DuPage County State’s Attorney Bob Berlin and West Chicago Chief of Police Colin Fleury announced today that Judge Joshua Dieden has granted the state’s motion to deny pre-trial release for a West Chicago teen accused of shooting to death two individuals last Saturday night. Xavier Arevalo, 17 (d.o.b. 6/27/2007) of the 400 block of Kenwood, is charged as an adult. Arevalo appeared in First Appearance Court this morning charged with two counts of First Degree Murder and one count of Attempt Armed Robbery with a Firearm (Class 1 Felony).
On November 9, 2024, at approximately 6:14 p.m., West Chicago police officers responded to a call of a disturbance in the 700 block of W. Forest Avenue. Upon their arrival officers observed a green Honda Civic with the driver’s side door ajar. Upon inspection of the Honda, officers found two deceased individuals, later identified as Alejandro Rios and Antonio Delgado in the car. Both men suffered apparent gunshots to their faces and chests. Officers also found two loaded firearms and several boxes of THC cartridges within the vehicle. Following an investigation into the murders, it is alleged that Arevalo and Ivan Ramirez, 18 (d.o.b. 5/19/2006) of the 800 block of Parkside Avenue, West Chicago, who is currently hospitalized for a gunshot wound, arranged to meet Rios and Delgado to purchase more than one thousand dollars’ worth of THC cartridges. It is alleged that the victims arrived at the W. Forest Avenue location in the Honda and that Arevalo and Ramirez approached the car. It is further alleged that Arevalo entered the front passenger’s seat of the Honda and Ramirez entered the rear driver’s side seat of the car. It is alleged that Ramirez told the victims, who were both armed, that this was a robbery. It is further alleged that Arevalo then shot Rios in the head and chest and shot Delgado in the chest multiple times. It is alleged that after the murders, Arevalo and Ramirez fled the scene on foot. A short time later, officers received information regarding a gunshot victim at a local hospital. Officers arrived at the hospital where they took Arevalo into custody without incident. The gunshot victim, later identified as Ramirez, remains at the hospital.
“The violent shooting death of two men, allegedly at the hands of a seventeen-year-old, will not be tolerated in DuPage County and will be prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” Berlin said. “Acts of extreme violence, as alleged in this case, not only effect the family of the deceased, but also blanket the entire community in fear and disbelief that such a horrible event happened just outside their front door. I offer my sincerest condolences to the family and friends of the victims on their loss. I thank the West Chicago Police Department for their outstanding efforts in piecing together what allegedly occurred last Saturday night that resulted in the murder of two men. I also thank the MERIT Forensic Investigation Unit and the Major Crimes Task Force for their assistance as well as Assistant State’s Attorney Kristin Sullivan for her efforts in securing first degree murder charges against Mr. Arevalo.”
“The tragic murders of these two men are a senseless loss of life that did not have to happen,” Fleury said. “While this was an isolated incident, that doesn’t make it any easier. Violent crime affects us all and no community should be subjected to the type of violence alleged in this case. I thank our West Chicago Detectives for their efforts on this case as well as the Major Crimes Task Force and the MERIT Forensic Investigation Unit for their assistance. I also thank State’s Attorney Bob Berlin and his team for their work on this case and their continued efforts in keeping our neighborhoods safe.”
Arevalo’s next court appearance is scheduled for December 9, 2024, for arraignment in front of Judge Brian Telander. Ramirez is charged with the same offenses as Arevalo and will appear in court sometime in the future.
Members of the public are reminded that this complaint contains only charges and is not proof of the defendant’s guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial in which it is the government’s burden to prove his or her guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
