A Venezuelan migrant has been sentenced to ten years in prison for attempting to murder another migrant who killed his friend, also a migrant, on the South Side.
Both shootings took place in the same Washington Park apartment building where 911 callers reported that armed migrants had “taken over” the complex months before. Those stories went popular online, prompting considerable mainstream media coverage, which discounted the reports as fake.
Henry Brito-Dominguez, 25, pleaded guilty to the attempted murder of Carlos Reinaldo Maribal-Carvajal in exchange for the sentence imposed by Judge Carol Howard, according to court records.
According to authorities, the series of events began on November 11, 2024, when Maribal-Carvajal, 24, reportedly robbed and murdered Peter Sangronis-Medina inside a building on the 6100 block of South Martin Luther King Boulevard.
Prosecutors claim Maribal-Carvajal stole a handgun from Sangronis-Medina during the heist and used it to kill him inside his apartment. Maribal-Carvajal allegedly departed and returned to confirm Sangronis-Medina’s death before carrying his body outside and dumping it over the second-floor balcony into a “deliberately placed dumpster,” aiming to prevent the murder from being discovered, according to the criminal complaint.
A GoFundMe campaign described Sangronis-Medina as “a hardworking, respectful, family-oriented, and loving father who came to America looking for the American dream.” The campaign, established by his company, stated that Sangronis-Medina “had no family here” and aimed to raise funds to “help us get him back home to his family in Venezuela.”
While police conducted a thorough investigation into the murder, Chicago’s street justice system was not as patient.
On November 19, eight days after the crime, Maribel-Carvajal was shot multiple times from behind inside the same apartment building in the 6100 block of South Martin Luther King.
According to prosecutors, on November 19, Brito-Dominguez shot Maribal-Carvajal several times from behind within the same apartment building. Chicago police officers who heard the gunfire allegedly discovered Maribal-Carvajal seriously injured, with a loaded revolver tucked into his belt.
Prosecutors promptly prosecuted Brito-Dominguez for the shooting. According to a CPD investigation, Brito-Dominguez admitted to shooting Maribal-Carvajal after he killed Sangronis-Medina during a police interview.
Both shootings took place within an apartment complex that had become the subject of a viral debate months prior. On Labor Day 2024, 911 callers claimed “32 Venezuelans” were trespassing and “showing guns in the courtyard,” according to accounts first published by @spotnewsonig. The reports soon gained traction on social media.
However, CPD stated responding officers discovered no problems when they arrived on the area.
The following day, Block Club Chicago aired a piece titled “No, Armed Venezuelan Migrants Did Not Take Over A Chicago Apartment Building.” That same day, the Chicago Tribune published its own report: “Experts say anti-immigrant rhetoric led to viral—and incorrect—allegations of a migrant takeover.”
Maribal-Carvajal remains in jail as he faces murder accusations in Sangronis-Medina’s killing.