Illegal Immigrant Charged with Murder Caught with Shank in Jail

The 26-year-old Venezuelan illegal immigrant, Jose Medina-Medina, faces serious charges for the murder of Loyola University student Sheridan Gorman and was recently discovered with a 6-inch shank hidden in his pants at a Chicago prison.

Cook County jail officials conducted a search on Medina-Medina after receiving reports of the makeshift weapon. The search occurred just after 8 a.m. on Thursday, revealing the shank, described as a “sharpened piece of metal with a handle fashioned out of medical tape.”

Medina-Medina now faces additional charges for possession of contraband in a penal institution, as confirmed by the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Details about Medina's intentions with the shank remain undisclosed following its confiscation.

Gorman, an 18-year-old freshman at the university, was shot during a random attack while searching for the northern lights with friends near campus on March 19. Medina allegedly approached the group wearing a mask and fired a single shot, fatally striking Gorman in the back.

Following the incident, Medina was arrested and charged with first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, three counts of aggravated assault/discharge of a firearm, and aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon.

He has been held without bond since his booking into Cook County Jail on March 23.

Medina has pleaded not guilty to all charges and could face life in prison without parole due to Illinois abolishing the death penalty in 2011.

His defense attorney claims Medina suffers from cognitive challenges stemming from a previous gunshot wound to the head during a robbery in Colombia. This injury reportedly left him with part of his brain missing and required him to relearn basic functions.

“Today he has the brain development of a child,” defense lawyer Julie Koehler stated during Medina’s arraignment.

Gorman’s parents have publicly criticized the policies that allowed their daughter’s alleged killer to enter the country illegally in 2019 and roam freely before the murder. “I don’t care what side of the aisle politically people are on, or if you’re right in the middle like us. This can’t happen. We’ve got to make changes,” Jessica Gorman expressed during an interview.

Thomas Gorman echoed her sentiments, stating, “There’s definitely policies that contributed to this happening and we can’t save Sheridan but we can’t just not do anything.”