25 years for killing nurse in mistaken identity drive-by while on felony bail

A 25-year-old man has been sentenced to 25 years in prison for a drive-by shooting that killed a Little Village nurse in 2019, a crime that investigators said stemmed from mistaken gang identity.

Armando Lopez pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in exchange for the sentence from Judge Neera Walsh. Under Illinois law, he must serve the full term, making him eligible for release on October 14, 2044.

Lopez, of the 2800 block of South Christina Avenue, admitted his role in the November 12, 2019, killing of 32-year-old Frank Aguilar, a registered nurse at Misericordia Heart of Mercy, who was shot and killed while walking home in the 3700 block of West 32nd Street. Aguilar, still wearing his work scrubs, had just finished doing laundry and was carrying the basket home when he was shot.

Armando Lopez, left, and Frank Aguilar (Chicago Police Department, National Gun Violence Memorial)

Police and prosecutors said Aguilar was not the intended target. Detectives determined that Lopez was driving a silver Jeep Commander when one of his passengers opened fire, apparently mistaking Aguilar for a rival gang member.

“Unfortunately, it’s gang territory, it’s a rival gang territory,” the head of CPD’s detective division said at the time. “And it appears that these individuals get in a car and they’re like, ‘We’re gonna go target the rival gang.’ And they just see somebody and decide, ‘Well, that looks like a rival gang member, we’ll shoot him.’”

“Here was a man that was working hard to get ahead in life. Unfortunately, this promising life was cut short,” CPD Capt. Gil Calderon said shortly after the murder.

Surveillance video from nearby homes captured the Jeep speeding away after the gunfire. Days later, investigators spotted a similar vehicle being driven by Lopez, who led officers on a chase before being arrested on charges of aggravated fleeing and driving on a revoked license. He was later charged with Aguilar’s murder.

Lopez was on bail for a pending felony gun charge at the time of the murder.