A man found dead inside a burning Jeep Friday, February 16, 2018 just after midnight at a Cinnamon Cove Condominiums parking lot in Mount Prospect had been shot multiple times, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. An autopsy was conducted Saturday morning, and the results of the autopsy determined the victim died of multiple gunshot wounds and his death was a homicide.
Mount Prospect police and firefighter/paramedics responded about 12:03 AM Friday February 16, 2018 to a report of a vehicle fire at a Cinnamon Cove Condominiums parking lot, 1793 West Algonquin Road Mount Prospect, Il. Police and firefighter/paramedics received a report that an explosion was heard, and a witness discovered a Jeep “fully-involved” with fire at a Cinnamon Cove Condominiums parking lot.
Firefighters discovered a body inside a Jeep by 12:13 a.m. and requested Battalion Chief 3 and fire investigators respond to the scene.
The Mount Prospect Police Department on Friday at noon had reported that police officers initially on the scene discovered an unidentified male deceased inside the Jeep. Apparently firefighters were not notified about the police discovery of the body in the initial minutes when they were responding to the scene. Friday night, police reported that the body was discovered after the fire department extinguished the fire. The initial release on Friday at noon has been edited and clarified, explaining that the body was discovered after firefighters extinguished the vehicle fire.
The incident was immediately classified as suspicious, and police said they do not have information that connected the deceased male as the owner of the Jeep. Also, police reported that the vehicle and the location where the vehicle was discovered are not known to be connected.
Neither Mount Prospect Police nor the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office have released the location — in the interior of the Jeep — where the body was found. Investigators are challenged with determining when and where Vladimir Esquivel was shot before the Jeep fire was ignited, including whether he was shot inside the Jeep. Police or the Cook County Medical Examiner have not released whether there is a known time frame when Esquivel was likely shot.
The Jeep was parked a distance of about 20 feet, directly in front of a condominium unit window on the first floor.
[MORE BELOW AD]
facebook …
GET ALERTS on Facebook.com/ArlingtonCardinal
GET ALERTS on Facebook.com/CardinalEmergencies
GET ALERTS on Facebook.com/ArlingtonHeightsCrime
Stay informed with news from PublicSafetyReporter.com’s Emergencies Behind the Scenes Facebook page — Facebook.com/CardinalEmergencies. Includes links to favorite public safety and emergency rescuers and product manufacturers and safety companies that have Facebook pages. Submit your pictures or just stay up-to-date on with fire, rescue, EMS and police photo galleries. Please add your public safety photo to the timeline, or send a message to the page.
Help fund The Cardinal Arlingtoncardinal.com/sponsor
INVESTIGATION …
Police have also not released whether any surveillance video in the area has identified an arrival time or any suspect information connected to the burning Jeep and crime scene at the Cinnamon Cove parking lot.
Mount Prospect police also have not released the name of the registered owner of the Jeep, the city name for the registered owner of the Jeep, or whether or not the Jeep was reported stolen.
The Major Case Assistance Team was called in to assist Mount Prospect Police Department with the investigation of the death in the burning vehicle/homicide case. MCAT was on the scene until about 10:00 a.m. Friday. Also, the Jeep, covered by a tarp, was towed away from the scene at about 10:00 a.m. Friday. Mount Prospect police say the Jeep was towed by a flatbed tow truck to an indoor facility, where it “was forensically examined more thoroughly for trace and other evidence by the Major Case Assistance Team Forensic Unit along with MPPD Technicians.”
Firefighters returned to the scene about 10:00 a.m. Friday February 18, 2018 without NWCDS dispatch, and washed down the parking lot where the Jeep was parked. Firefighters cleared away debris and contaminants with water from a hose line.
The deceased male victim was transported to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office. An autopsy on the deceased male was conducted on Saturday morning at the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office in Chicago.
The Mount Prospect Police Department reports that the investigation is ongoing, and urges anyone with information about this incident to contact the Mount Prospect Police Department Detective Bureau at 847-870-5654.
Anonymous tips can be made to Crime Stoppers of Mount Prospect by calling 847-590-7867 or texting MPPD and your tip to 274637. Tips made through Crime Stoppers of Mount Prospect that lead to the arrest and prosecution of the offender(s) could be eligible for a cash reward of up to $1,000.
FIRE/MEDIC UNITS ASSIGNED …
ENGINE(S): E13
CHIEF(S): BC3
EMS: A ??
Jeep with tarp after vehicle fire at Cinnamon Cove Condos.
MCAT at Cinnamon Cove Condos after vehicle fire with a deceased male in the vehicle.
Arlingtoncardinal.com/dashcam …
Arlingtoncardinal.com/weather … …