With a gun pointed at his face early that cold winter night, Daniel Nava Jr. had one thought in mind: Survival.
“I was just trying to get out of the way,” the 31-year-old Chicago man said.
When Sisto Brito, 33, allegedly pulled the trigger, Nava’s instincts might have saved his life.
“He shot me in the head, but I put up my hand. That’s what saved me,” Nava said. “If I wouldn’t have blocked it, I would have been dead, too.”
Nearly 13 months later, there’s a mark near his right wrist, along with the indentation in his right temple where a bullet is lodged.
Surgeons have deemed surgery too risky, Nava’s father, Daniel Sr., said.
Nava considers himself lucky. One week after he was shot he walked out of Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood.
“They wanted me to stay,” he said, “but I got up and got out. I wanted to go to my friend’s funeral.”
That friend, Morales Ricardo Lopez, of Blue Island, died Feb. 17, 2024.
He was allegedly shot to death by Brito on Joliet Avenue near Joliet Road in McCook following an argument outside a McCook bar at 47th Street and Joliet Avenue.
On Monday morning, Brito was back in court for another status hearing that lasted about two minutes.
Brito is charged with murder and two counts of attempted murder. He has been in custody at Cook County Jail since Feb. 18, 2024.
On Monday, he was given another court date for 9:30 p.m. April 9.
That will be a detention hearing before Cook County Circuit Court Judge John “Terry” Gallagher in Room 110 at the Bridgeview Courthouse.
Brito’s lawyer, Damon Cheronis, will likely ask that Brito be released from jail at that hearing, but his chances are very slim given the charges.
Outside the courthouse Monday, Nava, his father and mother discussed a night they will never forget.
“He’s kind of fighting it. But we’ve got evidence. There’s no way he’s getting out of here,” the shooting victim said of Brito.
Nava said he, Lopez and two other men were in McCook that night because they had “gone for some beers.”
The younger Nava said he knew of Brito, saying “he’s a relative of a neighbor.”
“We ran into him (in the parking lot) and we started arguing about a parking space. He pushed me. I got mad and I hit him. From there, it escalated.”
An argument and fight broke out after they commented about the way Brito had parked his car, Nava said.
After the fight, when Brito allegedly pulled a gun out of his car, Nava and Lopez ran south on Joliet Avenue. The two other men fled north.
Brito chased Nava and Lopez.
“He killed my friend first. I ran. Then I slipped on some grass. I was already shot once in the back of my leg. Then I slipped (and fell) and he shot me in the head.”
His mother, Maria Nava, said “it’s a miracle” her son survived.
Daniel Jr. is one of three sons. The couple also has a daughter.
His father is frustrated the legal process is taking so long.
Maria said she “fell to my knees and prayed to God,” when they learned the younger Daniel had been shot.
Asked what sentence Brito deserves if he is found guilty, Maria was torn.
“I think about him and his mother. I have empathy for them, but I don’t know,” she said. “I just want my son to be safe.”
Lopez’ widow, Ana Lopez, attended the hearing. She’s been at every hearing. She shrugged when asked for her opinion about Monday’s status hearing.
“No thoughts. I’m just trusting in God,” she said. “I’m doing good by the glory of God.”