Chicago Area Local News

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Two men, 19 and 21 years old, were charged Wednesday for the murder of DePaul University student Frankie Valencia, after allegedly randomly opening fire at a Halloween party. CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports if it wasn't for a neighbor's elaborate camera surveillance system, it's very possible police would still be looking for Valencia's killers.

Narcisco Gatica, 19, of 2455 W. Armitage Ave. and Berly Valladares, 21, of 2607 W. Cortland are each charged with one count of first-degree murder and one count of attempted murder, authorities said.

A Cook County judge ordered suspects held without bail Thursday. Gatica, 19, allegedly fired a TEC-9 semiautomatic weapon at people standing in a gangway outside the party.

Witnesses said Valencia was killed early Sunday at a Halloween party at 1752 N. Rockwell St. in the early hours of Sunday morning. They said Valencia was walking down the stairs of a house when two men randomly began shooting.

Investigators say surveillance video helped solved the murder of Frankie Valencia. Private security video on five different cameras caught the gunman in action, the suspects in the alley prior to the shooting and the tragic result of the shooting.

When he realized the crime was caught on camera, the owner turned it over to police.

One minute, cameras show Valencia making a phone call outside the Halloween party on Rockwell. The next minute, the video shows him ducking, running and then collapsing against the house.

A few minutes later, he's surrounded by people trying frantically to tend to him after he'd been shot.

Another camera caught the gunman fire his fatal shot. The video shows a young man walk by the house as if to check it out. A few seconds later, the gunman walks up to the gate, pulls out a gun and pulls the trigger. Then, he and some men with him, run away.

Gatica is believed to be part of the group of men caught on security video in the alley behind the house on Rockwell, a short time after all of them had been asked to leave the party.

Gatica allegedly went to Valladares and asked for a gun, then went back to the party and started firing, hitting Valencia and his friend and schoolmate Daisy Camacho. Valladares was charged for supplying the 9 mm handgun used in the shooting.

Valencia, of the 5000 block of West Strong Street, was pronounced dead less than three hours later at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center.

Camacho was shot in the neck and ran back inside the house to get help. She was recovering from her injuries, but out of the hospital on Wednesday.

Friend Cyndie Torres said, "She's holding up. She's a very strong woman. She's going through a lot of pain, both emotionally and physically, but she's holding up well."

Detectives have been talking to the two suspects since Tuesday morning at Grand-Central Area police headquarters. Sources said both men are gang members.

In the meantime, those who knew the victim, Frankie Valencia, 21, have vowed to keep up his fight to stop violence.

Activists called it a response; when community members come together instead of letting violence rip them apart. They held a vigil Wednesday night for Valencia outside the house where he was killed.

Josh Colon was Valencia's best friend. "They took my brother," he said. But he doesn't hate Valencia's killers. He said he feels sorry for them and wants to help them.

"I grew up in a neighborhood similar to theirs and I understand their plight and … I'd like to reach out to them," Colon said.

Colon said that's what Valencia, a passionate young activist, would want. So Colon and other friends said they won't let anger or sadness stifle that passion for peace. They'll honor it, instead.

They've already set up a DePaul University scholarship fund in Valencia's name and plan on holding marches and vigils on campus to spur others to action.

Despite having some sympathy for the suspects' situation, Colon and Torres said they also want to see justice served.

"I'm grateful for the people who arrested them," Colon said. "I know it's not easy."

"Francisco was well-loved by many of his peers," said DePaul spokesman John Holden.

The regular Sunday night mass at St. Vincent de Paul Parish in Lincoln Park was dedicated to Valencia.

Counselors and support staff also were working with grief-stricken students on Sunday, Holden said.

"He was involved in a number of initiatives to reach out to, recruit and support students of color," Holden said.

A dorm adviser, Valencia is among students currently profiled on the university's Web site.

"He was the kind of student we liked to spotlight," Holden said.

About his first quarter at DePaul, Valencia's profile offers, "I grew in confidence and that has followed me in everything I do. My greatest success as a student here has been . . . making an impact. Whether it was providing a friend with some direction, helping a professor accomplish a class goal, or remaining involved and facilitating others' experiences, I feel like I have had success here at DePaul."

DePaul officials describe Valencia as a very involved and dedicated student who was recently named a Lincoln Laureate, having received an award given annually to one student at each of the state's four-year universities. The award honors excellence in academics and extracurricular activities.

Valencia was a graduate of Lincoln Park High School and was expected to graduate DePaul in June 2010 with a political science degree. His goal was to work on a political campaign in the Chicago area.

On Wednesday night, Valencia's family came to the spot where he was shot to comfort each other, pray and set up a shrine for the young DePaul student.

Valladares and Gatica will appear for a bond hearing on Thursday.

CBS 2's Dana Kozlov and the Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.

(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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