola University Freshman Faces New Federal Firearm Charge
The Dirksen Courthouse is pictured in Chicago. (Capitol News Illinois)
The man charged in the fatal shooting of Loyola University freshman Sheridan Gorman now faces additional firearms charges in federal court.
Jose Medina, a Venezuelan migrant accused of killing the 18-year-old Gorman at Tobey Prinz Beach, was charged by federal prosecutors in Chicago late Thursday with illegal possession of a firearm.
“Given the senseless, cold-blooded nature of the murder of a young student with a bright future ahead of her, the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office will take no chances that this illegal alien perpetrator will be released back into our community,” Andrew Boutros, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, said in a statement.
The new charge comes nearly two weeks after Medina was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and other felonies stemming from the fatal March 19 shooting in the Rogers Park neighborhood.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has claimed Medina entered the U.S. illegally and has lodged an arrest detainer seeking to prevent his release.
Federal prosecutors alleged that because Medina has no lawful status in the U.S., he was legally prohibited from possessing a firearm.
The firearm charge carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison. Medina is currently detained in Cook County Jail where he’ll remain pending his trial on the murder charges.
Federal prosecutors noted Medina is known as “Jose Medina,” “Jose Gregorio Medina” and “Jose Gregorio Medina-Medina.”
His initial appearance in federal court has not yet been scheduled.
According to Cook County prosecutors, Gorman and five friends left a Loyola dorm around midnight on the morning of March 19 and walked to the nearby Tobey Prinz Beach where they planned to take photos and view the city skyline.
Gorman walked ahead of the group and was the first to reach the lighthouse, where she was startled by Medina, who’d been hiding there, according to prosecutors. As Gorman quickly walked back to her friends, Medina allegedly fired one shot from a .40 caliber handgun, striking Gorman in the back.
