FBI adds suspect in Illinois National Guardsman's killing to 'Most Wanted' list

Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune on Oct 20, 2026

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CHICAGO — More than five years after the fatal shooting of an Illinois National Guardsman home from basic training, the Chicago FBI announced Tuesday a reputed gang leader charged in the “senseless” attack has been added to the agency’s “Ten Most Wanted List” and that a reward for his capture and conviction has been increased to $1 million.

Though reputed Milwaukee Kings kingpin Joseph “Troubles” Matos has been a fugitive for more than two years, he is believed to be hiding somewhere close to home, likely with the help of his gang associates, FBI Chicago Special Agent in Charge Ryan Whalen said at a news conference at the agency’s West Side headquarters.

Whalen said even though he’s avoided capture so far, Matos is “hard to miss,” standing at 6 feet 2 inches and 220 pounds, with gang-related tattoos on both sides of his neck, his forearms and a tattoo reading, ironically, “MOST WANTED” across his abdomen.

“As his tattoo predicted, his face and description will now be on every FBI-affiliated website and social media platform, and this case will now be on every phone around the world until he is caught,” Whalen said.

Matos and another man, Gary Roberson, were indicted two years ago on racketeering charges alleging they participated in the July 3, 2021, slaying of Chrys Carvajal, who was fatally shot in the back and abdomen in the 2200 block of North Lockwood Avenue in the Hanson Park neighborhood on the Northwest Side.

Carvajal had recently completed Army basic training and was waiting to be assigned to a unit with the Illinois National Guard when he was ambushed after leaving a house party. The 19-year-old grew up in the Austin neighborhood before his mother, who raised him and three other siblings, moved them to Portage Park out of fear of violence, relatives told the Tribune.

“He was fighting for our country,” his sister, Jennifer Ramirez, said. “He comes to Chicago, and he gets killed in the streets of Chicago.” She said her brother, who died a week before his 20th birthday, aspired to be a police officer since he was a young boy, and he cared deeply for his family and others.

“We have to live a whole life without my brother,” she said. “You always see the news and think it’s going to happen to somebody else and never you.”

The indictment alleged Carvajal’s killing was part of a larger pattern by the Milwaukee Kings gang, which uses violence and intimidation to control turf and boost its reputation.

According to an FBI search warrant affidavit made public in the case, Matos, who heads the gang, and Roberson, his second in command, were out drinking at a restaurant in far north suburban Antioch the night of the shooting and were driving back through the territory of a rival gang when they encountered Carvajal crossing an intersection. Private security cameras captured the moment Roberson allegedly jumped out of Matos’ red Audi and fired several rounds in Carvajal’s direction, the affidavit stated.

A person who’d been in the car with them told the FBI they were awakened in the back seat by a loud sound that “could have been gunshots,” the affidavit stated. Roberson then jumped back in the car “out of breath” and Matos fled, with both of them “hyped up and laughing,” the witness told the FBI, according to the affidavit.

On the day the charges were filed in May 2024, federal agents arrested Roberson without incident, but Matos was not found at the home where he was believed to be staying. The affidavit said when agents questioned his girlfriend, with whom he shares a child, she claimed she hadn’t talked to him for some time — even though neighbors said he’d been there just a day or two earlier.

After agents seized the girlfriend’s phone, it rang with a caller ID labeled “BF” — for boyfriend — with an orange heart emoji, the affidavit stated. The call was not answered, and the girlfriend refused to provide information to unlock it.

Roberson, 42, is being held without bond and his trial is currently set for February, records show. Prosecutors have opted not to seek the death penalty, meaning he faces up to life in prison if convicted.

At Tuesday’s news conference, Whalen said that while Matos has ties to Texas and California, he’s believed to still be in the Chicago area, hiding “with help from his criminal associates.” He should be considered armed and dangerous, Whalen said. Anyone with information should call 1-800-CALL-FBI or submit a tip at tips.fbi.gov.

As Whalen spoke, Ramirez and her mother, Lourdes Lara, stood next to the lectern, both wearing buttons with Carvajal’s photo in his National Guard uniform. Though they’re still reeling from his death, they’re hopeful Matos soon will be brought to justice, Ramirez said.

“It seems like it’s never going to end,” Ramirez told reporters. “(Matos) being added today to the Top Ten Most Wanted means more than words can explain. One million is a lot of money and it brings a lot of hope that someone will do the right thing and bring justice for us, not just for my brother and his memory but also for the future of the children in our city.”

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