Feds charge illegal immigrant in Loyola student killing as attorney says prosecutors lack 'faith' in state

Federal prosecutors piled new charges Thursday on an illegal immigrant accused of killing a Loyola University Chicago student because the feds "have no faith" in the state's justice system, according to a local criminal defense attorney.

"Blue cities historically are lighter in their prosecutions. We have already heard that this person was of diminished capacity, so we are probably going to see some defense in regard to that," Donna Rotunno told Fox News Digital. "My guess is the feds wanted to jump in so they can have some control over the fate of the defendant."

Jose Medina-Medina, 25, was arrested after he allegedly killed 18-year-old Loyola University Chicago student Sheridan Gorman on March 19 in the early morning hours. The Department of Homeland Security said that Medina-Medina is an illegal immigrant from Venezuela who first entered the U.S. in 2023, when he was apprehended but released into the country under the Biden administration.

Federal prosecutors on Thursday charged Medina-Medina with illegally possessing a firearm, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in federal prison. The firearm Medina-Medina allegedly used to kill Gorman was illegally purchased around February 6, 2008, from a Federal Firearms Licensee in Montgomery, Alabama, according to a charging document.

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Sheridan Gorman smiles alongside the Chicago skyline in Illinois.  (Sheridan G. Gorman via Instagram)

"Given the senseless, cold-blooded nature of the murder of a young student with a bright future ahead of her, the Chicago U.S. Attorney’s Office will take no chances that this illegal alien perpetrator will be released back into our community," said U.S. Attorney Boutros.

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Jose Medina-Medina, a Venezuelan national, was also arrested for shoplifting and released before the alleged murder, DHS confirmed.  (DHS)

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In addition to the federal charges, Medina-Medina faces state-level charges of murder, attempted murder, aggravated assault, aggravated discharge of a firearm, and illegal possession of a weapon.

Sheridan Gorman, a New York native, was reportedly only a few months away from completing her freshman year at Loyola University Chicago in Illinois. (Sheridan G. Gorman via Instagram)

During a detention hearing for Medina-Medina, prosecutors revealed that Gorman was with her friends at a Rogers Park pier when she looked around a lighthouse and saw Medina-Medina there. Gorman then walked back towards her friends and mouthed, "There's a man behind the lighthouse," at which point Medina-Medina began chasing them. 

Prosecutors said Gorman was shot in the upper back while the group of friends ran away from Medina-Medina. Her friends kept running until they found a place to hide, then went back to check on Gorman, who was unresponsive.

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Sketch of Jose Medina-Medina in court in Chicago, Friday, March 27, 2026. Medina-Medina, who is in the country illegally, allegedly shot and killed Sheridan Gorman while she was at a pier in the Rogers Park area. (L.D. Chukman)

While Medina-Medina was in Colombia, he was shot in the head, which resulted in the loss of a portion of his brain and skull, leaving him to relearn basic functions, his attorney said. Medina-Medina's attorney said that he has the brain development of a child and cannot read or write.

Medina-Medina's attorney also said that he suffers from epilepsy and still has bullet fragments lodged in his brain. The murder suspect turned himself in at the Texas border in 2023, where he was held in detention before being released. His attorney said that Medina-Medina had requested to be sent back to Colombia, where his mother had moved to, but had been transported by bus to Chicago.

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During Medina-Medina's time in a shelter, he contracted tuberculosis, according to his attorney. He was treated for tuberculosis after being arrested on murder charges, which led to a delay in his detention hearing.

Members of the Gorman family along with friends of the slain college student were at the court hearing via Zoom, where a judge held Medina-Medina to be detained pending trial.

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Sheridan Gorman, an 18-year-old Loyola University Chicago student who was fatally shot near campus. (Sheridan G. Gorman via Instagram)

"We sat in a courtroom and listened as the person accused of taking Sheridan’s life was described through the lens of his background, his circumstances, and his struggles," Gorman's family said. "We heard a call for compassion. And we understand that instinct. Every life has a story. But we cannot lose sight of the simple, devastating truth at the center of all of this: Sheridan had a life too."

Court documents obtained by Fox News Digital show that Medina-Medina told officials he was living at Leone Beach Park fieldhouse in Rogers Park in 2023, which was being used as a city-sponsored shelter for migrants. Medina-Medina was arrested in 2023 and charged with shoplifting after he allegedly stole just over $130 in merchandise from a Macy's in downtown Chicago. He failed to appear for court hearings related to that case, and an arrest warrant remained active until the alleged murder.

Fox News' Philip Bodinet and Patrick McGovern contributed to this report.