Arrest! Suspect In Custody For Murder Of Chicago Police Officer Luis Huesca

Chicago — Wednesday night, there was a man wanted in connection with the shooting death of Chicago Police Officer Luis Huesca.

An arrest warrant for Xavier Tate Jr., 22, was filed on Friday, charging him with first-degree murder.

Tate was apprehended by Chicago Police and the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Regional Task Force on Wednesday night in the west suburban Glendale Heights, according to an announcement made by the CPD that evening.

According to a source, Tate was taken from a second-floor flat in a Glendale Heights building and, in a symbolic move, was detained while wearing Officer Huesca’s handcuffs.

The arrest was captured on camera and in pictures by CBS 2. Tate was shown in each being escorted in handcuffs out of the apartment building while lowering his head.

According to sources, Tate’s brother or another relative resides in the Glendale Heights apartment building. When and how the cops discovered Tate was holed up there was unclear.

The wanted man’s discovery close to the apartment complex took the residents off guard.

“To assume that he has been hiding out here the entire time is absurd. It’s crazy because you wouldn’t imagine that someone like that was right across the street from you in a neighborhood like this, where everyone is pleasant and families abound,” Yusuli Hernandez, a neighbor, said. “So it’s really scary.”

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A different neighbor told CBS2 that he lives directly across the hall from Tate’s discovery location. He claimed that Tate was well-known in the apartment building, where he had been going for a few months.

However, the neighbor reported that Tate had vanished from sight throughout the previous two weeks.

How long Tate had been at the apartment complex, what had led him there, and if he had stayed there the entire time since the murder were all unknowns on Wednesday night.

Investigators stated in court documents that were released after Tate’s warrant was signed last week that Tate deliberately and consciously discharged a. 40-caliber revolver, striking Huesca and killing him.

On Sunday, April 21, near the 5500 block of South Kedzie Avenue, Huesca, a six-year member of the Area 2 Priority Response Team, was shot and killed while going home after his shift while still wearing his uniform. A ShotSpotter signal prompted the first police response to the scene.

At the time, Huesca was two days shy of turning thirty-one.

His automobile was discovered initially, then on Friday, investigators claimed to have located his pistol at a South Side residence close to 108th and Hale. Before being brought into jail, a relative of Tate’s was observed tossing a gun over a fence and into a yard, according to CBS 2. Investigators were present.

The relative, Caschaus Tate, 20, is charged with many offenses, including aggravated unauthorized use of a weapon in Chicago and an unrelated burglary in Richton Park.

On Monday, Huesca’s funeral took place. Hundreds of people gave their last respects and applauded his memory.

For his friends, Huesca was a rock—intelligent, kind, and larger-than-life. The Chicago Police Department awarded him full honors after it was determined that his death occurred while performing official duties.

Chicago Police stated in a statement on Wednesday night, “We ask that the people of this city continue to support the Huesca family by keeping them in your prayers as they continue to mourn the loss of a beloved son, brother, and uncle.”

Detectives from Chicago Police were very much in evidence collection mode at the Glendale Heights complex late on Wednesday night. It was anticipated that they would stay long into the morning, if not the whole night.