A man is accused of fatally shooting three men hired to do concrete work at his sister’s home in 2023 after a dispute over a $2,300 payment.
Vilmer Alcaraz is accused of shooting the men on Nov. 10, 2023 in the 8300 block of South Pulaski Road in Ashburn shortly after recieving a text from one of the victims asking: “Are you going to pay the money or not?” Cook County prosecutors alleged during Alcaraz’s initial appearance in court Sunday.
The men, identified by the Cook County medical examiner’s office as Juan Marrufo, 34; Fernando Patino, 28; and Carlos Orozco, 38, were found slumped in their vehicle on Pulaski about 4:25 p.m. by responding officers. Investigators recovered a cell phone on one of the victims that had been communicating with a number linked to Alcaraz, and Alcaraz’s sister’s address was found in a notebook also recovered in the vehicle. One of the victims was a neighbor of Alcaraz’s sister.
According to prosecutors, Alcaraz, 32, was seen on surveillance video the morning of the shooting arriving at his place of work wearing a gray puffer coat, dark pants and white and gray shoes. He then gets into a transport van that he uses for work and that only he drives.
Later that day, the transport van was seen on surveillance video outside his sister’s house, near the scene of the shooting. Alcaraz was captured on his sister’s cameras wearing the gray puffer and dark-colored pants. His face was clearly visible, prosecutors said.
Footage later captured Alcaraz leaving his sister’s house — wearing the same clothes — and walking through a nearby alley, where he pulled up the hood of his coat. The individual in the puffer is seen on surveillance footage walking toward Pulaski, where the men were inside a Buick Enclave.
The person in the gray puffer coat — which prosecutors believe to be Alcaraz — is seen on surveillance footage walking up to the Buick and talking with the men before pulling out a gun, firing several shots and fleeing.
Authorities allege Alcaraz then went back to the alley near his sister’s house and surveillance footage captured his face when he pulled down his hoodie. His sister’s surveillance cameras also captured him returning to her home. He was wearing the same puffer coat and dark pants, prosecutors said.
Investigators recovered six spent .40-caliber shell casings and two live rounds inside the Enclave. Phone records from one of the victims showed several communications with Alcaraz in the hours leading up to the slayings. The notebook recovered in the vehicle showed the parties had agreed to $2,300 for concrete work at Alcaraz’s sister’s house.
A warrant for Alcaraz’s arrest was approved on Jan 30, 2024. He was arrested Friday. Alcaraz has a valid FOID card and owns three guns, though none were linked to the shooting, according to prosecutors. One of Alcaraz’s work supervisors told investigators that Alcaraz owns and wears the same type of puffer coat that the assailant was seen wearing on surveillance video.
When he was arrested, Alcaraz allegedly admitted to the shooting, but said that it was done in self-defense because one of the men in the Buick had a gun on his lap, prosecutors said.
Alcaraz’s public defender expanded on that defense in court, alleging that there are more text messages that show the victims were demanding payment. The public defender also suggested that the men may have been following Alcaraz on the day of the shooting.
The public defender said Alcaraz was a life-long resident of Cook County who worked at a senior-living facility.
Associate Judge Shauna Boliker said that although evidence of a self-defense shooting might be revealed in the future, there was no such proof presented during her hearing and ordered Alcaraz held in custody pending trial.
Alcaraz was next due in court Wednesday.