By LUKE WILUSZ
Chicago Sun-Times Wire
A gang member already in custody for a 2012 murder is now the second person to be charged with robbing and killing 68-year-old Cayetano Sandoval as he was returning home from work in Logan Square in late 2013.
Mario Ortega | Cook County sheriff's office
Mario Ortega, 20; and Joshua Johnson, 23, approached Sandoval after he parked his car in the 1900 block of North Spaulding Avenue around 2 a.m. on Dec. 12, 2013, coming home from his job at a bakery, according to Cook County court documents. Prosecutors said Ortega, also known as “King Krazy,” and Johnson are both Latin Kings.
Ortega ran up behind Sandoval and began to punch him repeatedly “without provocation” while Johnson held him down and went through his pockets, according to prosecutors. Witnesses reported hearing Sandoval screaming for help.
After he finished beating Sandoval, Ortega stood over the man–who was “still lying on the ground writhing in pain”–and fired several shots at him, prosecutors said. Sandoval was struck four times in the chest and body.
Joshua Johnson | Cook County sheriff's office
Ortega was arrested about 10 hours after the shooting on an unrelated narcotics charge and was later charged with murder for a 2012 shooting in the Humboldt Park neighborhood, prosecutors said. In that incident, he was charged with shooting a man to death in the 4600 block of West Ohio on Sept. 20, 2012. He has remained in custody ever since.
He is now charged with the murder and attempted armed robbery of Sandoval, according to prosecutors.
Johnson was charged with murder and attempted robbery last month when he appeared in court in Rolling Meadows on an unrelated case, the Chicago Sun-Times reported at the time.
A person who personally knows both suspects witnessed the shooting from a parked car nearby and identified Ortega and Johnson, prosecutors said. The crime was also captured on surveillance video from a local bar.
Cayetano Sandoval
A friend whose home the two suspects were at before and after the shooting also gave police a statement, prosecutors said, and Johnson admitted he struck Sandoval and held him down while Ortega shot him.
Both men are being held without bond, according to the Cook County sheriff’s office. Johnson was expected to appear in court Friday, while Ortega’s next court date is scheduled for July 9 in Skokie.