Warrant issued for migrant gang member suspected of murder, sexual assault
An arrest warrant has now been issued for a suspected Tren de Aragua migrant gang member who was cut loose from custody in Chicago last week despite police believing they had probable cause to keep him detained in relation to a murder.
Pedro Colmenares, 33, a Venezuelan illegal migrant who already had a weapons charge against him when police cuffed him last week, is suspected of being involved in the shooting death of a 25-year-old Hispanic man last September, Fox News exclusively reported.
He is also suspected of kidnapping and sexually assaulting his former girlfriend.
Chicago police said probable cause existed to place Colmenares into custody for the murder of the Hispanic man, but ultimately the Cook County State's Attorney's office declined to press homicide charges, explaining they "carefully reviewed" the case and found insufficient evidence and "uncooperative witnesses."
Homeland Security had also tried to apprehend him on an ICE detainer for the weapons charges offense in October, but because of its sanctuary policy, Cook County refused to comply with the detainer and Colmenares was set free.
Immigration agents wanted Colmenares taken into their custody, having entered the U.S. illegally in September 2022. He was ordered deported by an immigration judge in November of that year, according to DHS.
While appealing the deportation ruling, he ended up in Chicago, where he was roaming freely.
But Fox News can now confirm that an arrest warrant has been issued for Colmenares, although the warrant is for the kidnapping and sexual assault of his former girlfriend last October in Chicago.
The court document reads that the Colmenares' warrant was issued for two offenses: aggravated kidnapping and aggravated criminal sexual assault with a firearm.
Colmenares is alleged to have pulled up in a car to the 27-year-old Hispanic woman and told her to get in "or I'll shoot you."
Police say he drove the woman against her will to a separate location on Chicago's West Side, where he allegedly "battered and sexually assaulted the victim" over several days.
Colmenares was ordered to appear in person before a judge on March 5 in Chicago. He was ordered to surrender weapons and stay away from the domestic abuse victim, according to a court document, but he was not assigned electronic monitoring.
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