Two men caught and one killed by police fleeing the scene of a double-homicide are suspected in more than a dozen murders involving fake drug deals that turned into robberies, police sources said.
Police killed Arturo Ibarra, 37, of 4521 S. Troy, Saturday night after two people were found killed and a third seriously injured in an Edgewater apartment in the 5800 block of N. Winthrop. Ibarra and two suspects fled the scene and, in a shootout, an officer was shot in the leg and Ibarra was killed, police said.
The suspect, Ibarra and the two men had been under surveillance for months, suspected of being part of a crew that had set up fake cocaine deals of $100,000 or more, according to a source. When the buyer or buyers showed up, they would be robbed and killed, sources said.
The three, who worked for a home remodeling business, are suspected in at least 13 murders, including a quadruple slaying Sept. 2 in the 6100 block of South Kildare, said sources. Noel Casares, Alonso Villarreal, Roberto Rivera and Luis Santillian were found bound and shot in the head in a garage there. One source said they are suspected in the deaths of three men found inside a car last spring in the 2300 block of W. 36th Street.
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