On an evening in late May, 2021, 46-year-old Samuel Ortiz-Rodriguez of Aurora was standing outside a residence talking with a few individuals. At that moment, three street-gang members from a nearby neighborhood walked by and mistakenly identified him as a member of a rival gang. One of the gang members shot him dead.
Cesar J. Ponce, 20, one of those street gang members, has now been sentenced to 40 years in prison.
A jury convicted Ponce of the offense of first-degree murder on March 2, 2023.
On May 24, 2021 at 7:30 p.m., Ponce and two fellow members of the same street gang went in search of rival gang members. One of the members, Fidel Bello, was armed with a revolver. While walking through a part of Aurora that was considered to be territory of a rival gang, they spotted individuals outside of a residence. Ponce pointed out those individuals, one of them being Ortiz-Rodriguez. Bello then shot and killed Ortiz-Rodriguez. Ortiz-Rodriguez was not a street gang member.
“Mr. Ponce has learned what so many others unfortunately learned too late, that guns and gangs lead straight to prison,” said Kane County Assistant State’s Attorney Lori Anderson. “Samuel Ortiz-Rodriguez’s death is the result of bravado and poor decisions. He should still be alive.”
In April 2023, co-defendant Bello pled guilty to first-degree murder. His next court appearance is scheduled for July 20, 2023, in Courtroom 305. He faces a sentence of between 20 years and life imprisonment. The third individual was not charged.
