Alleged cop killer was “angel of death” prosecutor says in closing argument

A jury has begun deliberating in the case of the man charged with killing Chicago police officer Andres Vasquez Lasso two years ago on a Gage Park playground.

The trial for the alleged killer, Steven Montano, resumed Monday with closing arguments in front of a packed courtroom at Leighton Criminal Courthouse.

“Andres Vasquez Lasso did not live a long life,” Assistant State’s Attorney Sara Grgurovic told jurors Monday. “He did not grow old with his wife, he did not die in her arms. ... This was the last face that Andres Vasquez Lasso ever saw in his short life, the defendant, Steven Montano. His killer, his angel of death.”

Montano has not denied shooting Vasquez Lasso in 2023, but claims he did not know he was a Chicago police officer, and fired “out of pure fear.” Prosecutors have called this argument a “fantasy of fact.”

Montano was running from a domestic incident, toward a playground with a gun, as Vasquez Lasso chased after ordering for him to stop, prosecutors said. Vasquez Lasso was killed in the exchange of gunfire that followed seconds later.

“Everything about Officer Andres Vasquez Lasso screamed: I am an on duty police officer and I am doing my job.” Grgurovic told jurors Monday. “The defendant knew it and it didn't matter to him.”

Motivated by fear, Montano’s attorneys claim he only saw a gun pointed his way, when he turned and opened fire on the officer.

“Steven Montano was a terrified, panicked 18-year old kid who was running for his life.” Assistant Public Defender Brett Balmer told jurors Monday. “He did something unimaginable…he turned and shot a gun at this officer.”

Balmer told jurors this was “a tragedy that should have never happened,” but that it is not first degree murder.

During deliberations jurors will consider the initial charges of first degree murder and the lesser charge of second degree murder.

Prosecutors told jurors in order to bring justice to Vasquez Lasso and his family, they must find Montano guilty of the first degree murder charge.

The afternoon of March 1, 2023, officers were called to a domestic incident in the 5200 block of South Spaulding Avenue. Montano and his then 37-year-old girlfriend, Linda Perea, were arguing when he charged at her and told her he had a gun, she testified last week.

She testified that she called 911 and reported Montano was armed, but he hung up on dispatchers and threw away the phone.

When officers arrived, Montano testified he jumped from a window into a gangway and ran toward an alley with a gun.

Vasquez Lasso arrived as backup and spotted Montano running toward Sawyer Elementary School. Vasquez Lasso jumped out of his squad car and chased after Montano, repeatedly ordering him to stop.

The entire incident was captured on Vasquez Lasso’s body camera, which was played for jurors throughout the trial.

As Montano ran into a fenced playground area, he turned and pointed a gun at the officer.

Montano fired five times, hitting Vasquez Lasso in the head, arm and leg, prosecutors said. Vasquez Lasso fired twice, hitting Montano in the face.

Montano’s trial spanned a week, with jurors hearing from a handful of responding officers providing at times emotional testimony. Friday afternoon, jurors heard Montano’s own version of events. He described for jurors a deep-seated fear of police that prompted him to flee from officers that afternoon with a gun still on him.

He said when he heard a call to stop, his instinct was to turn and shoot.

“It honestly was just so fast and a reaction out of pure fear,” Montano said Friday. “I just turned around and shot without thinking.”

Vasquez Lasso personified the American dream, according to fellow officers. He came to the United States from Colombia at the age of 18, learned English and joined the Chicago Police Department at 27.

“He was woven into the fabric of this country and into this city and when he joined the Chicago police department he further committed himself to this city joining the brave men and women who protect and serve,” prosecutors said.

The 32-year-old is one of eight officers killed in line-of-duty shootings since 2018, according to the Chicago Police Memorial Foundation.