We first told you about Christopher Solis-Govea last summer after prosecutors said he escaped from electronic monitoring and shot a man in the face while awaiting trial for a felony gun case. He was the 29th person accused of shooting, killing, or trying to shoot or kill someone in Chicago while on felony bail last year.
A judge ordered him held without bail back then. But just four months later, another judge, Lawrence Flood, allowed him to pay a bond deposit of $5,000 to go home on electronic monitoring, court records show.
With the attempted murder and earlier gun case still pending, Solis-Govea was back in felony bond court Sunday because police allegedly found a gun, cocaine, and ammunition in his home after responding to a “shots fired” call.
A judge once again ordered him held without bail.
Evergreen Park officers surrounded Solis-Govea’s home Friday upon receiving calls of gunfire, Assistant State’s Attorney Sergio Gomez said. Police detained him after giving him verbal commands to exit the house, and then went inside to make sure everyone was OK, Garcia continued.
During the premise check, cops saw two “AK47-style rifles” in the home, so they secured a search warrant to investigate further, according to Garcia.
When they did, officers learned that the rifles were “BB guns, essentially,” he said. But they did find a real handgun, ammunition, and about a half-ounce of cocaine in the home, Garcia alleged.
Prosecutors charged him with Class X manufacture-delivery of cocaine and possession of ammunition Sunday. Garcia said the investigation into the handgun cops found is ongoing.
Solis-Govea has no criminal background and lives with his father and family in the residence, private defense attorney Kevin Bolger said.
Judge Susana Ortiz set bail on the new allegations at $50,000 with electronic monitoring required if he posts a 10% deposit bond. But she also ordered him held without bail on the attempted murder and gun cases until Judge Flood reviews the developments Monday.
Pending cases
Coincidentally, Judge Ortiz is the judge who set Solis-Govea’s bond when he was charged with felony gun possession in January 2021. Police allegedly caught him running from a stolen car with a loaded handgun, and Ortiz had some stern words for the then-18-year-old:
“I find someone of your age allegedly in possession of a loaded firearm constitutes a danger to themselves and the community as well,” the judge said, warning of “lifelong consequences should that firearm discharge.”
Four days later, Solis-Govea went home on electronic monitoring after posting a $1,000 bail deposit. Authorities declared him AWOL from electronic monitoring three days later.
Solis-Govea remained at large until July, when CPD’s fugitive apprehension unit arrested him for allegedly shooting a man in the face on March 3 — almost exactly two months after Judge Ortiz lectured him about the potential consequences of firing a gun.
Around 5:20 p.m. on March 3, Solis-Govea and his pregnant girlfriend were walking in the Gage Park neighborhood when the passenger of a passing car rolled down their window and yelled something to the woman, Assistant State’s Attorney Gail Bembnister said last summer.
The car’s driver pulled into his nearby destination, a gas station on 2700 block of West 51st Street, and got out of his car while his passenger remained seated.
That’s when Solis-Govea walked up to the passenger side of the car, pulled out a gun, and shot the passenger in his face, Bembnister said. Other than the passing comment the victim allegedly made to Solis-Govea’s girlfriend minutes earlier, they had never met before, Bembnister continued. She said the bullet entered the victim’s left cheek and fractured his jaw.
Detectives distributed surveillance images of the gunman to local cops and “multiple” Chicago police officers recognized Solis-Govea, Bembnister said. Solis-Govea’s girlfriend allegedly identified herself and Solis-Govea in surveillance images that showed the couple walking together before the shooting.
Judge Arthur Willis ordered Solis-Govea held without bail on a charge of attempted murder on July 21. He also held Solis-Govea without bail for violating the terms of bond in the gun case and held without bail on an escape warrant.
A grand jury returned a true bill on August 16, charging him with four counts of attempted murder, aggravated battery by discharging a firearm, and aggravated discharge of a firearm into an occupied vehicle, according to court records.
Judge Flood slashed Willis’ no-bail order to $50,000 with electronic monitoring on November 3. Solis-Govea went home after posting 10% of that amount two days later.
Chief judge’s claim
During a speech in January, Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans told a lunchtime crowd, “Not one person who has been charged with murder or even attempted murder has been ordered to electronic monitoring under the sheriff since October of last year.”
CWB Chicago reported that the judge’s claims were false — Solis-Govea was one of 20 people charged with murder or attempted murder who had been released on electronic monitoring since October, according to sheriff’s records. Evans later admitted that people had, in fact, been released.
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