One of three people charged with firing shots at a liquor store, leaving five people injured in Back of the Yards last year, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison, plus another five years for a gun case he had pending at the time of the shooting.
Luis Vargas, 25, reached a deal with prosecutors, becoming the first of the accused to resolve cases stemming from the March 14 shooting at Goldmore Food & Liquors, 1949 West 51st Street.
The events leading up to the shooting, which was caught on video, began at approximately 8:22 p.m., when the store manager saw seven people enter and surround three customers playing gambling machines, officials said. At that point, prosecutors said, Vargas verbally confronted one of the victims, lifted his shirt to flash a firearm in his waistband, and ordered the man outside to fight. The argument escalated when one of the victims also raised his shirt to reveal a gun, prosecutors said.
The manager then directed customers and staff to a back room and called 911. While he was on the phone with 911, members of both groups were seen passing firearms among themselves, prosecutors said.
Surveillance video showed 21-year-old Angela Flores pulling out a gun, racking the slide, and opening fire on victims who had been playing gaming machines inside the store, prosecutors said. As the group of seven fled, Vargas fired shots from outside the store, and Alonso Molina, 20, opened fire, too, prosecutors said. One of the victims returned fire, striking Flores in the heel, pelvis, and hip, officials said.
Detectives reviewing surveillance footage recognized Vargas making hand gestures insulting the Gangster Disciples street gang, prosecutors said. The video also showed one of the victims displaying hand signs representing the gang, according to a CPD report.
The manager told police that members of the two groups, including Vargas, had previously argued inside the store but had never displayed weapons or made death threats.
Nearly a year before the shooting, prosecutors said Vargas gave a written confession to having a defaced firearm in a crossbody bag that he tossed while running from officers in the 5400 block of South Winchester Avenue. Court records show he was released when prosecutors dropped the case months later. But the state refiled the charges in August 2024. Vargas appeared in court for the refiling, but he left before his detention hearing, and a judge signed an arrest warrant that remained active at the time of the shooting, according to court records.
Vargas has now pleaded guilty to aggravated battery by discharging a firearm in connection with the shooting. Prosecutors dropped 18 other felony charges, including multiple counts of attempted murder, as part of the deal. He must serve 85% of the 10-year sentence handed down by Judge Ursula Walowski. He will serve half of the five-year sentence she gave him for the gun case, giving him a projected parole date of February 22, 2036.
Molina and Flores continue to fight the allegations against them.
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