Cuauhtemoc Temo Estrada, 50, was an Investigator II with the Cook County Sheriff’s Office and a U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in Operation Desert Storm. On December 20, 2013, while off duty and attending a Christmas party at the Veterans of Foreign Wars hall in Bellwood, Estrada intervened in an armed robbery in the parking lot. He identified himself and attempted to reach for his service weapon when he was shot once in the chest. He was taken to Loyola University Medical Center and was pronounced dead shortly after arrival.

Two suspects were arrested two days later. Brandon Jackson, 27, of Bellwood, and Gage Thornton were connected to the killing; court records and trial evidence presented that Jackson discussed details of the crime on a recorded phone call and that DNA matching Jackson was found on a hat linked to one assailant. Estrada left a wife, a son, two daughters, and three grandchildren, and hundreds of law enforcement officers attended his funeral procession.