Former Wheaton woman sentenced to 40 years for 2018 murder of West Chicago man

Following a four-day-long sentencing hearing, former Wheaton resident Tia Brewer, 22, was sentenced Tuesday to 40 years in prison for her role in the 2018 murder of a West Chicago man.

On Nov. 1, 2023, Brewer plead guilty to one count each of first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping. Brewer, who was 16-years-old at the time of the murder, is the third of four individuals charged in the murder to be sentenced. She was prosecuted as an adult pursuant to Illinois law, authorities said.

The state had asked for a sentence of natural life in prison for Brewer’s involvement in the murder of Luis Guerrero, 18.

Co-defendants Jesus Jurado-Correa, 25, and Saul Ruiz, 24, both formerly of West Chicago, each plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, and in exchange for their cooperation, were sentenced to 15 and 10 years in prison, respectively. On Nov. 9, 2022, co-defendant Francisco Alvarado, 25, formerly of West Chicago, in exchange for his cooperation, plead guilty to one count each of first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping. His next court appearance is scheduled for Feb. 26, according to a DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office news release.

About 11:30 a.m. Aug. 14, 2018, while conducting a nearby training exercise, West Chicago firefighters saw a smoldering object in a fire pit located at 1325 Joliet St. The object was a human body, later identified as Guerrero. West Chicago police began an investigation into the matter with the assistance of the Major Crimes Task Force. The investigation led authorities to Alvarado, Brewer, Correa and Ruiz, according to the release.

The investigation found that the four defendants planned the murder of Guerrero for approximately one month. In the early morning hours of Aug. 14, Brewer arranged to meet Guerrero at the West Chicago Public Library. At the library, Alvarado ambushed Guerrero from behind and strangled him with a belt. Alvarado and Brewer then began stabbing and punching Guerrero, according to the release.

After stealing Guerrero’s backpack, Alvarado and Brewer loaded him into their Jeep Cherokee, traveled to the location on Joliet Street and removed Guerrero from the Jeep. They stabbed and beat Guerrero as he begged to be taken to a hospital, authorities said.

Correa arrived at the fire pit with a container of gasoline after Guerrero was unconscious. Correa gave the container of gasoline to Alvarado and Brewer who poured the gasoline onto Guerrero and lit him on fire. While on fire, Guerrero got up and began to run away at which time Alvarado and Brewer stabbed and beat him. Alvarado and Brewer dragged Guerrero back to the fire pit, threw Guerrero into the pit and lit him on fire again, according to the release.

“The unconscionable degree of depravity exhibited by Tia Brewer and her co-defendants in this case as they strangled, beat, stabbed and lit on fire Luis Guerrero is beyond comprehension,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release. “In my 37 years as a prosecutor, I would be hard-pressed to recall such a vicious, gruesome murder of an innocent man.”

Brewer was sentenced to 34 years in prison on the murder charge to be served at 100% and six years on aggravated kidnapping charge to be served at 85%. The sentences will be served consecutively.