Our list of people accused of killing, shooting, or trying to kill or shoot others while on felony bond is growing by two names today. Both cases involve allegations from 2020.
One of the men, charged this week, allegedly killed a witness who was scheduled to testify against another person who is on our list from 2020.
We found the other case while researching information for our recent reporting about murder defendants on electronic monitoring in Chicago. They are the 46th and 47th entries on 2020’s list.
#46
Prosecutors this week charged 19-year-old George Reyes with murdering a man who was a key witness in a murder case against his friend, Antonio Reyes. The Reyeses are not related.
At the time of the murder, George Reyes was on bail for a felony narcotics case, according to court records. We previously told you about Antonio Reyes when he became the 32nd entry on our 2020 list.
On Christmas Day 2020, an accomplice of Reyes’ lured the witness, 20-year-old Sebastian Serrano, to the 3300 block of West 52nd Street via a Snapchat conversation, Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy said this week.
When Serrano arrived, George Reyes walked up and shot him in the chest, back, arm, and legs, according to Murphy. Police, who responded to a ShotSpotter gunfire detection alert, found 11 shell casings near Serrano’s body.
About a week after the murder, police arrested Reyes on another narcotics charge, and he told cops that he had information about Serrano’s murder, Murphy said. In fact, he identified the shooter by name.
But the person he named was in prison at the time of the murder, so detectives became suspicious and began looking at him as a suspect.
Meanwhile, investigators searched Serrano’s phone and discovered the Snapchat calls and messages that brought him to the intersection. They charged 20-year-old Andres Giler with luring Serrano to his death in July 2021.
Giler allegedly told investigators that he lured Serrano to the intersection because Reyes, whom he called “gunner,” was going to kill Serrano for snitching, according to Murphy.
Before the murder, Antonio Reyes told George Reyes to “take care of” Serrano in a phone call from jail that authorities recorded, Murphy continued. Investigators found incriminating video and other evidence in George Reyes’ Snapchat records, too, Murphy said.
Reyes later told a witness that he “felt good” about Antonio Reyes’ murder case because Serrano was the only witness against him, Murphy said. But the veteran prosecutor told Judge Kelly McCarthy that he would refrain from detailing further witness statements to protect them from possible retribution.
Police nearly arrested Reyes after he crashed his car following a pursuit last summer. But he left the suburban hospital that was treating him for a broken femur before CPD completed their investigation, Murphy said. Cops finally caught up with him again this week in Blue Island.
Private defense attorney Richard Fenbert said Reyes is expecting a child in April.
McCarthy granted a state request to hold Reyes without bail.
#47
Raul Silveyra, now 28, is charged with first-degree murder in the stabbing death of 26-year-old Jasinto Ortiz on the morning of January 14, 2020. At the time of the alleged murder, Silverya was on bond for aggravated discharge of a firearm, according to court records.
During a bond hearing shortly after the alleged murder, prosecutors said Silveyra was smoking outside an Irving Park bar when Ortiz was denied entry. Silveyra allegedly invited Ortiz to join him for drinks at his apartment on the 3700 block of North Sacramento instead.
While they were drinking, the men began to argue, and a neighbor found Ortiz lying in the front yard of Silveyra’s apartment building after her doorbell rang around 4:30 a.m., according to the allegations. He had stab wounds to his stomach.
The neighbor, who was performing CPR on Ortiz when officers arrive, told cops that she thought Silveyra stabbed the man, according to a CPD arrest report. Officers followed a blood trail to Silveyra’s basement apartment and found Silveyra in a bedroom. There was blood on his shoes and in the bedroom, police said. Investigators allegedly found a knife wrapped in a sweatshirt hidden nearby.
Prosecutors said Silveyra told police that Ortiz punched him in the face when Silveyra told him to leave. He also had injuries to his face that may have been caused by a punch.
Judge Charles Beach set Silveyra’s bail at $200,000 with electronic monitoring on January 16, 2020. Silveyra remained in jail until his mother posted a 10% deposit bond in December 2020, according to court records.
At the time of the alleged stabbing, Silveyra was on bond for a case in which he was accused of firing a handgun during an argument at his home on May 7, 2019.
Police went to Silveyra’s address for calls of a disturbance and shots fired and heard Silveyra arguing with someone on the phone, according to a CPD report. They found Silveyra standing behind a car in his garage.
When cops told him to show his hands, they heard a metal object fall to the ground near where Silveyra was standing, the CPD report said. They asked Silveyra if he had any weapons and he allegedly said he had a Glock, which they said they found on the floor near him.
Police said Silveyra told them he fired his gun into the ground during the incident. They recovered one shell casing at the scene, according to CPD inventory records.
Silveyra went home by posting 10% of the $2,000 bail set by Judge Arthur Willis on May 9, 2019.
Editor’s note: This report continues our coverage of individuals who have been charged with murder, attempted murder, or trying to kill a person while on bond for a pending felony case. CWBChicago began our series of reports in November 2019 after Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans publicly stated, “we haven’t had any horrible incidents occur” under the court’s bond reform initiative.
The actual number of murders and shootings committed by people on felony bail is undoubtedly much higher than the numbers seen here. Since 2017, CPD has made arrests in just 4% of shootings and 31% of murders, according to the city’s data. You can support CWBChicago’s work by becoming a subscriber today.
Previous 2020 cases
- At least 32 people charged with murder in Chicago last year were free on bail at the time of the killings (January 5, 2021)
- #33: We find another man accused of committing murder while on affordable bail in 2020 (January 9, 2021)
- Another man, free on bail for two felonies, charged with killing retired fireman in botched carjacking (January 22, 2021)
- #36: Man killed rival gang member while on bail for felony gun charge, prosecutors say (April 5, 2021)
- #37: Fellow gang member killed rapper Tray Savage while on bond for felony drug case, prosecutors say (April 26, 2021)
- #38: Man killed 20-year-old in Albany Park drive-by, prosecutors say (April 28, 2021)
- #39: No bail for man charged with shooting off-duty CPD officer in Brighton Park robbery attempt (Sun-Times)
- #40: Five-time felon, on electronic monitoring for gun case, killed man during Christmastime home invasion, prosecutors say (June 16, 2021)
- #41: AWOL on felony case for over a year, man’s accused of murdering one, shooting two others (June 30, 2021)
- #42: Man’s charged with two separate shootings while AWOL on burglary charge (September 8, 2021)
- #43: Prosecutors charge man with murdering woman in expressway shooting — while on felony bond (September 22, 2021)
- #44: Feds say man killed 1, wounded 2 outside Oak Street boutique — while on bail for felony gun case and on parole (October 14, 2021)
- #45: Man fatally shot his own passenger while trying to shoot another driver, prosecutors say. And he was on felony bond when it happened. (December 31, 2021)