Francisco Alvarado, once a resident of West Chicago, has been sentenced to a total of forty years in jail for his involvement in the 2018 murder of 18-year-old Luis Guerrero. DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin announced that Judge Brian Telander ordered Alvarado to serve thirty-four years for the charge of first-degree murder and an additional six years for aggravated kidnapping, with the terms to be served consecutively. As reported by DuPage County's official statement, Alvarado's sentence comes as the conclusion to the legal proceedings against all defendants in the case.
On an unassuming day in August of 2018, officials on a training exercise chanced upon a smoldering human body in West Chicago, marking the beginning of a grisly case. Alvarado, now sentenced, is the last of four individuals implicated in the crime, following sentences handed down to his co-defendants. Tia Brewer, also implicated in the crime, received a forty-year sentence earlier in February 2025, while the other two, Jesus Jurado-Correa and Saul Ruiz, received fifteen and ten years, respectively, for their roles in the conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, Berlin stated in a grim recollection of the events.
The investigation by the West Chicago Police Department and the Major Crimes Task Force revealed a month-long premeditated murder plot, which culminated tragically with Guerrero's murder. Alvarado and Brewer, after ambushing and assaulting Guerrero, transported him to Joliet Street, where they continued their attack before setting him on fire. In a macabre turn, when Guerrero attempted to flee while ablaze, he was further stabbed and beaten by the pair and then set on fire once again. The level of violence and intent in this case has been described by State's Attorney Berlin as unparalleled in his extensive career.
In a statement obtained by DuPage County, Berlin said, "Seven years ago, Mr. Alvarado, along with his three defendants, savagely strangled, beat, stabbed and lit Luis Guerrero on fire." He continued, "With today’s sentencing, the final chapter in the prosecution of those responsible for the gruesome murder of Luis is now complete." Berlin's tenure as a prosecutor, now stretching beyond thirty-seven years, has seen many cases, but this one, he attested, stood out for the sheer brutality it involved.
The aftermath of the legal proceedings leaves a community grappling with the loss and a family forever marked by tragedy. Those who held Luis Guerrero dear are left to find peace, now armed only with memories in the wake of such a cruel act. For Alvarado and his co-defendants, the sentences mark an end to their immediate legal journey, hoping to serve as some measure of justice for Guerrero's untimely and violent departure from the world.
