Murder charges have been filed against a hitman, who is an illegal immigrant, after prosecutors say he was paid $1,200 to kill a 46-year-old father in Beach Park.
Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Jeffrey Facklam said Oscar Ochoa-Tello, 46, of Beach Park, was sitting inside his vehicle in the driveway of his home in the 38400 block of North Sheridan Road in Beach Park on November 5.
Lake County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Chief Christopher Covelli said Ochoa-Tello was shot around 5:20 a.m. as his car was warming up and he was about to leave for work.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office was notified about the shooting a short time later after Ochoa-Tello was dropped off at Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan.
Ochoa-Tello was in critical condition and a medical helicopter was called to Vista Medical Center East to transfer him to Advocate Condell Medical Center, which is a Level 1 trauma center, Covelli said.
The victim remained hospitalized in the intensive care unit in extremely critical condition and died on Saturday afternoon from his multiple gunshot wounds.
Detectives recovered projectiles at the scene. They also spoke with Ochoa-Tello’s son.
The son heard the gunshots and saw his father had been shot, Facklam said. He rushed his father to the hospital by car.
Ochoa-Tello’s son told investigators that he had gone outside the prior morning and noticed a suspicious Saturn parked near his home.
The son followed the vehicle and took photos of the car. Detectives identified the car from the photos and used the Flock Safety license plate reader network, which confirmed the vehicle was in the area again around the time of the shooting.
Facklam said Cristian N. Ruvalcava Torres, 28, of Mount Pleasant, Wisconsin, was identified as the owner of the vehicle. He also has an alias last name of Ruval-Cavatorres.
Detectives notified area law enforcement that the vehicle was used in the homicide.
Covelli said the Mount Pleasant Police Department located Ruvalcava Torres operating a different vehicle.
Police conducted a traffic stop and took Ruval-Cavatorres into custody for driving on a suspended license.
Lake County sheriff’s detectives traveled to Wisconsin and interviewed Ruvalcava Torres.
Ruvalcava Torres admitted he was in the Saturn, exited the car and approached Ochoa-Tello after spotting the victim leaving his home to get into his car, Facklam said.
Ruvalcava Torres said he fired multiple shots at Ochoa-Tello. The suspect also told detectives where they could find the Saturn and the murder weapon.
Search warrants were conducted and the Saturn was found in a barn, Facklam said. A revolver was also located in the area and that type of weapon aligns with the fact that no shell casings were recovered at the shooting scene.
They also recovered a telephone that Ruvalcava Torres likely used to communicate with the person who hired him to commit the murder, Covelli said.
Facklam said Ruvalcava Torres told detectives that he was hired by someone else to kill Ochoa-Tello.
Ruvalcava Torres admitted he drove to the area where Ochoa-Tello lived on the day on November 4 but did not go through with the shooting at that time and then returned on November 5 to carry out the hit.
Ruvalcava Torres said he was paid $1,200 after the murder. Investigators made some corroboration that he may have made several payments to clear some debt in cash shortly after the murder, Facklam said.
The suspect was given a photo of Ochoa-Tello so he knew who to kill, Facklam said. The suspect also detailed how he obtained the gun.
Ruvalcava Torres was initially held in the Racine County, Wisconsin, Jail following his arrest on a federal hold because he has a current pending removal order.
The man, who is a Mexican national, has prior inadmissible alien charges from 2019 and again this year, Facklam said.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) took custody of him and transported him to the Lake County Jail on Tuesday.
“The defendant’s actions in this case… to agree to murder someone he doesn’t know for, frankly, a nominal sum of money, shocks the conscience and is such a blatant disregard of our laws,” Facklam said.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office initially approved charges against Ruvalcava Torres for attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and aggravated discharge of a firearm.
After the victim died in the hospital, the state’s attorney’s office on Monday filed upgraded charges of three counts of first-degree murder, a Class M felony.
The state’s attorney’s office filed a petition to detain Ruvalcava Torres pending trial, calling him a real and present danger to the community and arguing he is also a willful flight risk.
Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim granted the petition during a detention hearing on Wednesday and noted that the offense was a “pre-planned ambush event” with Ruvalcava Torres giving a full admission to the crime.
The judge also said Ruvalcava Torres had multiple opportunities not to go through with the murder but eventually did so anyway.
Nerheim said that while Ruvalcava Torres has minimal criminal history in the United States, his illegal status in the country shows he is a willful flight risk.
A public defender representing Ruvalcava Torres made no arguments in court, only saying that his client denies the allegations and maintains his innocence.
Covelli said detectives located the suspect who hired Ruvalcava Torres in the 1600 block of Park Avenue in North Chicago around 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
He was arrested but no charges have been filed as of Wednesday as investigators are continuing to gather additional evidence in the case.
“Senseless acts of violence have no place in our society. I am extraordinarily proud of the hard work of all our staff involved in this investigation,” Lake County Sheriff John D. Idleburg said.
“Our detectives swiftly uncovered a significant amount of evidence that led them to the offender, as well as to identifying and arresting the individual who ordered the shooting. We will continue to hold relentlessly violent offenders accountable,” Idleburg said.
Ruvalcava Torres remains held in the Lake County Jail and is scheduled to appear in court again on December 9 for a preliminary hearing.