A 29-year-old Venezuelan immigrant has been arrested in Chicago for attempted murder after he allegedly shot a woman in the face — while wearing an electronic monitor that federal immigration officials gave him.
Jean Carlos Rodriguez Colmenarez is accused of pulling out a gun and shooting a 29-year-old woman after they got into an “argument” in the 400 block of North Lawndale on Monday morning, CWBChicago reported.
Colmenarez allegedly stole the woman’s belongings and fled the scene in a silver Ford Escape, the outlet stated, citing a Chicago Police Department (CPD) report.
The victim, whose name has not been released, was transported to Mt. Sinai Hospital in critical condition.
A detention petition that CWBChicago obtained stated that police identified Colmenarez as a suspect after viewing surveillance footage and speaking to witnesses.
The alleged shooter was pulled over in Pontiac, Illinois, later that Monday after investigators flagged the Escape’s license plate.
When Colemenarez was taken into custody, Chicago police noted that he was wearing a device for “electronic monitoring through the Department of Immigration (purpose of entering country with child).”
He has since been charged with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery by discharging a firearm, and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, according to a CPD press release.
“Judge Ankur Srivastava ordered Colemenarez held until he could attend an in-person detention hearing,” CWBChicago noted.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has been using electronic monitoring devices with growing popularity as “alternatives to detention” (ATD) over the past few years.
Statistics from the first six months of 2024 show that more than 19,000 migrants have been released into the country wearing ankle monitors, while nearly 5,000 wear wrist monitors to keep track of their whereabouts.
Some other ATDs that ICE uses include the SmartLINK tracking app, which more than 152,000 migrants have been released into the U.S. with.
The daily cost of using the technologies is $222,263.90, according to the ICE statistics.
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