An alleged gang member with Down syndrome has been charged with murdering two men in Chicago.
Samudio — who has been diagnosed with the genetic disorder, according to his public defender — was arrested following a police chase in a stolen vehicle after the second shooting.
He was indicted last Tuesday and Friday on felony murder counts for the two shootings, according to the newspaper.
The alleged gangbanger is well known to Chicago police and has been suspected of killing a person before.
Nicholas “Smush” Samudio, a reputed member of the Latin Kings, has been indicted on a slew of felony murder charges in the Feb. 16 fatal road-rage shooting of Humberto Marin-Garcia and the Feb. 26 slaying of Tomas Villa in a possible case of mistaken identity, the Chicago Sun Times reported.
More recently, Samudio is accused of shooting Marin-Garcia dead on I-55 near Lock Street in a fit of road rage.
He reportedly killed the man in front of his pregnant wife, who was sitting in the passenger seat, but was unharmed.
Ten days later, Samudio and an associate, 21-year-old Moses Maldonado, targeted Villa because they incorrectly believed he was in a rival gang, the local publication reported.
On February 16th, Samudio is accused of shooting Humberto Marin-Garcia, 28, dead following a road rage incident in the Bridgeport section of the city, while on February 26th he allegedly shot-and-killed Tomas Villa, 22, in the North Lawndale neighborhood after mistaking him for a member of a rival gang.
Samudio was arrested, alongside an alleged accomplice, Moses Maldonado, 21, hours after Villa’s death when Chicago police spotted them riding in a stolen Chrysler 300.
During his first hearing in court, Samudio’s lawyer disclosed that his client had been diagnosed with Down syndrome, a condition that causes both mental and physical disabilities. His lawyer also said that Samudio worked for both a demolition company and as a furniture mover.
The suspect is charged with felony murder, attempted murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm.
Online records show that Samudio has been arrested 17 times since his 18th birthday.
On Tuesday, Chicago voters rejected candidate Paul Vallas, who had promised a tough stance on crime in the Windy City in favor of Brandon Johnson, the progressive community organizer who is seeking more funding for mental health and youth programs to combat the city’s crime epidemic.
Samudio was previously regarded as a person of interest in the 2020 murder of Jean Carlo Cobian in the McKinley Park neighborhood but he was never charged in the case.
Cobian was found with a gunshot to the back of his head close to his parked car. His family said that he was on his way home when he was killed, reports NBC Chicago. Maldonado meanwhile has been on parole since October 2022. In addition, he is soon to become his father, according to his lawyer.
Following the shooting of Garcia on February 16th, Samudio had been eyed by police following an ‘extensive investigation,’ reports the Chicago Sun-Times.
The newspaper’s report says that Garcia was killed after ‘a road-rage conflict that spilled onto the expressway’ around 9:30pm. Police said that they driver’s side window of Garcia’s gray SUV was shot out and that the car was found after coming to a stop on the expressway.
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