CHICAGO — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF)), published as received.
CHICAGO — An illegal alien unlawfully residing in the United States, who is charged in state court with murdering an 18-year-old Loyola University student, was charged today in federal court with illegally possessing a firearm in Chicago.
JOSE MEDINA-MEDINA illegally possessed a handgun on March 20, 2026, according to a criminal complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Chicago. Chicago Police officers discovered the firearm during a court-authorized search of his residence in the Rogers Park neighborhood on Chicago’s North Side, the complaint states. The search was conducted as part of a state investigation relating to a homicide that occurred in the neighborhood the day before, the complaint states. Chicago Police officers arrested Medina-Medina after the search, and he was subsequently charged in Cook County Circuit Court with murder and other offenses related to the homicide, the complaint states.
Medina-Medina is a citizen of Venezuela and has no lawful status in the United States, the complaint states. As an illegal alien unlawfully residing in the United States, Medina-Medina was legally prohibited from possessing a firearm.
The federal complaint charges Medina-Medina, also known as “Jose Gregorio Medina,” “Jose Gregorio Medina-Medina,” and “Jose Medina,” 25, with one count of illegal possession of a firearm, which is punishable by a maximum sentence of ten years in federal prison. Medina-Medina is currently detained in state custody without bond. His initial appearance in federal court has not yet been scheduled.
The federal complaint was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives. Valuable assistance was provided by the Chicago Police Department. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jill Bhalakia and William Dunne.
“Given the senseless, cold-blooded nature of the murder of a young student with a bright future ahead of her, the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office will take no chances that this illegal alien perpetrator will be released back into our community,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros. “The Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office applauds the excellent work of the Chicago Police Department and Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office to quickly identify, apprehend, and charge the culprit and hold him accountable for the murder in state court. Our Office will be ready to move forward with the federal charge as needed.”
“ATF will pursue all applicable federal charges to ensure that those who commit acts of violence are held accountable, and I am grateful for the strong investigative work conducted by the Chicago Police Department and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office," said ATF SAC Amon. "The addition of federal charges in this case further ensures that the defendant is held fully accountable under the law.”
The federal investigation is being conducted in coordination with ATF’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center of Chicago. The CGIC is a centralized law enforcement partnership that focuses exclusively on investigating and prosecuting violent offenders who utilize firearms in commission of their crimes in Chicago and throughout northern Illinois. Every firearm-related case in Chicago is processed through the CGIC on a daily basis.
The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
