A 17-year-old boy accused of fatally shooting a man in Back of the Yards last summer was free at the time because a judge had removed his ankle monitor two weeks earlier, prosecutors say, making him the 24th person charged with killing or trying to kill someone in the city last year while on felony pretrial release.
Last June, Chicago police arrested 16-year-old Rogelio Galindo while he allegedly carried an AR-style pistol loaded with a 40-round magazine that bore no serial number or manufacturer markings. A juvenile court judge, whose name is unavailable because juvenile records are not open to public review, placed Galindo on electronic monitoring. Prosecutors said the monitor was removed about a month later. Two weeks after that, on August 10, 2025, authorities allege, Galindo fatally shot 21-year-old David Carmona in broad daylight near 48th Street and Damen Avenue.
According to a recently filed detention petition, surveillance video showed Galindo riding an electric scooter in the area around 6:30 p.m. as a red Dodge pickup truck circled the block. At some point, Galindo handed the scooter off to someone and walked out of frame, Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Rusch said in the filing.
Five minutes later, at 6:35 p.m., video showed Carmona leaving his home in the 4800 block of South Damen Avenue. At nearly the same moment, Galindo is seen stepping out of the red pickup truck that had been driving around. He began following Carmona at a brisk pace, Rusch said. Both men left camera view, and moments later, Carmona came running back into the frame as a single gunshot rang out. He fell to the ground screaming, reaching into his waistband to draw a firearm, Rusch said. He died the following day. Galindo was captured on multiple cameras fleeing the scene.
Detectives circulated a bulletin to officers across the city showing images of the gunman on the scooter in the minutes before the shooting, hoping someone might recognize him. Someone did. A sergeant in the district that covers Back of the Yards identified Galindo, Rusch said, because Galindo had previously argued with the sergeant over an arrest being carried out in the area.
“After that interaction,” Rusch said, “the sergeant familiarized himself with [Galindo] and saw him routinely while on patrol.”
And the two officers who had arrested Galindo six weeks before the killing for carrying that AR-style pistol? They recognized him, too.
Search warrants on Galindo’s social media accounts returned messages that prosecutors say point directly to his consciousness of guilt. Three days after the shooting, he allegedly sent a direct message reading, “I can’t go back in the neighborhood, I f***** up.”
Two days after the murder, Rusch said, he sent a TikTok message saying, “Got into some s***, gonna leave the city,” and, “It’s too late for a lot of s***. You will hear the news soon.”
Galindo, who currently lists a home address in Hickory Hills, was ordered detained on the murder charge by Judge Deidre Dyer.
In January, Galindo was adjudicated delinquent in the juvenile gun case. A juvenile court judge vacated that finding in April and sentenced him to court supervision instead, Rusch said.
The “not horrible” series
This report continues our coverage of individuals accused of killing, shooting, or trying to kill or shoot others on pretrial release for a felony allegation. CWBChicago began our series of reports in November 2019 after then-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 awaiting trial for felony allegations is undoubtedly much higher than the numbers seen here. Since 2017, CPD has brought charges in less than 6% of non-fatal shootings and 39% of murders, according to the city’s data. You can see all of the “not horrible” stories here.
Original reporting you’ll see nowhere else, paid for by our readers. Click here to support our work.
