A man from Chicago is accused of committing two break-ins and fatally stabbing his landlord during a chaotic crime spree in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on Monday night. The suspect, Rolando Morales, 32, was ordered to be held in custody by Judge Barbara Dawkins due to safety concerns.
The incidents started when Morales asked his landlord for help with a broken window in the 1700 block of West 45th Street. Instead, he forced his way into another apartment in the building and confronted a woman living there, pushing her.
Hearing the woman’s screams, the landlord, 61-year-old Lorenzo Lavalle, came outside to investigate. Morales confronted Lavalle and stabbed him in the chest with a kitchen knife. Lavalle later died at Holy Cross Hospital.
Morales, with blood on his hands and clothing, then fled to a nearby apartment building, entering a woman’s kitchen through the window. Inside, he pushed a 33-year-old woman and entered her bedroom.
Witnesses alerted the police to the woman’s bedroom, where officers arrested Morales. According to a Chicago police report, Morales seemed to be under the influence of a controlled substance, acting erratically and not responding to verbal commands.
Morales is now facing charges of first-degree murder and two counts of home invasion with bodily injury.