'America's Most Wanted' Criminal Sentenced for Nearby Lincoln Park Murder

A former Chicago man who was profiled as one of America's Most Wanted criminals and reportedly fled to Mexico after murdering a man in 1982 was sentenced Thursday to 30 years in prison.

Bruno Salgado, 58, whose last known address was in Ramsey, MN, was convicted earlier this summer of the 1982 murder of 28-year-old Ismael Solano, according to Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez. 

Prosecutors say that on July 10, 1982, Solano and two friends went to a Lincoln Park bar in the 2700 block of North Lincoln Avenue after work. The bar is located slightly south of Lake View's southern Diversey Parkway border. A short time later, Salgado and a friend arrived at the same bar. 

Salgado, Solano and his companions all worked for the same company, police say.

Salgado reportedly became loud and unruly at the bar and Solano told him to quiet down. An argument between the two escalated into a fight outside when Solano and his friends were leaving.  

During the fight, Salgado’s friend was hit in the head with a beer bottle, after which Salgado went to his car to get a gun. Salgado shot Solano and both of his friends, though documents from the state's attorney's office did not indicate where on their bodies the victims were shot.

Solano later died from his injuries. Salgado fled the scene on foot and several witnesses later identified him as the shooter.

He left Illinois to escape prosecution for this crime; first to California, then Mexico and finally Minnesota. In December 2006, the crime was profiled on the television show "America’s Most Wanted."  Numerous tips on Salgado’s whereabouts came in and he was arrested in August 2010 in Minnesota.

He was found guilty of one count each of first-degree murder and aggravated battery during a bench trial before Judge Vincent Gaughan on June 25, 2013.  

Judge Gaughan sentenced Salgado Thursday to 30 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Assistant State’s Attorney Risa Lanier collaborated with the Chicago Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation to put Salgado behind bars.