Tia Brewer, 22, of Wheaton, was sentenced to 40 years in prison for her role in the brutal murder of 18-year-old Luis Guerrero in West Chicago in 2018. Brewer was convicted on charges of first-degree murder and aggravated kidnapping, resulting in a sentence that has shocked the local community due to the extreme nature of the crime.
DuPage County Judge Brian Telander sentenced Brewer to 34 years for the murder and 6 years for kidnapping. Brewer pleaded guilty to the charges in November 2023. She will serve the full 34 years of her murder sentence, followed by 85% of the 6-year kidnapping sentence before she can be considered for parole. Brewer received credit for the nearly 6½ years she spent in custody awaiting trial.
Prosecutors had requested a natural life sentence, arguing that the crime was one of the most brutal they had seen. “The unconscionable degree of depravity exhibited by Tia Brewer and her co-defendants in this case as they strangled, beat, stabbed, and set on fire Luis Guerrero is beyond comprehension,” said State’s Attorney Robert Berlin. “In my 37 years as a prosecutor, I would be hard-pressed to recall such a vicious, gruesome murder of an innocent man.”
The violent crime occurred on the morning of August 14, 2018. West Chicago firefighters discovered a smoldering object in a fire pit at 1300 Joliet Street, only to find Guerrero’s body covered by a wooden picnic table. Investigators quickly determined that Brewer, along with co-defendants Jesus Jurado-Correa, 25; Saul Ruiz, 24; and Francisco Alvarado, 25, had been planning the murder for about a month.
Brewer had arranged to meet Guerrero, 18, outside the West Chicago Public Library. Upon his arrival, Alvarado attacked Guerrero from behind, strangling him with a belt. Brewer and Alvarado proceeded to stab and punch Guerrero, taking his backpack in the process. The group then forced Guerrero into a Jeep Cherokee, driving him to a field on Joliet Street, where they continued the assault. Guerrero pleaded for them to take him to a hospital but was instead subjected to further violence.
Brewer and Alvarado asked co-defendant Correa to bring gasoline, and they set Guerrero on fire while he was unconscious. Guerrero later regained consciousness, attempted to flee, but was stabbed and punched again, and ultimately run over by the Jeep. They then dragged his body back to the fire pit and set him on fire a second time. Guerrero suffered 16 stab wounds and multiple broken bones, including a fractured pelvis and shoulder.
Brewer and Alvarado were romantically involved, and Brewer later told investigators she attacked Guerrero because he had sexually assaulted her. However, no such assault had been reported to police. Alvarado claimed that the confrontation began when Guerrero attacked him during a planned meeting to buy a phone, though no evidence corroborated this claim. Alvarado’s family contacted authorities after discovering blood inside the Jeep.
Jurado-Correa and Ruiz, both from West Chicago, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in exchange for cooperating with prosecutors. Jurado-Correa received a 15-year sentence, while Ruiz was sentenced to 10 years. Alvarado, who also pleaded guilty to first-degree murder, is scheduled for sentencing on February 26.
The shocking violence of this case has left the community in disbelief. Guerrero’s family continues to mourn the loss of their loved one. While Brewer’s sentencing brings some justice, the brutality of the crime will forever remain a painful memory for everyone involved.
