On the morning of October 7, 2017, 20-year-old Hispanic male Alexis Ceron-Salgado was fatally shot in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. At approximately 10:50 a.m., Ceron-Salgado was seated in the driver's seat of a vehicle parked in the 1800 block of South Throop Street. An assailant approached the vehicle and opened fire, striking Ceron-Salgado multiple times.
An 18-year-old Hispanic male, Manuel Mendoza, who was standing near the driver's side door, attempted to flee but was also shot multiple times. Both victims were pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation revealed that the shooting was gang-related. Ceron-Salgado and Mendoza were identified as members of the La Raza street gang, while the alleged shooter, 23-year-old Derek Paige, was identified as a member of the rival Almighty Ambrose street gang. Authorities believe the shooting was in retaliation for an incident the previous night in the South Side's Fuller Park neighborhood, where two men associated with the Ambrose gang were shot and seriously wounded.
Evidence collected at the scene included surveillance footage from a police-operated camera, which captured the shooting and showed the assailant touching the vehicle's fender. A fingerprint matching Paige's left thumb was recovered from the fender. Additionally, a witness who was nearby at the time of the shooting identified Paige as the shooter. Paige was arrested on March 28, 2018, and charged with two counts of first-degree murder. He was ordered held without bail pending trial.
While in custody, Paige was also charged with a third murder in connection with the August 20, 2017, shooting death of 30-year-old Benjamin Robles in the Brighton Park neighborhood. In that incident, Robles was shot multiple times while stopped at a red light, and the vehicle used in the shooting was later found burned. Cell phone records placed Paige in the area at the time of the shooting and near the location where the vehicle was found. A witness also identified Paige as the gunman in that case.
As of the latest available information, Derek Paige remains in custody awaiting trial for the murders of Alexis Ceron-Salgado, Manuel Mendoza, and Benjamin Robles.
