Jail release denied for reputed Joliet gang member charged in murder case

A Will County judge has denied the pretrial release of a reputed Joliet gang member charged with the fatal shooting of a young man last June in the east side of the city.

On Monday, Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak ruled that Emilio Aldape, 18, of Joliet, posed a danger to the public and should remain in jail, according to court records.

Aldape and Nathan Melchor, 17, of Joliet, have been charged with the first-degree murder of Latrel Smith-Vaden, 20, who was found with a gunshot wound to the head on June 6 in the 600 block of East Benton Street in Joliet. They’re also charged with firing a gun in the direction of a friend who was with Smith-Vaden.

Bertani-Tomczak has not decided whether Melchor should be released from River Valley Juvenile Detention Center in Joliet. She is scheduled to announce her decision on Jan. 4, when Melchor will turn 18 and transferred to the Will County jail.

Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Christine Vukmir, who objected to pretrial release of Aldape and Melchor, alleged in a Nov. 30 petition that Aldape was identified as the shooter by a witness of the incident.

Before the shooting, Smith-Vaden and his friend were walking on East Benton Street when a black Chevrolet Cruze pulled up to them, according to Vukmir’s petition. A passenger had asked them, “Who you with?” and then said “Vice Lord Killer,” Vukmir said.

Smith-Vaden and his friend put their hands up and ran away but the passenger fired multiple shots at them, Vukmir said. One of those shots struck Smith-Vaden in the head.

Aldape was later identified in a line-up as the passenger who fired the shots, Vukmir said.

During the investigation, Joliet police detectives learned that Adalpe and Melchor were known to be members of the Two Six gang, Vukmir said. Aldape was apparently a victim in a past incident involving the Vice Lords gang, in which he admitted he was a Two Sixer, she said.

The Two Six and the Vice Lords are among the four major gangs that have been in Joliet since the 1980s, according to the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office.

The Chevrolet Cruze connected to the shooting had been abandoned at a nearby McDonald’s in Joliet and the occupants inside had left the area, Vukmir said. Video records obtained by detectives showed Melchor was driving the vehicle before the shooting, she said.

Detectives also obtained a Snapchat photo from Aldape’s phone showing a person seated inside the Chevrolet Cruze holding two firearms, a rifle and a handgun, Vukmir said. The photo had been taken just minutes before the shooting and about four blocks away from the crime scene, she said.

Aldape was eventually apprehended in South Bend, Indiana, while Melchor was captured in Tijuana, Mexico.