Editor’s note: A previous version of this story misstated the suspect’s name.
The man accused of killing a father and son during a robbery at their Little Village jewelry store was identified by a former girlfriend who saw a news report, court documents revealed.
Muhammad Idris Thomas was charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Faustino Alamo, 63, and Luis Angel Alamo, 25, according to a proffer from the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
The Alamos were shot and killed in November while trying to stop two people from stealing at their store, Angelo’s Jewelry, Chicago police previously said. According to prosecutors, investigators linked Thomas to the murders through surveillance video, forensic evidence and positive identification by a witness.
Shortly after noon on Nov. 8, Thomas parked the Maserati he was driving, went inside Angelo’s Jewelry, had a conversation with Faustino Alamo and tried on jewelry before leaving. At around 2 p.m., Thomas picked up two juveniles at 414 W. Cermak – his nephew, who authorities called “juvenile co-offender 1” and a second, “juvenile witness 1.”
Later, at about 5:45 p.m., Thomas went back to Angelo’s Jewelry, where he rang the buzzer and Luis Alamo allowed him in, according to court documents. Thomas placed a cell phone in the door jam to prevent it from locking. He then went and removed two chains from necklace stands and pushed the door open, the proffer revealed.
The cell phone Thomas used to prop the door open fell, and as he tried to pick it up, Luis Alamo pushed him from behind, causing Thomas to stumble in the street. Faustino Alamo, who was armed with a handgun, ran toward the struggle.
Luis Alamo and Thomas exchanged blows in the street before Thomas started to run towards the Maserati, with both victims chasing him. Thomas then removed a handgun from his waistband, pointed it at Luis Alamo and fired, striking him in the leg, according to court documents.
Faustino Alamo discharged his gun in Thomas’ direction, and Thomas returned fire. Then, as Luis Alamo ran toward him with his hands up, Thomas fired additional rounds, prosecutors said.
The juvenile co-offender, who hasn’t been charged, fired a separate gun at Faustino Alamo, striking him. Both victims fell to the ground, and Thomas drove away in the Maserati, according to the proffer.
A few days later, both the juvenile co-offender and witness were arrested on unrelated charges. The witness identified Thomas as the driver of the Maserati who entered the jewelry store. He also identified both Thomas and the juvenile co-offender in several still photos from both before and during the incident, prosecutors said.
Detectives later analyzed cell phone data from eight locations connected to the suspect, juveniles and the Maserati — and determined phones belonging to both of the juveniles were at six of the eight locations.
A search warrant on the Maserati’s infotainment system also placed it at the jewelry store during Thomas’ earlier visit, the spot where he picked the juveniles up and the area of the shooting, prosecutors stated.
DNA swabs taken from the door of the jewelry store showed Thomas’ profile strongly indicated he was a contributor. A former girlfriend also saw a news report about the double homicide and positively identified Thomas, authorities said.
On Jan. 30, members of the U.S. Marshals Service located Thomas at a hotel in St. Louis following surveillance. When they went to his room and knocked on the door, they heard the toilet flush. They then entered and arrested him.
Agents noticed that a window in the room was open; it had been closed when they were on surveillance, authorities said. On a rooftop below was a pillowcase containing two firearms as well as magazines and loose ammunition.
Ballistics analysis revealed one of the weapons, a 45-caliber gun, matched a fired cartridge case recovered from the scene of the double homicide, authorities said. The second weapon, a 9mm handgun, was also a match to a 9mm fired cartridge casing that was recovered from the scene.
