15-year-old charged with killing Jhonny Guamán during botched Uptown robbery

Jhonny Guamán in Sheridan Park | Facebook

A 15-year-old boy is charged with fatally shooting a man during a botched robbery in Uptown last week, police said.

Jhonny Guamán, 20, was walking from work when two offenders emerged from a black Jeep and tried to rob him in the 900 block of West Belle Plaine around 2 p.m. on October 29.

Guamán struggled with the offenders over his backpack, and the juvenile shot Guamán one time in the chest, according to his friends and the medical examiner.

Police arrested the juvenile at 1:30 p.m. Thursday in the 1100 block of South Hamilton, according to a CPD statement. The Cook County Juvenile Court is located on that block. It is common for police to arrest people with outstanding warrants when they make court appearances on other charges.

CWBChicago reported Saturday that police were questioning four people in connection with Guamán’s death, including a juvenile who was believed to be the shooter. No charges have been brought against the other three persons who were questioned.

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Guamán, who worked two jobs, was on his way home from one workplace and had been scheduled to work his second gig later in the day, friends said.

Jhonny Guamán | Facebook

 “He was an incredibly nice, hardworking young man that died way too young–he was only 20 years old,” said Toni Siprut, a partner at Dog Haus Biergarten, in a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for Guamán’s funeral expenses.

“His family and his work family at Dog Haus Biergarten and Athenian Room will miss him dearly,” Siprut said.

A CWBChicago reader said Guamán served her at Athenian Room the week before he was killed.

“We gave him a huge tip. I hope that small token of our appreciation brought him some joy,” she said.

Guamán’s brother is raising money in a separate GoFundMe campaign to bring Jhonny’s body back to Ecuador for burial. 

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CWBChicago was created in 2013 by five residents of Wrigleyville and Boystown who had grown disheartened with inaccurate information that was being provided at local Community Policing (CAPS) meetings. Our coverage area has expanded since then to cover Lincoln Park, River North, The Loop, Uptown, and other North Side Areas. But our mission remains unchanged: To provide original public safety reporting with better context and greater detail than mainstream media outlets. Our editorial email address is news@cwbchicago.com