CHICAGO — A Venezuelan migrant who was ordered deported in 2022 is living in Chicago where he is now on probation for possessing a loaded ghost gun and on pretrial release for allegedly battering his ex-girlfriend repeatedly over the course of several days, according to court records. Prosecutors asked judges in both cases to keep Pedro Colmenares in jail as a safety risk. Both judges denied those requests.
As if that weren’t enough, Fox News reported on Saturday that Colmenares, 33, is a “suspected Tren de Aragua gang member,” referring to the infamously violent Venezuelan prison and street gang.
Last October, Chicago cops arrested Colmenares in the 2400 block of South Pulaski after he ran from them with a loaded .45-caliber ghost gun in his crossbody bag, according to court records.
Judge Ankur Srivastava rejected the state’s detention petition and released Colmenares on an ankle monitor.
Less than two months later, the social service agency that gave Colmenares a place to stay while on electronic monitoring withdrew their offer after he failed to return from a day of “essential movement” that he is afforded under the SAFE-T Act, according to a sheriff’s office report reviewed by CWBChicago.
The sheriff’s office located Colmenares and arrested him at 1:05 a.m. on December 20—less than three hours after the service agency withdrew its housing offer. Colmenares allegedly told them he had gotten lost and could not find his way back from his friend’s house, where he went while on “essential movement.”
Colmenares quickly cut a deal with prosecutors to resolve the gun case. He pleaded guilty to aggravated unlawful use of a weapon on January 7, and Judge James Obbish sentenced him to 24 months of probation, 50 hours of community service, and 120 days in jail. The jail term was satisfied by the time Colmenares spent on electronic monitoring and in jail.
Last Monday, a Chicago police report says, CPD homicide investigators arrested Colmenares for questioning in connection with the murder of Yosber Jesus Ibarra Sanchez, a 25-year-old migrant who was shot to death in the 1300 block of North Parkside on September 29.
Ultimately, prosecutors determined that there was not enough evidence to charge Colmenares with the murder. However, the CPD report says, while Colmenares was in custody, the police learned that he was wanted in connection with another matter involving his ex-girlfriend.
In that case, Colmenares is accused of rolling up to the migrant shelter at 1308 North Elston on September 29, pointing a gun at his ex-girlfriend, and ordering her to “get inside the car or I’ll shoot you,” according to the police report and a detention petition filed by prosecutors last week.
Colmenares allegedly drove the woman to his apartment and kept her there, punching and kicking her about the body for “several” days, according to the petition.
While CPD considered filing kidnapping and other more serious charges, Colmenares is only charged with two counts of misdemeanor domestic battery, court records show.
Last Thursday, prosecutors asked Judge Sabra Ebersole to keep Colmenares in jail on the domestic battery case. She declined that request and released Colmenares with instructions to stay away from his ex-girlfriend and to turn in any weapons he may have.
