A Hammond teen was recently moved up to adult court — charged with killing an East Chicago man in 2022 who was helping a friend get his stolen bike back near Edison Park.
The boy, now 16, was charged Feb. 23 with murder; murder in perpetration of a robbery; attempted armed robbery, a Level 3 Felony; and theft, a class A misdemeanor.
He was 14 when the shooting happened. The Post-Tribune is not naming him, because he is a minor.
Charges accuse him of fatally shooting Julian Valdez on June 19, 2022. It also accuses the boy of stealing a bike from another male victim.
He is ordered held without bond. He made a court appearance on Monday where a public defender was appointed. His next appearance is set for March 5 before Judge Salvador Vasquez.
A formal probable cause affidavit — providing a narrative of what allegedly happened — was not filed with the adult case.
According to police reports, the first officer arrived around 6:45 p.m. to the 600 block of Cherry Street — about two blocks south from the park — for a gunshot victim.
People were standing over him yelling for help.
Witnesses said Valdez was playing soccer with two friends at the park. Two younger Black teens stole his friend’s and another player’s bikes, according to reports.
One was wearing all-black clothes. The friend chased one of the boys down Jackson Avenue, then east on Cherry Street. When his bike threw its chain, he grabbed the handlebars.
Valdez drove up and the other friend ran up to meet him.
The teen who stole that bike appeared to pull out a “fake” BB gun with an orange tip. They told the teen he was outnumbered three-to-one.
“Don’t worry, I got you,” the other teen, who had the other stolen bike, appeared to say, according to documents.
He walked across the street and flashed a real gun. He opened fire, hitting Valdez in the front. Once Valdez was on the ground, the teen walked up and shot him again in the back, according to reports.
The alleged bike thieves ran west on Cherry Street. The incident appeared to be on security video.
Court records indicate Valdez was taken to Community Hospital in Munster, before he was transferred to the University of Chicago Medical Center.
A record from the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office lists a Julian Valdez, aged 21, from East Chicago — with the same incident address as the shooting — died July 23, 2022 at the University of Chicago.
