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EAST CHICAGO -- Despite efforts of his family to shield him from gangs in the city, a 17-year-old boy was gunned down on his porch in front of his mother and girlfriend Monday night.
Martin Navarro Jr., of the 700 block of West 151st Street, was shot in the chest and pronounced dead at 8:44 p.m. at St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago.
Navarro's girlfriend told police they were sitting on the front porch about 8 p.m., when a light-skinned Hispanic or black man emerged from the east side of the house. She said the man stopped just short of the front steps and fired a chrome-plated revolver five or six times. He fled around back to a waiting car, she said.
Family members gathere
on the front porch Tuesday morning. As two red candles in tall glass containers flickered on the window sill, they pointed to a bullet hole in the living room window that narrowly missed Navarro's moth
er.
"He said, 'Mom, I got sh
ot. They got me,'" said Navarro's sister, Cita Rivera. "My mom then came outside and dragged him into the house. He was gasping for air. All I remember is his eyes went into the back of his head."
Navarro's brother-in-law, Nate Isabell, of East Chicago, said he believed the shooting was gang-related. He was adamant that Navarro was not a gang member, but may have been mistaken for one. Constant harassment by gang members led him to drop out of East Chicago Central High School, he said.
"Just because he's Latino, they assumed he was (in a gang)," Isabell said. "He spent 90 percent of his time sitting on the porch with his girlfriend and the rest of the time working at McDonald's."
Rivera de
scribed her brother as a "sweet kid" who did everything he could to resist pressure and harassment from gang members.
"We wouldn't let him outside," she said. "We
kep
t my brother like he was in prison, giving him a radio and video games. We tried to protect him, and he was still murdered."
A co
usin of Navarro, who declined to give his name, said Navarro had complained to East Chicago police about being harassed by gangs.
"It's been going on for three months, and they hadn't done anything," he said.
Lt. Frank Smith, East Chicago police spokesman, said he had no information that Navarro had made such complaints to police.
Navarro's aunt, Eleanor Perez, said the family will not rest until justice is served.
"My nephew is not going to die in vain," she said. "We don't want violence. We want justice for him."
Perez said things had become so difficult for Navarro that he was forced to see
k employment outside East Chicago.
His co-workers at McDonald's, 9117 Indianapolis Blvd., Highland, said he was a good employee and a pleasure to have around.
"He was
a lot of
fun," manager Grace Brin said. "He made us smile and laugh. Once I told everybody about what happened, they were all crying."
McDonald's co-worker Carole Osborn said Navarro had worked there on and off for the
past year-and-a-half, returning a month or two ago.
"He was telling me he had signed up for a GED class," Osborn said. "He didn't want to go back to school because he didn't want to get hassled."
A spokesman at Central High School was unable to be reached for comment.
Words were hard to come by for Navarro's mother, Alicia Barba, and his father, Martin Sr.
"He loved to tell jokes," Martin Navarro Sr. said. "He was a beloved son."
"Everybody loved him," Barba said.
Smith said detec
tives have good leads in the case, but declined to say whether the shooting was gang-related. He said the Calumet neighborhood less than a block from Indianapolis Boulevard had not h
ad any signi
ficant gang activity as of late.
The suspect was seen wearing a red baseball cap, red shirt and blue jeans shorts, police said. He is described as about 5 feet 4 inches tall.
His car is described as a four-door grayish-colored vehicle or a white two-door 2001 Chevrolet Monte Carlo with Illinois license pla
tes.
Anyone with information should contact East Chicago police at (219) 391-8318.
http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/200...ead007ff160.txt
EAST CHICAGO -- Despite efforts of his family to shield him from gangs in the city, a 17-year-old boy was gunned down on his porch in front of his mother and girlfriend Monday night.
Martin Navarro Jr., of the 700 block of West 151st Street, was shot in the chest and pronounced dead at 8:44 p.m. at St. Catherine Hospital in East Chicago.
Navarro's girlfriend told police they were sitting on the front porch about 8 p.m., when a light-skinned Hispanic or black man emerged from the east side of the house. She said the man stopped just short of the front steps and fired a chrome-plated revolver five or six times. He fled around back to a waiting car, she said.
Family members gathere
on the front porch Tuesday morning. As two red candles in tall glass containers flickered on the window sill, they pointed to a bullet hole in the living room window that narrowly missed Navarro's moth
er.
"He said, 'Mom, I got sh
ot. They got me,'" said Navarro's sister, Cita Rivera. "My mom then came outside and dragged him into the house. He was gasping for air. All I remember is his eyes went into the back of his head."
Navarro's brother-in-law, Nate Isabell, of East Chicago, said he believed the shooting was gang-related. He was adamant that Navarro was not a gang member, but may have been mistaken for one. Constant harassment by gang members led him to drop out of East Chicago Central High School, he said.
"Just because he's Latino, they assumed he was (in a gang)," Isabell said. "He spent 90 percent of his time sitting on the porch with his girlfriend and the rest of the time working at McDonald's."
Rivera de
scribed her brother as a "sweet kid" who did everything he could to resist pressure and harassment from gang members.
"We wouldn't let him outside," she said. "We
kep
t my brother like he was in prison, giving him a radio and video games. We tried to protect him, and he was still murdered."
A co
usin of Navarro, who declined to give his name, said Navarro had complained to East Chicago police about being harassed by gangs.
"It's been going on for three months, and they hadn't done anything," he said.
Lt. Frank Smith, East Chicago police spokesman, said he had no information that Navarro had made such complaints to police.
Navarro's aunt, Eleanor Perez, said the family will not rest until justice is served.
"My nephew is not going to die in vain," she said. "We don't want violence. We want justice for him."
Perez said things had become so difficult for Navarro that he was forced to see
k employment outside East Chicago.
His co-workers at McDonald's, 9117 Indianapolis Blvd., Highland, said he was a good employee and a pleasure to have around.
"He was
a lot of
fun," manager Grace Brin said. "He made us smile and laugh. Once I told everybody about what happened, they were all crying."
McDonald's co-worker Carole Osborn said Navarro had worked there on and off for the
past year-and-a-half, returning a month or two ago.
"He was telling me he had signed up for a GED class," Osborn said. "He didn't want to go back to school because he didn't want to get hassled."
A spokesman at Central High School was unable to be reached for comment.
Words were hard to come by for Navarro's mother, Alicia Barba, and his father, Martin Sr.
"He loved to tell jokes," Martin Navarro Sr. said. "He was a beloved son."
"Everybody loved him," Barba said.
Smith said detec
tives have good leads in the case, but declined to say whether the shooting was gang-related. He said the Calumet neighborhood less than a block from Indianapolis Boulevard had not h
ad any signi
ficant gang activity as of late.
The suspect was seen wearing a red baseball cap, red shirt and blue jeans shorts, police said. He is described as about 5 feet 4 inches tall.
His car is described as a four-door grayish-colored vehicle or a white two-door 2001 Chevrolet Monte Carlo with Illinois license pla
tes.
Anyone with information should contact East Chicago police at (219) 391-8318.
http://www.thetimesonline.com/articles/200...ead007ff160.txt