Anthony Pedroza, a 23-year-old White man from Zion, Illinois, was described by his family as a man full of love with a heart of gold and a smile that was beyond this world. A graduate of New Tech High School, where he earned a cooking certificate, he was a beloved family man. His loved ones, including his mother, brothers, and grandmother, were left to honor his memory after his life was cut short by gun violence.
In the early morning hours of Christmas Eve, December 24, 2022, a physical altercation broke out at the front door of Stretch’s Sports Bar and Grill on North Green Bay Road in Waukegan. The incident, which occurred around 2:20 a.m., was between Anthony Pedroza and another man, Robert Sudduth. According to prosecutors who reviewed surveillance footage, Pedroza punched Sudduth, who was reaching into his coat. Pedroza then walked away and entered a car driven by Victor Ramirez.
When Pedroza and Ramirez returned to the front door, Sudduth pushed Pedroza and shot him.
Waukegan police officers responded to the scene and found Pedroza with a gunshot wound. They immediately began lifesaving measures until paramedics arrived. Pedroza was transported by the Waukegan Fire Department to Vista Medical Center East, where he was pronounced dead. The Lake County Coroner’s Office later confirmed that he died from a single gunshot wound to the chest. A second victim, a Waukegan man in his 20s, was also injured in the incident. He drove himself to the same hospital with non-life-threatening injuries before police arrived.
The Waukegan Police Department’s Criminal Investigations Division and Major Crime Scene Unit launched an investigation. Two days after the shooting, on December 26, they took Robert B. Sudduth, a 30-year-old from Waukegan, into custody. He was charged with murder and unlawful use of a weapon. A judge set his bond at $2 million.
Further investigation led to charges against a second man. Prosecutors stated that after Sudduth shot Pedroza, Victor Ramirez, 27, of Waukegan, returned to his car, retrieved a gun, and fired at Sudduth’s occupied vehicle. Ramirez was subsequently charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm in the direction of an occupied vehicle and two counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.
As of January 2023, both men had been charged in connection with the incident, and the case was proceeding through the court system. Anyone with information is asked to call the Waukegan Police Department tip line at 847-360-9001.
