An individual from Venezuela, accused of the March murder of Loyola University student Sheridan Gorman, was discovered with a weapon while in detention, according to police reports.
The Cook County Sheriff’s Office reported that staff at Cook County Jail found a 6-inch homemade weapon in the possession of Jose Medina early Thursday morning.
During a search, correctional officers found the 26-year-old had a sharpened piece of metal with a handle made of medical tape concealed in his pants pocket, as stated by the sheriff’s office.
On Friday, the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office approved a new felony charge against Medina for possession of contraband within a penal institution.
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The man charged with the murder of a Loyola University freshman in a Rogers Park shooting in March was found with a weapon in jail, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office said. (Cook County Sheriff’s Office)
Medina has been in custody since March 23. He is charged with shooting 18-year-old Sheridan Gorman to death at Tobey Prinz Beach in Rogers Park on March 19.
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Medina has pleaded not guilty to charges in Gorman’s killing. His next court date is June 1.
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Sheridan Gorman was shot and killed while walking with friends near Tobey Prinz Beach, less than a mile from the Illinois campus, around 1 a.m. on Thursday, March 19. (Sheridan G. Gorman via Instagram)
Gorman was with friends at a Rogers Park pier when she looked around a lighthouse and saw Medina nearby.
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She walked back toward her friends and mouthed, “There’s a man behind the lighthouse,” prosecutors said. Medina then allegedly began chasing them.
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As Gorman and her friends ran away, Medina shot her in the upper back, according to prosecutors. Her friends kept running until they found a place to hide. When they returned to check on Gorman, she was unresponsive.
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An arrest report obtained by Fox News Digital states that Medina was seen on video after the shooting in the lobby of his apartment building, waiting for an elevator without a mask. A building engineer told police he recognized the suspect, who had a “very distinct limp and gait.”
Jose Medina, a Venezuelan national, was arrested for shoplifting and released before the alleged murder, the Department of Homeland Security confirmed. (DHS)
Fox News Digital previously reported that Medina was apprehended at the southern border in 2023, flagged as a flight risk and determined to have no valid asylum claim before being released into the U.S. that year under the Biden administration.
Records indicate he did not have a valid U.S. address or identification and could not provide a verifiable point of contact.