A Venezuelan migrant charged with robbing a Lakeview man during a Facebook Marketplace meetup earlier this month received a complimentary upgrade Tuesday when federal prosecutors decided to pick up the case. Now 19-year-old Maykel Gonzalez Demaria is charged with Hobbs Act robbery and using a firearm during a violent crime for the August 5 holdup in the 700 block of West Belmont Avenue.
CWB Chicago first told you about the incident on August 9 after state prosecutors charged Demaria, whom U.S. officials deemed “inadmissible” at a Laredo, Texas, border crossing in 2023. And the victim’s split-second decision to snap a picture of the robber’s license plate helped cops catch him within minutes.
The 27-year-old victim made arrangements online to sell a MacBook for $550. At about 10:30 p.m., he met the prospective buyer, allegedly Demaria, in front of his home in the 700 block of West Belmont Avenue, prosecutors said. Demaria arrived alone in a blue Toyota Corolla, and the men communicated through translation apps on their phones.
Demaria allegedly asked the victim to open the front passenger door so he could inspect the laptop. The victim placed the MacBook on the passenger seat but kept one hand on it as Demaria looked it over and powered it on. Demaria also asked to see the charging block and cable before asking for the final price. When the victim said $550, Demaria allegedly reached into the back seat, pulled out a firearm, racked the slide, and pointed it at him.
The victim released the laptop, and Demaria motioned for him to close the passenger door, prosecutors said. As the victim complied, Demaria allegedly racked the slide again, ejecting a live round onto the passenger seat. The victim closed the door and watched the Corolla drive away. But he managed to take pictures of the car’s license plate, which he quickly provided to CPD
About 10 minutes later, officers spotted the Corolla and pulled Demaria over in the 2500 block of North Cannon Drive, about a block from the Lincoln Park Zoo. The victim was brought to the scene and identified Demaria as the robber, prosecutors said.
A search of the Corolla turned up a 9mm pistol with an extended magazine, the victim’s MacBook and the live round that had been ejected onto the passenger seat. The federal complaint filed Tuesday included CPD bodycam images of the laptop and gun allegedly being recovered from Demaria’s car. During an inventory of the vehicle, police also collected five cell phones and an HP laptop, according to CPD records. Police determined the pistol had been reported stolen in Milwaukee.
State prosecutors said earlier this month that Demaria was deemed “inadmissible” at a border crossing in Laredo, Texas, in November 2023. His current immigration status was not known. However, he has been arrested twice in Cook County since then, in 2024 and again in 2025, for driving without a license, the detention filing said.
Demaria has been detained in the Cook County Jail since his arrest by order of Judge Rivanda Doss Beal.
