A man on parole for a gun conviction handed a gun to a 10-year-old child during a road rage confrontation, then took the gun back and used it to kill the other driver in Humboldt Park, prosecutors say. Keon Slater, 37, is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Martin Guerrero, 22, of Morris, Illinois, who was shot twice in the chest early August 24, 2025, in the 3800 block of West Chicago Avenue.
Chicago police initially said Guerrero crashed his car and a second vehicle pulled up and the driver shot him. But Assistant State’s Attorney Michael Rusch told the court that surveillance footage revealed a very different story.
According to Rusch, the video shows Guerrero driving his white Hyundai Elantra westbound on Chicago Avenue when he ran a red light and crashed into a black Hyundai Tucson, forcing that vehicle into a light pole. The Tucson was driven by a woman and had three passengers in the back seat, including a 10-year-old boy. Slater was sitting in the front passenger seat, Rusch said.
After the crash, Slater got out of the car, grabbed a gun from his waistband and handed it to the 10-year-old, Rusch explained. Moments later, Slater allegedly grabbed the boy’s gun back and ran to Guerrero’s car.
As Slater ran, the 10-year-old could be heard on the video shouting, “Keon! Keon!” before the sound of gunshots rang out seconds later, Rusch said. Two witnesses who were not involved in the accident also saw the shooting. One told investigators that Guerrero was on the phone when Slater shot him, Rusch said.
Slater fled the scene on foot, but investigators found a black iPhone from the Tucson that they were able to trace to him. Genetic material recovered from the passenger side airbag also matched Slater’s DNA, Rusch said.
The driver of the Tucson initially denied knowing Slater, but changed her account after investigators told her the audio recorded her son yelling Slater’s name, and that her phone had repeatedly contacted Slaters, Rusch stated. The woman then acknowledged that she had invited Slater to a party and was driving him home when the accident happened, Rusch said.
Slater has two previous convictions for being a felon in possession of firearms. According to Rusch, he received a five-year prison sentence in 2016 and a seven-year prison sentence in 2022. He was on parole for the 2022 sentencing at the time of the shooting.
Judge Ankur Srivastava arrested Slater and called the murder a ‘cold-blooded murder’.
