Jose Medina-Medina, the illegal immigrant accused of killing college student Sheridan Gorman in Chicago, pleaded not guilty to all counts on Wednesday during his arraignment hearing.
Medina-Medina, 25, was arrested after he allegedly killed Gorman, an 18-year-old Loyola University Chicago student, on March 19. According to the Department of Homeland Security, he illegally entered the U.S. from Venezuela in 2023, when he was apprehended but released into the country by the Biden administration.
During his arraignment on Wednesday, Medina-Medina pleaded not guilty to murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault, aggravated discharge of a firearm, and illegal possession of a weapon. He also faces a federal charge of illegally possessing a firearm.
Thomas Gorman, Sheridan’s father, said after the hearing that her death “was not just a senseless tragedy. It was preventable.”
“There were laws already in place, there were mechanisms already in place, and somehow they were not enforced in a way to prevent this from happening. This is not a policy debate, this is a failure,” he said. “It’s an empty seat at the table. It is silence where there used to be laughter. It’s waking up every day knowing that your child is gone.”
Sheridan’s mother, Jessica Gorman, also addressed reporters after the hearing, remembering the daughter she described as “beautiful on the inside and out.”
“She really mattered. And we’re going to get justice for her,” Jessica Gorman said.
Prosecutors revealed during an earlier detention hearing for Medina-Medina on April 3 that Gorman was with her friends at a Rogers Park pier when she looked around a lighthouse and saw Medina-Medina was there. Gorman then walked back toward her friends and mouthed, “There’s a man behind the lighthouse,” at which point Medina-Medina began chasing them.
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As Gorman and her friends were running away, Medina-Medina shot her in the upper back, according to prosecutors. Her friends continued running until they found a place to hide, then when they went to check on Gorman, she was unresponsive.
An arrest report obtained by Fox News Digital states that after the shooting, Medina-Medina was seen on video in his apartment building’s lobby waiting for an elevator while he wasn’t masked. A building engineer told police that he knew the suspect who had a “very distinct limp and gait.”
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Images of the suspect were sent to a police database, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection identified the suspect as Medina-Medina. He was arrested at his apartment in Rogers Park, according to the arrest report.
Retired Chicago Police Chief of Detectives Eugene Roy told Fox News Digital the video evidence against Medina-Medina is “extremely strong.”
“Video evidence is extremely strong, because people can see with their own two eyes, they’re not relying on the representations of a prosecutor or defense attorney. They can make their own judgment. In this case, there was heavy emphasis put on the video evidence. And I think this speaks for itself,” Roy said.
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“Fortunately, in this case, there were cameras within the area of the murder and, you know, they were on it right away, so there wasn’t a time gap,” he added.
While Medina-Medina was in Colombia, he was shot in the head, which resulted in the loss of a portion of his brain and skull, leaving him to relearn basic functions, his attorney said. Medina-Medina’s attorney said he has the brain development of a child and cannot read or write.
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Medina-Medina’s attorney also said he suffers from epilepsy and still has bullet fragments lodged in his brain. The murder suspect turned himself in at the Texas border in 2023, where he was held in detention before being released. His attorney said that Medina-Medina had requested to be sent back to Colombia, where his mother had moved, but he was transported by bus to Chicago.
While Medina-Medina was in a shelter, he contracted tuberculosis, according to his attorney. He was treated for tuberculosis after being arrested on murder charges, which led to a delay in his detention hearing.
Court documents obtained by Fox News Digital show that Medina-Medina told officials he was living at Leone Beach Park fieldhouse in Rogers Park in 2023, which was being used as a city-sponsored shelter for migrants.
Medina-Medina was arrested in 2023 and charged with shoplifting after he allegedly stole just over $130 in merchandise from a Macy’s in downtown Chicago. He failed to appear for court hearings related to that case, and an arrest warrant remained active until the alleged murder.
Fox News’ Philip Bodinet and Patrick McGovern contributed to this report.
