Crispin Coliz

Crispin Coliz Jr., a 28-year-old Hispanic man from Cherry Valley, Illinois, was a truck driver known as a great father and the "life of the party." He was a devoted family man with two daughters, aged one and six at the time of his death. His life was cut short in a senseless act of violence on the night of December 16, 2016, the eve of what would have been his 29th birthday.

That night, Crispin had been at a Chicago Bulls game with several friends and cousins. On the way home after 10 p.m., the group stopped in two cars at a convenience store in Chicago's Dunning neighborhood, near the intersection of Grace Street and Harlem Avenue. Inside, Crispin and two cousins encountered Jose Martinez and Santo Lozoya. The interaction grew hostile when Martinez motioned toward his waistband, implying he had a gun, and Lozoya pulled out a firearm and racked the slide. When Crispin briefly returned to his car to get his wallet, Martinez confronted him and his cousins, questioning their gang affiliation. They ignored the query, completed their purchase, and left the store.

Crispin got into his car with four friends, and a second car with three others followed. By this time, Martinez and Lozoya’s white Jeep was gone from the parking lot. As Crispin’s group drove down the 7200 block of West Grace Street, the Jeep reappeared, pulling up alongside their car. Witnesses recognized Lozoya behind the wheel and Martinez in the passenger seat. An arm extended from the passenger window with a gun, and four or five shots were fired at Crispin’s vehicle.

A single bullet struck Crispin in the temple, causing him to lose control of his car and crash. Residents who heard the collision called 911. Crispin was transported to Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, where he was pronounced dead at 10:39 p.m. Chicago Police Department’s Area North detectives launched a homicide investigation, recovering two different caliber shell casings at the scene.

The investigation led to the arrests of Santo Lozoya, 19, and Jose Martinez, 23, in March 2017. They were identified as members of the Milwaukee Kings street gang who, according to prosecutors, committed the murder to enhance their status within the gang. They were initially charged with first-degree murder. The case was later taken over by federal authorities as part of a larger racketeering investigation into the Milwaukee Kings.

In 2019, Lozoya, Martinez, and two other gang members were charged in a federal indictment that linked them to three murders and two attempted murders. Prosecutors revealed that Lozoya and Martinez had commemorated Crispin’s murder by getting matching "trophy tattoos" on their faces—the Cross of Lorraine, the logo from a bottle of D'Usse liquor they bought that night.

Both men ultimately pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy in connection with the murder. During Lozoya’s sentencing hearing, Crispin's family testified about their profound and lasting grief. "You don’t deserve to know how much we have cried, how broken we are," his sister, Elena Coliz, stated in court. Before receiving his sentence, Lozoya read an apology, claiming he was "misled and derailed" into gang life and hoped for the family's forgiveness. The judge called the crime a callous act showing "absolute disregard for a human life."

In August 2021, Santo Lozoya was sentenced to nearly 33 years in federal prison. Jose Martinez also pleaded guilty and was awaiting sentencing as of that date. With the successful prosecution of his killers, Crispin Coliz's case is considered solved.