Alberto Flores

Alberto Flores, a 16-year-old Hispanic male from Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood, was shot and killed on the evening of February 21, 2021. The shooting happened around 5:10 p.m. as Alberto was walking in the 3300 block of West 30th Street.

According to Cook County prosecutors, Alberto encountered Santos Chavez, a 27-year-old man driving a white Chevrolet Impala. After Alberto flashed a Latin King gang sign, Chavez, a reputed member of the rival Two-Six street gang, allegedly rolled down his window and fired a weapon. Alberto was struck in the chest. Prosecutors believe a second shot may have been fired as Chavez drove away from the scene. Alberto collapsed and was rushed to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Area Four detectives launched an investigation into the homicide. Several months after the shooting, two individuals who had been with Alberto identified Santos Chavez as the gunman. Authorities noted that Chavez was known to members of the Latin Kings because he had previously been part of their gang before defecting to the Two-Six gang. The case against him was strengthened by surveillance footage from a private camera that captured the shooting from a distance, as well as police POD cameras and license plate readers that tracked his Impala traveling to and from the area.

Nearly a year later, in January 2022, Chavez was arrested by the Great Lakes Fugitive Apprehension Task Force in Joliet, Illinois, and charged with first-degree murder. During his initial court appearance, Chavez’s attorney questioned the delay in charging his client, stating that Chavez, a father of six who worked as a forklift driver, had not been in hiding. A judge ordered him held without bail to await trial.

The case concluded with Santos Chavez being convicted of second-degree murder in the death of Alberto Flores. A judge sentenced him to 20 years in prison.