A man on parole for aggravated discharge of a firearm opened fire on two people inside a Wrigleyville parking garage early on Thanksgiving morning, prosecutors said. No one was injured in the incident, which police initially believed may have been a carjacking attempt.
Rigoberto Toscano was intoxicated as he drove a car in bumper-to-bumper traffic that was heading for the garage exit at 1027 West Addison around 2:25 a.m., Assistant State’s Attorney Carolyn Nevin said.
At one point, Toscano began vomiting out of the driver’s side window, and he traded seats with his passenger, 42-year-old Mirna Guerrero Ruiz, Nevin said.
Guerrero Ruiz then allegedly bumped their car into the vehicle that was in front of them. According to Nevin, a 27-year-old woman and a passenger emerged from the other vehicle, and Guerrero Ruiz began pulling the woman’s hair as they argued about the fender-bender.
At that point, Toscano allegedly got out of his car with a gun and fired a shot toward the victims, who ran back to their own car to take cover.
Toscano, 37, then aimed at one of the victims and fired another shot that missed, Nevin said. The two victims ran out of the garage and sought help at the nearby Town Hall police station.
Nevin said the garage’s surveillance cameras recorded the incident.
As the victims ran for help, Toscano got into their car and moved it into a parking spot before returning to the driver’s seat of his own vehicle, Nevin said. Police officers who responded to calls of shots fired removed Toscano and Guerrero Ruiz from their car and took them into custody.
Nevin said that Guerrero Ruiz was in possession of a loaded handgun and one of the victims’ phone, wallet, and keys. Toscano refused to take field sobriety and Breathalyzer tests, according to Nevin.
Toscano is on parole after serving part of a 10-year sentence for aggravated discharge of a handgun into an occupied vehicle. He will be held without bail until the state reviews his parole status, Judge Maryam Ahmad said.
Prosecutors charged him with aggravated discharge of a firearm and misdemeanor DUI. The judge set bail in the new case at $500,000. That means Toscano will need to post $50,000 to go home on electronic monitoring when he becomes eligible for release.
Guerrero Ruiz is a 42-year-old mother of three who has no criminal background and works two part-time jobs to make ends meet, Assistant Public Defender Jessica Louis said.
Prosecutors charged her with burglary and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. Ahmad set her bail at $5,000. Guerrero Ruiz must post 10% of that to get out of jail on electronic monitoring.
