A 22-year-old Chicago man with Down syndrome, Nicholas Samudio, has been charged with over a dozen counts of murder related to two slayings as authorities say he was an active member of the violent Latin Kings gang operating under the nickname "Smush."
According to the Chicago Sun Times, Samudio was first arrested after police chased him down in a Chrysler 300 that was stolen following a fatal shooting on February 26 that saw Tomas Villa of North Lawndale shot and killed in a case of mistaken identity. Villa reportedly was misidentified by his shooters as a member of a rival gang because of a hat he was wearing.
21-year-old Moses Maldonado was arrested and charged for the slaying of Villa.
Maldonado and Samudio allegedly waited for Villa in the Chrysler 300 and as Villa walked behind the vehicle prosecutors say Maldonado opened a window and started shooting. Samudio allegedly then got out of the car and started firing, fatally shooting Villa several times.
Chicago police identified the car later that day and gave chase, during which they observed Samudio throwing something from the car. A .380-caliber handgun was retrieved that matched the shell casing found at the scene.
Both Samudio and Maldonado ran on foot after their car was cornered and police deployed stun guns to neutralize the pair.
Police had been keeping track of Samudio since the February 16 death of Humberto Marin-Garcia, who was found dead on Interstate 55 near Bridgeport in what authorities described as a road rage incident. After his arrest Samudio was charged with "a host of felonies" in that case.
Samudio’s public defender said that his client was diagnosed with the genetic disorder Down syndrome during a court hearing on March 1.
Samudio was indicted on March 28 with six additional counts of felony murder and on March 31 he was hit with six more murder charges as well as aggravated discharge of a firearm and felony attempted murder for the Marin-Garcia shooting.
According to law enforcement, Samudio had been arrested multiple times but was never convicted and was the prime suspect in a 2020 murder.
Both Samudio and Maldonado were ordered to be held without bail by Judge Barbara Dawkins.
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