Man charged with vandalizing West Lawn mural honoring 3 fallen Chicago police officers

A Chicago man has been arrested on felony vandalism charges, after police said he defaced a West Lawn neighborhood mural honoring three fallen officers.

Armando Ramirez, 29, has been charged with one felony count of criminal defacement of property.

Police said, on June 15, he spray-painted the word "TRASH" on a mural of fallen officers Luis Huesca, Andres Vasquez-Lasso, and Enrique Martinez.

Huesca was shot and killed in April 2024 after returning home from work in the Gage Park neighborhood.

Vasquez-Lasso was shot and killed while responding to a domestic violence call in Gage Park in March 2023.

Martinez was shot and killed during a traffic stop in the East Chatham neighborhood in November 2024.

Cook County Crime Stoppers had been offering a $1,000 reward for information leading to an arrest for the vandalism, but it was unclear if tips to Crime Stoppers helped lead to Ramirez's arrest.

At a detention hearing on Thursday, a judge released Ramirez from custody, but was ordered to stay away from the mural he allegedly defaced.