A Venezuelan migrant has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for trying to murder another migrant who killed his friend, also a migrant, on the South Side.
Both shootings occurred inside the same Washington Park apartment building where 911 callers reported armed migrants had “taken over” the complex months earlier. Those reports went viral online, sparking widespread mainstream media reports that dismissed the reports as false.
Henry Brito-Dominguez, 25, pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Carlos Reinaldo Maribal-Carvajal in exchange for the sentence from Judge Carol Howard, according to court records.
The chain of events began on November 11, 2024, when Maribal-Carvajal, 24, allegedly robbed and murdered Peter Sangronis-Medina inside the building in the 6100 block of South Martin Luther King Boulevard, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors allege Maribal-Carvajal took a firearm from Sangronis-Medina during the robbery and used the weapon to kill him inside his apartment. Maribal-Carvajal allegedly left and later returned to confirm Sangronis-Medina was dead before dragging his body outside and hurling it over the second-floor balcony into a “deliberately placed dumpster,” hoping to keep the murder from being discovered, a criminal complaint stated.
A GoFundMe campaign described Sangronis-Medina as “a hard working, respectful, family oriented and loving father who came to America looking for the American dream.” The fundraiser, organized by his employer, noted that Sangronis-Medina “had no family here” and sought to raise money to “help us get him back home to his family in Venezuela.”
While police painstakingly investigated the murder, Chicago’s street justice system was not so patient.
On November 19, eight days after the crime, somebody shot Maribal-Carvajal several times from behind inside the same apartment building in the 6100 block of South Martin Luther King.
On November 19, Brito-Dominguez shot Maribal-Carvajal several times from behind inside the same apartment building, prosecutors said. Chicago police officers who heard the gunfire allegedly found Maribal-Carvajal gravely wounded with a loaded handgun tucked in his waistband.
Prosecutors quickly charged Brito-Dominguez with the shooting. During a police interview, Brito-Dominguez admitted he shot Maribal-Carvajal because Maribal-Carvajal had killed Sangronis-Medina, according to a CPD report.
Both shootings occurred inside an apartment building that became the center of a viral controversy months earlier. On Labor Day 2024, 911 callers reported that “32 Venezuelans” were trespassing and “showing guns in the courtyard,” according to reports first published by @spotnewsonig. The reports quickly went viral on social media.
However, CPD said responding officers found no issues when they arrived at the scene.
The following day, Block Club Chicago published a story headlined, “No, Armed Venezuelan Migrants Did Not Take Over A Chicago Apartment Building.” That same day, the Chicago Tribune ran its own report: “Experts say anti-immigrant rhetoric led to viral — and incorrect — allegations of a migrant takeover.”
Maribal-Carvajal remains jailed as he fights murder charges in Sangronis-Medina’s death.
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