Pair charged with going on violent five-hour spree across Chicago, among their victims a father killed while stringing Christmas lights
A group of girls lay candles at the front door of the Tellez families home during a vigil and memorial for Jose Tellez, Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021.
Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
Two men are charged with murdering a father stringing Christmas lights at his Gage Park home while on a nearly five-hour crime spree during which they beat and robbed at least 13 other people, according to police.
Pedro Mendiola, 21, and Moises Barrios, 23, are charged with murdering Jose Tellez on Dec. 11 in front of the man’s young daughter, Police Supt. David Brown said Friday.
The two started robbing and beating people with a crowbar and a bat around 3:30 p.m. on the North Side and did not stop until 8 p.m. on the South Side, police said.
Jose Tellez
Provided
One of their victims was Tellez, 49, who was outside decorating his home in the 3500 block of West 58th Street around 6:30 p.m. when the pair drove up and approached him, Brown said.
“The offenders had a baseball bat and a crowbar and repeatedly struck him in the face and head as his young daughter watched from inside the home,” Brown said.
The two fled as the young girl tried to get her brother to help, he said. Tellez was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and pronounced dead later that evening.
Barrios was arrested the day of the murder but was only charged in one of the other robberies, Chief of Detective Brendan Deenihan said in a news conference Friday.
A few dozen family, friends and community members gather for a vigil and memorial for Jose Tellez, outside his Gage Park home, Thursday, Dec. 16, 2021.
Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times
The arrest gave detectives access to the getaway car, where police found the weapons, Deenihan said. From those weapons, “DNA and fingerprints helped put the case together,” he said.
Police did not offer a possible motive for why the pair targeted Tellez. “Unfortunately ... they saw the victim hanging Christmas lights and they decided they were going to target him and rob him as well,” Deenihan said.
The pair were expected to appear for a bond hearing later Friday, where more details were expected to be released.
Shortly after his murder, family and neighbors held a vigil for Tellez and said they were creating a neighborhood watch program to combat crime.
“He was someone you always relied on,” Tellez’s niece Daisy Torres said then. “He loved to dance and parties, and was a very funny person.”