A Venezuelan man accused of killing a 25-year-old man in front of two witnesses as he pleaded for his life was sentenced to 33 years in prison Wednesday, according to court records. Kevin Perez Paredes, 26, received the sentence from Cook County Judge Ursula Walowski in exchange for his guilty plea.
Prosecutors said surveillance footage showed the victim, Crismer Nieves, entering an Englewood gas station around 6:35 p.m. on September 10, 2024, shortly before several people, including Perez Paredes, arrived in two SUVs.
Several people got out of the vehicles, mingled, and then returned to the cars. One of them, who prosecutors said was not Perez Paredes, put on a ski mask while in view of a surveillance camera.
Around that time, Nieves walked out of the gas station and exchanged greetings with Perez Paredes, slapping hands and having a brief conversation, prosecutors said. But when Perez Paredes opened his car door, video showed Nieves suddenly running.
The two SUVs followed him out of camera range. About two blocks away, two people were sitting in a car in the 7100 block of South Yale Avenue when an SUV pulled in front of them. The witnesses told investigators they saw a gunman get out of the passenger seat while Nieves was on the ground with his hands raised, unarmed and yelling, “No! No! No!”
Perez Paredes shot Nieves multiple times, striking him in the head and arm as he was pleading, prosecutors said.
Chicago police obtained the SUVs’ license plate numbers from gas station video and eventually located the Jeep with Perez Paredes behind the wheel and the man prosecutors said had put on the ski mask riding in the passenger seat.
Neither witness was able to identify Perez Paredes in photo lineups. However, prosecutors said Perez Paredes admitted to police that he was the shooter, and detectives found text messages on his phone in which he allegedly admitted to the shooting.
Perez Paredes must serve 100% of his sentence under Illinois law.
