A late-night road-rage encounter on the Stevenson Expressway has landed two Chicago residents with criminal charges more than a month after shots were fired at another driver's car. Illinois State Police say 28-year-old Pedro Anzaldua and 32-year-old Janie Palomo, both of Chicago, were on a motorcycle when the confrontation escalated into gunfire on southbound I-55 just north of I-294.
The shooting happened around 11 p.m. on Sept. 5, according to Country Herald, which reported that the two suspects riding the motorcycle were involved in a road-rage incident before a weapon was fired at another vehicle. Despite the gunfire, no injuries were reported, the outlet noted. As reported by CBS Chicago, Illinois State Police special agents went on to identify Anzaldua and Palomo as the suspects in the case.
Anzaldua now faces three felony charges: attempted murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm and aggravated assault, per the same account. Palomo was separately charged with aggravated assault with a firearm, described as a Class A misdemeanor. Anzaldua remains in custody pending his first court appearance, while Palomo was issued a notice to appear in court, the article notes.
Arrests Announced Oct. 13
Country Herald reported that Anzaldua and Palomo were arrested on Oct. 11, while CBS Chicago reported that Illinois State Police announced the arrests on Oct. 13.
The investigation into the September shooting was carried out by Illinois State Police Division of Criminal Investigation Zone 1 special agents with assistance from the Blue Island Police Department, per Country Herald's reporting.
Part Of A Pattern On Chicago-Area Expressways
This isn't an isolated case for state troopers working Chicago's interstates this year. In July, Illinois State Police arrested 24-year-old Marcellus Crockrom of Chicago after a road-rage incident on I-55 turned into a shooting in which the suspect fired at the victim's vehicle, striking it, though no injuries were reported. Crockrom was charged with attempted murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm, according to a statement from Illinois State Police.
Just days before the Anzaldua and Palomo arrests became public, Illinois State Police announced two more arrests tied to separate road-rage shootings on I-290. Agents arrested 33-year-old David N. Andujar and 45-year-old Mario Lyons after incidents in which, in one case, a shot was fired from one vehicle at another with no injuries reported, and in a second case a suspect allegedly fired multiple times at a vehicle that wasn't struck, leaving the victim uninjured, per Illinois State Police.
Statewide Numbers Trending Down
The spate of incidents comes even as the state's overall interstate shooting numbers have been falling. Illinois recorded an all-time high of 310 interstate shootings in 2021, a figure that has declined every year since, according to Shaw Local. The count dropped to 189 in 2022 and 129 in 2023, then fell another 31% in 2024 to 89 incidents, Shaw Local reported.
Illinois State Police has credited the decline partly to continued investment in resources including personnel, license plate readers, air operations, K-9 units and investigations, per the same report. The agency also said stepped-up patrol enforcement and special violent crime reduction missions contributed to a 7% drop in fatal crashes in 2024. Still, the recent string of arrests on I-55 and I-290 shows expressway gunfire tied to road rage remains an active concern for troopers patrolling the Chicago area.
