Man found guilty in 2005 Aurora gang-related murder

More than 17 years after Jorge Caro was beaten to death in Aurora, a fifth man has been convicted of his murder.

On Thursday, Kane County Judge Elizabeth Flood found Quinton C. Moore, 41, guilty of three counts of first-degree murder.

The bench trial was held in February.

On Sept. 24, 2005, Moore and fellow gang members were at a party in the 600 block of Lincoln Avenue when they encountered 21-year-old Caro, also of Aurora.

Some questioned whether Caro was a member of their gang because he used a gang handshake without permission. They also believed he had cooperated with police in a murder investigation, according to authorities.

His attackers kicked Caro, punched him and beat him with a baseball bat. They took his shoes and shirt and left him to die.

An autopsy found 22 injuries to Caro’s head and 16 to his upper body and arms, according to a news release from the Kane County state’s attorney’s office.

The case was indicted in 2007 as part of a multijurisdictional cold-case investigation called “Operation First Degree Burn.” A grand jury indicted more than 30 men in 22 cold-case homicides investigated by the state’s attorney’s office, Aurora police, the FBI and the Kane County sheriff’s office.

Co-defendants Juan Vargas, Max M. Aguilar, Ruben Hernandez and Roman Lucio were convicted and sent to prison. Another man, Timothy Echols, was also charged. But the charge was dropped as part of a plea agreement for him to testify.

Moore’s case took so long for several reasons. He was found unfit to stand trial at least twice and sent to the Chester Mental Health Center for treatment. He also appealed a judge’s pretrial decision.

Moore was previously convicted of a 2005 attempted murder in another case and was sentenced to 27 years in prison.

He faces a sentence of 20 to 60 years in prison in this case.

Moore remains on trial on charges he murdered Larry Postelwaite of Aurora and Sharon Paulette of St. Charles on Feb. 8, 2001, in Aurora, as they sat in a car.

He also was charged with killing Jorge Uriostigue of Aurora in the front yard of a home on Aug. 8, 2003, but prosecutors dropped that case.