Chicago

17 Alleged Members of Chicago Street Gang Indicted: Feds

The indictment by U.S. Attorney Thomsa Kirsch, of the northern district of Indiana, names 17 people believed to be members of the Latin Dragons Nation, a Chicago-area criminal street gang

More than a dozen alleged gang members in Illinois and Indiana were indicted by the U.S. Attorney’s office for a string of murders, shootings, stabbings and assaults that killed or injured more than 40 people, federal authorities announced Friday.

The indictment by U.S. Attorney Thomsa Kirsch, of the northern district of Indiana, names 17 people believed to be members of the Latin Dragons Nation, a Chicago-area criminal street gang. 

According to the latest indictment, 11 of the 17 people indicted were charged with murder connected to 11 homicides between October 2006 and November 2017. There were also 23 additional shootings, stabbings and assaults tied to the case, officials said, with the remaining charges listed for gang-related offenses. 

Four members of the same gang had been charged in a racketeering conspiracy in October 2018.

The indictment was triggered by a fatal drive-by shooting that killed a 10-year-old boy in July 2017. It also named another 10-year-old homicide victim, a girl who was fatally shot in 2008 while tying the shoes of her blind 5-year-old sister. 

According to prosecutors, many of the alleged crimes in the indictment happened in Chicago.

“These critical indictments are an example not just of the ravages of gangs and violence on our communities, but also of how law enforcement agencies are tirelessly working together toward justice for the victims," the Cook County Sheriff's office said in a statement Friday. "The Sheriff’s Office is proud to have played a key role in the investigations that led to indictments for these crimes, including the heinous slaying of 10-year-old Gustavo Garcia.” 

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