$1 Million Bail Set for 2 of 3 Teens in Wheaton Man's Death

A DuPage County judge on Wednesday set $1 million bail for two of three teenagers accused of killing a Wheaton man with his own knife after a confrontation at a party late Saturday or early Sunday, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Jonathan Jimenez, 19, of Aurora, whose bail was set at $1 million, is charged along with Alejandro Martinez, 17, and Anthony Rios, 18, both of West Chicago, with first-degree murder in the death of Thomas Tecuatl, 22, of Wheaton.

Judge Elizabeth Sexton set Martinez’s bail at $800,000 during the same hearing early Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013.

Jimenez is charged with first-degree murder intending to cause death or great bodily harm, first-degree murder-forcible felony, and mob action-inflicting injury by violence, according to DuPage County Jail records.

Martinez and Rios are each charged with first-degree murder intending to cause death or great bodily harm, and mob action-inflicting injury by violence, according to DuPage County Jail records.

Later Wednesday, Rios’s bail was set at $1 million, according to a release from from the DuPage County State's Attorney's Office.

Authorities announced the arrests of the three teenagers Tuesday night, although the Daily Herald reported they actually were taken into custody later Sunday.

In court on Wednesday, Assistant State’s Attorney Tim Diamond said authorities believe Tecuatl was a member of a rival gang, according to the Tribune report.

The Daily Herald, citing an unnamed law enforcement source in a story Tuesday evening, said the killing sprang out of a confrontation late Saturday or early Sunday at a birthday party in West Chicago.

The three teenagers are reputed gang members who argued with the victim at the party, according to the Daily Herald’s account. Tecuatl reportedly threatened the three teens with a knife. The teens gathering a pick ax and some other tools and chased Tecuatl into the street.

At one point, Tecuatl dropped the knife, Diamond said in court, and Jimenez picked it up and stabbed him four or five times, according to the Tribune report.

Patch reported Monday that West Chicago police announced they were investigating the death of a 22-year-old man whose stabbed and beaten body had been found at 6:45 a.m. Sunday, Nov. 17, 2013, in the front yard of a home on the 600 block of Neltnor Boulevard (Route 59).

Related:

• Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2013: Hearing coverage by the Chicago Tribune

• Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2013: Three Teens Charged in West Chicago Murder of Wheaton Man

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