A man on parole for a gun conviction handed a pistol to a 10-year-old child during a road rage confrontation, then took the gun back and used it to kill the other driver in Humboldt Park, prosecutors say. Keon Slater, 37, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Martin Guerrero, 22, of Morris, Illinois, who was shot twice in the chest around early on August 24, 2025, in the 3800 block of West Chicago Avenue.
Chicago police initially said that Guerrero had crashed his car and that a second vehicle pulled up, and the driver shot him. But Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Rusch told the court that surveillance video revealed a far different story.
According to Rusch, the video shows Guerrero driving his white Hyundai Elantra westbound on Chicago Avenue when he ran a red light and struck a black Hyundai Tucson, forcing that vehicle into a light pole. The Tucson was driven by a woman and had three passengers in the back seat, including a 10-year-old boy. Slater was in the front passenger seat, Rusch said.
After the crash, Slater got out of the car, took a gun from his waistband, and handed it to the 10-year-old, Rusch explained. Moments later, Slater allegedly took the gun back from the boy and ran toward Guerrero’s car.
As Slater ran, the 10-year-old could be heard on the video yelling “Keon! Keon!” before the sound of gunfire rang out seconds later, Rusch said. Two witnesses who were not involved in the crash also saw the shooting. One told investigators Guerrero was on his phone when Slater shot him, according to Rusch.
Slater fled the scene on foot, but investigators recovered a black iPhone from the Tucson that they tracked back to him. Genetic material recovered from the passenger-side airbag also came back consistent with Slater’s DNA, Rusch said.
The Tucson’s driver initially denied knowing Slater, but changed her account after investigators told her that audio captured her son yelling Slater’s name, and that her phone had been in repeated contact with Slaters, Rusch stated. The woman then acknowledged she had invited Slater to a party and was driving him home when the crash happened, Rusch said.
Slater has two prior convictions for being a felon in possession of a firearm. He received a five-year sentence in 2016 and a seven-year sentence in 2022, according to Rusch. He was on parole for the 2022 conviction at the time of the shooting.
Judge Ankur Srivastava detained Slater, calling the killing a “cold-blooded murder.”
