Wicked streets of Chicago Ep.25: Samuel Parsons-Salas and the Vera Lounge Massacre..

On December 18th, 2022, Chicago witnessed one of the coldest and most shocking crimes in recent memory.
A birthday celebration at Vera Lounge in Portage Park turned into a massacre when 32-year-old Samuel Parsons-Salas opened fire—killing three people and leaving the birthday girl, 25-year-old Mariah Vera, fighting for her life.

This episode of Wicked Streets of Chicago breaks down the real, documented events of that night:
the argument, the gunfire, the escape, the kidnapping, and the devastating aftermath that still impacts families today.

But this story goes deeper than one night.
Samuel Parsons-Salas should’ve never been free.
Years earlier, he was charged with murder during a deadly 2009 home invasion, yet the murder counts were dropped in a plea deal—allowing him to walk out on parole just three months before the Vera Lounge killings.

This documentary exposes:
• How the system failed long before the first shot
• The deadly chain reaction caused by one bad plea deal
• The victims whose lives were stolen
• The community still grieving
• And the hard lessons Chicago keeps teaching us

This ain’t a “street legend.”
This is a warning, a tragedy, and a breakdown of how violence moves when the system lets danger walk free.

If you’re from Chicago—or you’ve ever lost somebody too soon—this story gon’ hit you deep.