Overview
- Jose Medina pleaded not guilty Wednesday at a brief arraignment, and he remained in Cook County custody as Sheridan Gorman’s parents looked on.
- Prosecutors charged him with first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault, and unlawful gun possession, and he also faces a federal count for illegally possessing a firearm, with the next court date set for June 1.
- Investigators say surveillance video, witness accounts, and a handgun found during a court-approved search the day after the shooting tie him to the March 19 killing on the Rogers Park pier.
- Prosecutors allege he hid near a lighthouse while wearing black and a mask, then fired one shot as the teens ran, striking Gorman in the back.
- Homeland Security says he is a Venezuelan national without legal status who was detained and released by Border Patrol in 2023 and later arrested for shoplifting, while the family urged accountability without turning their daughter’s death into a partisan fight even as national figures weighed in.