As the man accused of killing Chicago police officer Luis Huesca appeared in court Friday, prosecutors detailed what they say happened in the moments before and after the fatal shooting.
Xavier Tate Jr., 22, appeared in court Friday on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated vehicular hijacking and possession of a stolen firearm.
There, prosecutors offered a detailed timeline of Tate’s whereabouts in the moments before, during and after Huesca’s murder.
Before the Huesca murder
According to prosecutors, Tate was caught on surveillance video hours before the killing while walking in the city’s 8th Ward. There, he went to a convenience store in the 3000 block of West 63rd Street, wearing what they described as a “distinctive outfit”, which included a black Guess jacket with a white Guess logo on the sleeve, a dark gray hoodie and black Nikes. shoes with white and blue detail. He was also carrying a black backpack and another gray jacket.
At the store, Tate used his mother’s credit card to buy a pack of gum.
About an hour and a half later, he was seen in the same outfit in the 5800 block of South Sawyer, where a resident saw him changing clothes. The resident thought the scene was suspicious and went outside and took a photo at that point, prosecutors said. In the photo, the same man is now wearing “distinctive Burberry shoes” instead of Nike shoes and the gray jacket he was wearing had been pulled over his head.
At midnight on April 21, Tate entered another convenience store at 2801 W. 59th Street, wearing the new outfit. He used his mother’s bank card again to buy a bottle of water.
Over the next two hours, prosecutors said video from multiple surveillance cameras captured Tate “walking” around the neighborhood again before entering a Walgreens at 5424 S. Kedzie to buy a “good” bottle of water using his mother’s card. A few minutes later, he is seen leaving the store and walking two blocks toward Huesca’s home.
Time of Murder
Just before 3 a.m., Huesca was captured driving past Tate and turning onto 56th Street before parking his Toyota in his driveway. Prosecutors said Tate was seen following Huesca’s vehicle and approaching the officer on the driver’s side of the car.
That’s when ten shots were fired at Huesca, hitting him in the head, chest, arms and thighs, prosecutors said.
“A neighbor in the area heard gunshots and looked out the window to see (Huesca) lying on the ground next to the vehicle. The neighbor then observed a male offender wearing a gray top and black pants, standing at the feet of (Huesca),” said a proposal read in court. “The neighbor then saw (Tate) get into the driver’s seat of the Toyota and flee the scene.”
As police responded to a ShotSpotter alert at the scene, they found Huesca’s body.
A six-year veteran of the force, Huesca had just finished his tour of duty and was returning home in uniform when the shooting occurred. His Toyota SUV and gun were stolen following the shooting, authorities said.
At the scene, 10 .40 caliber shell casings were recovered and a ballistic analysis showed that all 10 came from the same firearm. DNA evidence from the shell casings showed Tate’s DNA was present, prosecutors and police said.
After the death of Huesca
According to the offer, Tate was seen on several surveillance cameras fleeing in the Toyota vehicle in the minutes after the shooting. He was seen heading towards a secluded alley, where the car was abandoned several minutes after the murder.
The video showed Tate “arriving, parking and circling the vehicle for a few minutes before walking toward Mozart,” the release said, noting that hand sanitizer and a box of disinfectant wipes were later found inside the vehicle.
Less than eight minutes after the shooting, Tate was seen exiting the alley with his backpack and a jacket in hand, where he then paced, triggering a motion-detection camera that showed his clothes beginning to change, prosecutors said.
“As the motion-activated video stops and starts, (Tate’s) clothing begins to change. (Tate) is no longer wearing the light gray jacket and his Burberry shoes have been replaced by the distinctive Nike shoes from earlier in the evening.” says the proposition. “(Tate) is captured rummaging through a black backpack. When the motion activation times out and restarts a few minutes later, a ‘Nice’ water bottle remains where (Tate) had been captured leaning over. Police then recovered the ‘Nice’ water bottle, the same brand (Tate) had purchased with his mother’s EBT card seven minutes before the murder.
It was this bottle that served as a stopping point for the police.
“After locating video of Tate in the area of the shooting, detectives traced his movements to a business where he had purchased a bottle of water using a relative’s credit card,” the chief said. detectives Antoinette Ursitti during a press conference. “Detectives identified Tate through the relative who authorized Tate to use the bank card.”
Some of the clothes Tate was seen wearing earlier in the night were recovered from a trash can in the 5600 block of South Mozart.
Tate was later seen stealing a bicycle from an area garden. The video showed him throwing the bike over a fence and into an alley, the same fence where a palm print was later discovered by police.
Multiple cameras captured Tate riding his bike to his cousin’s home in the 5500 block of Morgan Street. There, police say the stolen bike was found in a footbridge.
Prosecutors said Tate eventually ordered an Uber from his cousin’s home to the 10800 block of South Hale.
Five days later, police recovered Huesca’s gun from Tate’s “friend,” Caschaus Tate, who was ultimately charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. The same day, an arrest warrant was issued for Xavier Tate.
Police said that between April 21 and May 2, they learned Tate had traveled to Wisconsin, Iowa and Rockford, Illinois, before finally being arrested Wednesday in a apartment complex in Glendale Heights.
Police say Tate was arrested without incident Wednesday evening at the Ellyn Crossing Apartments.
Two law enforcement sources told NBC Chicago that Tate was hiding in an apartment in the complex, under the kitchen sink.
According to sources, Tate said “please don’t hurt me” when officers found him.
“The past week has been unimaginable for Officer Huesca’s family. Amid their grief, they had to deal with the added burden of knowing that his killer was still free,” said Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling said Friday. “That changed Wednesday evening. Following a multistate manhunt, CPD and the U.S. Marshal Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force tracked Tate to the apartment in Glendale Heights, Wash. Illinois. And Luis was with them. Tate was arrested in handcuffs.
The person who was harboring Tate at the time of his arrest was also charged in DuPage County with concealing and aiding a fugitive, police said.
Tate was ordered held without bail Friday in court.
NBC Chicago
