A dad-to-be from Chicago was killed by a smash-and-grab robber fleeing a crime scene just one day before his son was born, according to officials and local reports.
Mark Arceta, 40, was on his way to work for his last shift before paternity leave on Thursday morning when his car was hit by a vehicle being driven by Dejuan Wingard, according to prosecutors, who say the suspect was fleeing from a robbery at a Louis Vuitton store on the Magnificent Mile, a famous shopping street in Chicago.
Arceta’s girlfriend, Roanne Masangkay, delivered their son a day after Arceta was killed.
"They did not want to tell me because I'm pregnant. They did not want me to worry. So, I just grabbed the phone, and then I couldn't believe it," Masangkay told Fox 32 Chicago.
A crew of at least a dozen pulled up to the Louis Vuitton store in six stolen vehicles shortly before 5 a.m. local time Thursday, according to court records.
The Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office said in a press release multiple videos showed a pickup truck backing up and ramming into the store’s windows. The crew then stole nearly $700,000 of merchandise, loaded it into the vehicles and fled, according to court records.
Wingard, 30, was driving a Kia at about 77 miles per hour, speeding through multiple red lights, when Arceta’s Honda CRV was hit, prosecutors said.
Another vehicle fleeing the robbery, an Infiniti, jumped over a concrete barrier and blew out its tires, according to prosecutors.
Two suspects, Anthony Hemphill, 22, and Keith Perkins, 19, tried to flee on foot but were caught, prosecutors said. Two other people in the car were at large as of Saturday.
Wingard, Hemphill and Perkins, along with Darius Bowdry, 30, Harvey Fisher, 26, Alton Jackson, 37, and Kellen McMiller, 35, were charged with first-degree murder, burglary and retail theft. As of last Saturday, only $270,000 of stolen goods had been recovered.
"I want my son to know his dad was so loved. He gave me everything I wanted. He was selfless, generous, and never turned his back on people who needed help,” Masangkay said of Arceta.
A GoFundMe page created to help support Arceta’s family said they were “blessed” with the birth of his son, adding, “He is the light given to us in this time of darkness.”
The family asked people to “come together” to support “our dear cousin” Masangkay, her newborn, her and Arceta’s 16-month-old daughter and 10-year-old stepdaughter.
The GoFundMe has already raised more than $55,000.
Arceta’s mother, Alejandra, told CBS News Chicago, “I miss him very much already.”
"He's healthy, no sickness, and then he will just die like that very fast, it's very hurting," she said.
