Bail was denied Friday for a man accused of initiating a shootout with Chicago police officers trying to arrest him and two others in a stolen car on Lower Wacker Drive.
Edgardo Perez, 24, faces a count of attempted murder of a police officer in Wednesday night’s incident, which was captured on surveillance video. Perez was shot at least three times and appeared at a Friday court hearing in a wheelchair.
The alleged driver, Noel Centeno, 20, faces charges of possession of a stolen vehicle. He denied carjacking anyone and claimed to have found the car earlier in Skokie with keys in it.
Another passenger, Jesse Sanchez, 21, was charged with aggravated use of a weapon after officers allegedly found a revolver in the backseat.
Around 9 p.m. Wednesday, a license plate reading camera tipped off police that a car stolen earlier that day was traveling in the Loop, Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy said in court.
Officers found the car and stopped in front of it on Wacker near Columbus Drive. Centeno put the car in reverse and crashed into the car behind him, Murphy said. An officer stepped out of an SUV and approached the stolen car, telling the occupants to raise their hands.
Video from the officer’s body camera shows Perez fire once, and the side window shatter from a gunshot within, Murphy said. The officer dove to avoid the gunfire and grabbed his shoulder. He was not shot but had been struck in the eye by shattered glass, Murphy said.
The officer and several other officers returned fire, Murphy said. Perez was struck in the chest, arms and legs and taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Another officer was taken to a hospital for a rapid heart rate.
Police recovered a 9mm Glock with an extended magazine and laser sight in the car, Murphy said. One spent shell casing found in the car allegedly matched that gun. Another gun, a silver revolver, was found next in the back near Sanchez, Murphy said.
At the time of the shooting, Centeno was on bond for a pending gun case from September, Murphy said. He violated his curfew on Jan. 13 and an arrest warrant was issued Jan. 18.
Centeno attended Mather High School through the 9th grade and has been unemployed during the pandemic, his attorney said.
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Judge Susana Ortiz ordered him held on $250,000 bail on the new charge, with electronic monitoring as a condition of release.
Sanchez denied knowing anything about the stolen car but told detectives the revolver found in the car was his, Murphy said.
Sanchez attended Ombudsman High School through the 9th grade and worked at a staffing agency, his attorney said.
He was ordered held on $50,0000 bond, with electronic monitoring if released. He was also charged with drug charges and a misdemeanor count of criminal trespassing in a vehicle.
Perez is also charged with unlawful use of a weapon and a misdemeanor count of criminal trespassing in a vehicle.
Perez’s only previous conviction was a misdemeanor criminal damage to property charge from 2016, for which he received a year of supervision. Before his arrest, he worked for five years as a metal worker, his attorney said.
They are expected in court again Feb. 16.
