Suspect Xavier Tate, Jr., arrested in west suburbs for murder of CPD Officer Luis Huesca
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Police have arrested Xavier Tate, Jr. in the slaying of Chicago Police Officer Luis Huesca.
Chicago police said CPD officers and the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force arrested Tate in Glendale Heights Wednesday evening.
WATCH: The moment Xavier Tate, Jr. is taken into custody in Glendale Heights
People who live in the residential complex watched officers swarm in from the safety of their homes, as others were warned to stay away.
"I was actually warned by my sister. She also lives across the street from all of this. She told me don't come home at all. Wherever you are, don't come home. There's helicopters, police everywhere," said neighbor Yusuli Hernandez. "It makes me kind of think twice about where I'm living."
"We thank all of our law enforcement partners who assisted in the apprehension of this suspect as we work to bring justice to Officer Huesca and his family," CPD said in a statement posted to Twitter.
No further information was available, police said, and the investigation is ongoing.
The moment of the arrest was captured by a neighbor's cell phone. Tate Jr. was walked down a flight of stairs surrounded by officers.
According to Chicago Alderman Brian Hopkins and multiple police sources, the handcuffs restraining Tate Jr. were the department-issued handcuffs belonging to Officer Luis Huesca.
The 22-year-old is accused of shooting Officer Huesca with a 40-caliber gun, during what appeared to be a carjacking.
The multi-agency arrest marks the end of a 10 day manhunt for the officer's accused murderer.
The day after Huesca's murder, CPD began circulating surveillance video of a suspect inside multiple convenience stores, and walking along Gage Park sidewalks in the hours before and just after the officer was gunned down.
Then, Friday, a Cook County judge signed an arrest warrant charging Tate Jr. with Huesca's murder, and police released photos of him and confirmed he was the suspect in the widely circulated surveillance video.
On the same day the arrest warrant was signed, investigators arrested his relative Caschaus Tate at a home in the city's Morgan Park neighborhood. Prosecutors said police showed up looking for Tate Jr. and as they searched the home, Tate allegedly tossed a gun over the fence.
Police say that gun belonged to Officer Huesca.
Additional court documents show Tate, Jr. was arrested on March 6 on a misdemeanor charge of criminal trespassing in Olympia Fields. He was supposed to be in court for that charge last Wednesday in Markham, but he did not show up for that appearance.
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Huesca was laid to rest on Monday.
"Officer Luis Huesca, star number 18919 you will never be forgotten," said CPD Supt. Larry Snelling. "He always wanted to brighten the day of his fellow officers on the Area 2 Priority Response Team by making them laugh even though the days are difficult."
In a YouTube video released by Chicago's Fraternal Order of Police on Saturday, Huesca's siblings and parents spoke out.
"The only thing I want is justice for my son," Huesca's father Emiliano Huesca said.
Huesca's mother, Edith Huesca, spoke publicly for the first time. She said her pain is unbearable.
"I have no words to express how I'm feeling, how my family is feeling," she said. "This tragedy affects all my family. Without Luis, we will never feel the same. For me, as his mother, I've been asking for justice."
In the video, the Huesca family thanked the community for the outpouring of support. They want his killer to be found and prosecuted.
"I can assure you that my brother did not want to die," O'Brien said. "He had hopes, and he had dreams that now he doesn't get to realize because he was robbed from that. And that is something that is too heavy, and I want answers."
