Suspect In Officer's Fatal Shooting, Now In Custody, Formally Charged

CHICAGO — The man accused of fatally shooting a Chicago Police Ofcr. Luis Huesca has been formally charged in his death, police said. Xavier Tate Jr., 22, was captured Wednesday evening at an apartment complex in Glendale Heights after ten days on the lam. Upon his arrest, Tate was cuffed with handcuffs once belonging to the slain officer.

Tate was charged Thursday afternoon with first-degree murder, aggravated vehicular hijacking with a firearm, and possession of a stolen firearm, according to a warrant.

During the early morning hours of April 21, Huesca was gunned down near his home on the 3100 block of West 56th Street in Gage Park after finishing his shift. Within hours of Huesco’s slaying, police released photos and video from neighborhood convenience stores of a man wanted for questioning.

A warrant naming Tate as a suspect was issued over the weekend, along with a reward totalling $100,000 reward for information leading to his arrest and capture.

It was later learned that officers had gone to a Morgan Park residence near 108th Street and Hale Avenue last Friday where they believed Tate was holed up. Instead, a relative of Tate’s, 20-year-old Caschaus Tate, was taken into custody during the raid, after police said they saw him climbing out a window, then standing on a lawn chair where he tossed a gun over a fence into his neighbor’s yard. Investigators said the gun belonged to Huesca that was stolen during robbery. The 20-year-old's pretrial release was revoked on an unrelated burglary case after he picked up a new charge of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon.

During Caschaus Tate’s pretrial hearing Wednesday at the Markham Courthouse, prosecutors said Xavier Tate took an Uber to the relative’s Morgan Park home hours after Huesca’s slaying.

Police said Xavier Tate had been under surveillance for several days prior to his arrest. He is also believed to have traveled to Iowa during that time. He was staying in the Ellyn Crossing apartments with someone, possibly his brother, news reports said. Upon his capture, he was cuffed with handcuffs once belonging to Huesca.

Huesca was laid to rest Monday. His death was declared a line of duty death, allowing full benefits for his family. The young officer was a six-year CPD veteran and assigned to the Area Two incident response team.

Tate is due in court Friday for a pretrial hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courts Building.