Four Charged in Aurora Shooting

Aurora Police have secured charges through the Kane County State’s Attorney against four people from Aurora in connection with an early morning shooting yesterday that critically injured a 43-year-old woman after shots were fired into her near east side home, police said.

The accused gunmen, Arturo Trejo, 20, of the 400 block of North Lancaster Avenue; and Ajaie Martin, 32, of the 300 block of Old Indian Trail; were each charged with two counts of attempted murder, two counts of armed violence, and single counts of aggravated battery with a firearm, aggravated discharge of a firearm, unlawful use of a weapon by a gang member, and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon. 

Another man, 21-year-old Alexander Turner of the 200 block of North Fourth Street, was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon, unlawful possession of a firearm without a FOID card, and unlawful possession of ammunition by a felon, according to police. Carla Benavides, 19, also of the 200 block of North Fourth, was charged with unlawful possession of a firearm without a FOID card. Those charges stem from the confiscation of two firearms and ammunition that were taken out of the couple’s apartment where Aurora Police executed a search warrant about eight hours after the shooting, police said.

All of the charges are felonies except for the one lodged against Benavides. 

At 3:24 a.m. Friday, police responded to a 911 call in the 200 block of North Fourth for multiple shots fired and a person hit. Upon arrival, they found the victim in a first floor bathroom suffering from a gunshot wound to her neck, police said. She was taken to an Aurora hospital and airlifted to a suburban Chicago hospital with life-threatening injuries. She remains in critical condition at the undisclosed hospital, according to police.

Upon investigation, it was learned that two male subjects, now believed to be Trejo and Martin, were seen running southbound from the area after the shots were fired into the bathroom on the south side of the residence, police said. An ensuing track by a police K-9 led to Turner and Benavides’s residence on the same block. 

Aurora Police secured a search warrant for that home which was executed Frida yat around 11:40 a.m. by the Aurora Police Special Response Team. Just before the warrant was executed, police said Trejo jumped from a second floor window and was taken into custody after a short foot chase. 

Five other people, including Martin, Turner, and Benavides, were then taken into custody when the warrant was served, according to police. There were no injuries. 

Although police did not originally believe the crime to be gang related, the ensuing investigation does point to gang motivation, according to a press release issued Saturday by Aurora police, who said the shooting does not appear to be random.

The Naperville Police Department assisted during the initial investigation. 

The two other people taken into custody, a 22-year-old Elgin man and 19-year-old Aurora man, were released without charges, police said. 

Bond and court information for the four is not yet available.