Before Nunnery was sentenced, Rangels mother, Mary Rangel, gave a victims impact statement. The states attorneys office dropped the murder, attempted murder, aggravated battery and conspiracy to commit murder charges. | Cook County states attorneys office. The Latin Kings were formed in Chicago in the 1960s and has grown into one of the largest street gangs in the country, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. Late that May, Ware, Nunnery and Spann picked up Simmons at his West Side home, according to a prosecutors report. Law enforcement officials do not know the location of Nieves and Sanchez. Garcia and Zambrano were the highest-ranking Latin Kings to be convicted and sentenced since Gustavo Gino Colon, who also holds the title of Corona, was sentenced to life in prison in 2000. Two high-level leaders of the Latin Kings gang were among 21 people arrested in a months-long investigation that resulted in the seizure of large amounts of Hes been reprimanded for threatening correctional officers, attacking one with his wheelchair and fashioning a shiv out of pens and medical tape for which he received minimal punishment. Donell states that pop him meant to kill him and him was the dude they call Kato. . For the first time in three years, Latin's math department hosted the Middle School Math Contest in person on Saturday, January 28. Rudy Rangels bodyguard said he tossed his gun into a bucket at a nearby carwash after he tried to shoot Donell Simmons. The evidence at Amayas trial showed that by 2008, just a couple of years after he was released on parole from a 24-year sentence for a 1992 murder conviction, Amaya was promoted to Regional Inca of the Little Village Region, reporting only to Garcia and Zambrano and effectively running the gang at their behest. In 2009, Spann pleaded guilty to the armed robbery. Western Division His brother, Jose Vargas, who was not in a gang, was gunned down by the Latin Dragons in 2006, so Vargas directed his vengeance toward that gang, including ordering the 2007 murders of Latin Dragons leaders Joe Walsh and Gonzalo Diaz as they left a Griffith restaurant. The Chicago Police Department, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Chicago, the Cook County Sheriffs Police, and the Joliet Metropolitan Area Narcotics Squad also had significant roles in the investigation, which was conducted through the federal High Intensity Drug-Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Task Force and under the umbrella of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF). In a deal with prosecutors, hed pleaded guilty to aggravated discharge of a firearm, was sentenced to four years in prison in May 2002 and paroled from the Vandalia Correctional Center on Feb. 26, 2003. In addition to Colon and his wife, others charged in the indictment for drug conspiracy were Chicago-area residents: Jorge D. Martinez, 32; Wilfredo Escobar, 35; All told, hundreds of shootings resulting from Latin Kings conduct occurred in Little Village during the period of Amayas prominence, according to the government. Two other co-defendants convicted at the same trial also received substantial prison terms. Amaya must serve at least 85 percent of the sentence. After 25 years in state prison, Colon was set to be released in 1997. Those criminal cases concluded in 2008 with convictions and prison for everyone but Spann. Lord Gino Colon, a former leader, is leading his Latin Kings from inside the Menard Correctional Center, but he is not the only one. Also convicted were 33-year-old Vicente Garcia, who was in charge of all Latin Kings in Illinois; Jose Guzman, 34, known as a former "National Enforcer' in the Little Village faction; and Alphonso Chavez, 26, the leader of the gang's 31st and Drake faction. He was there only a few minutes when Simmons who didnt know about Rangels 23-year-old bodyguard or his five-shot revolver came out of the alley. Garcia was among a total of 31 co-defendants who were indicted in September 2008 or charged in a superseding indictment in October 2009. The sentence was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Robert J. Holley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Carl Vasilko, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. But interviews and thousands of pages of records from the U.S. attorneys office, the Chicago Police Department, the Cook County states attorneys office and the Cook County medical examiners office reviewed by the Chicago Sun-Times suggest another possible motive: that the murder was contracted after Rangel stole 150 kilos of cocaine. Ware, Spann and a third man were driving around, Simmons said, then Spann called Nunnery, and they headed to Roosevelt and California. The following year, Colon was sentenced to at least 30 years in state prison for the murder. Colon was found guilty on all but one of the 21 counts leveled against him. I joined the Latin Kings when I was 12 years old, and it taught me nothing but evil.". So he started looking for Rangel himself around Fullerton and Clybourn, near a recording studio Rangel had. [1], In 1995, he was convicted of ordering multiple murders from prison by writing to members of the Latin Kings on the outside. Simmons ran with the bodyguard in pursuit and the sheriffs officers now less than a block away. RICO and extortion conspiracy and assault with a dangerous weapon each carry a maximum of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He said he ordered killings and killed on orders of higher-ups in the gang. On June 4, 2003, Nunnery was at work at a cellphone store when he got the call from Ware hed been waiting for: Rangel was at the barbershop. Born in Rangel had friends and aspirations in the music business, rubbing elbows with hip-hop heavyweights including DMX and Fat Joe, who, in a radio interview last August, called him a beautiful dude. A friend told police Rangel had two performers he was in negotiations with Dreamworks to record. Tha Ladder 04. In 1996, the new leader of the Latin Kings in New York, which seemed to be spearheading other East Coast Latin King chapters, was Antonio "King Tone" Fernandez. They sold powder cocaine twice a month to fund the "Nation Box," a kitty used by the regional gang hierarchy to buy guns and ammunition, and to pay funeral and attorney fees for gang members, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. I want to thank our local, state and federal law enforcement partners for their brave and outstanding work resulting in a major impact on this gang enterprise, Mr. Fardon added. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Asked how Colon could direct a drug operation from prison, state prison director Odie Washington said that the gang chief, like other prisoners, has the right to use telephones and receive visitors. | Chicago Police Department. The books power never waned, and over the years the University of Chicago composer has written several works with a focus on the Holocaust during her Pulitzer Prize-winning career. He faces charges of armed trafficking of fentanyl, cocaine, heroin and amphetamine, among others. WebAs for leaders, the Latin Kings have not been able to sustain a peaceful environment within their gangs. / CBS Chicago. Even while held at the Cook County Jail, Spann who has used a wheelchair since being shot more than 15 years ago has found himself in trouble. Six years later, in 1986, after fleeing Chicago, he founded the New York chapter of the Latin Kings. CHICAGO (AP) Paul Vallas and Brandon Johnson will meet in a runoff to be the next mayor of Chicago after voters denied incumbent Lori Lightfoot a second term, And three of those runoffs would involve incumbents appointed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot over the last year. So Rangel, a leader of the Latin Kings, one of Chicagos biggest street gangs, had been going several times a month to Nationwide Cutz, a barbershop operating out of a trailer near Roosevelt and Sacramento on the West Side. Colon absolutely deserves this opportunity to finally be out and be with his family and be free after all these years in custody, Pissetzky said. The sentence was announced by Gary S. Shapiro, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, together with Cory B. Nelson, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Larry Ford, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The Hillsborough County Sheriffs Office and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administrations Tampa office worked together on the investigation, dubbed Operation Checkmate, that led to the search of five homes in the Wimauma area last week, Sheriff Chad Chronister said at a news conference. Man Of Steel 02. As witnesses told the court, the Donell states that as they rode in the car, he saw Martise on the sidewalk shaking the dudes hand. Zambrano was the nationwide leader of the Latin Kings, which is based in Chicago and has about 10,000 members in Illinois alone, according to federal prosecutors. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites. The original gang members were all related to one another. Gang leaders outside of Illinoisfollowed rulesset by theChicago operation. During the two-month trial, prosecutors played dozens of recorded phone calls that illustrated Colons control of the Latin Kings. The survey of about 1,300 players, released Wednesday, was created to help players make free-agent decisions and to improve league standards. Secure .gov websites use HTTPS 327 S. Church Street, Room 3300 Colons wife was among his co-defendants. A few days after Nunnery, Ware and Spann had picked up Simmons, Simmons later told the prosecutor, he was picked up at home again. Colons attorney, Gal Pissetzky, filed a motion last year asking for Colons release because he was at a greater risk of contracting COVID-19. Ware states that he knew that, the way Kato was killed, that it was not just a robbery, a detective wrote. Detectives told Simmons they were matching evidence to those involved and had DNA. In total, more than 80 Latin Kings members and associates have faced state or federal charges since 2006. I am not here saying my son was an angel or that I am one of the mothers that act like he never did wrong, but whatever he did, he did not deserve to die like that, she said. For further information about the Garcia trial, see the governments previous press release at: Latin Kings Nationwide Leader, Augustin Zambrano, and Three Other High-ranking Gang Members Convicted of RICO Conspiracy and Related Crimes in Federal Trial. WebLatin Kings. According to the indictment, Colon was the gang's "policymaker": He directed the gang's operations primarily on the North Side. Contrary to the stereotype of gangs, the Kings were formed to help their community get settled, teaching English and providing job opportunities to newcomers, helping them navigate Rockford, IL 61101, Chicago: (312) 353-5300 In total, more than 80 people associated with the gang have been charged, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. Fifty years ago this week June 27, 1971 Gustavo Colon, a teen Latin King, shot and killed Glenn Burr, a teen Vice Lord, at the intersection of Potomac Avenue Marisol Colon, of the 1600 block of North Kildare Avenue, was released on her own recognizance and the other eight are awaiting a detention hearing in federal court scheduled for Tuesday. Bravo was arrested Thursday at a home on the 17000 block of Carlton Branch Drive in Wimauma, booking records show. History [ edit] The gang was founded in 1955 by Mexican youth who lived in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago. The Illinois Appellate Court would later say of Colons actions: Far from displaying any reluctance or visible effects of intimidation, the defendant fairly reveled in the execution of his victim. "We both lost loved ones in this stupid gang war. The four were among a total of 31 co-defendants who were indicted in September 2008 or charged in a superceding indictment in Oct. 2009. As WBBM Newsradio 780's Lisa Fielding reports, after a six-week trial, a federal jury on Wednesday convicted Augustin Zambrano, 51, the highest-ranking leader of the Almighty Latin King Nation, of racketeering conspiracy (RICO), conspiracy to commit extortion, and assault with a dangerous weapon. Though prison phone calls are recorded, Colon frequently discussed gang business with his wife, Marisol. He fired repeatedly into the body of [the victim], and then casually held the gun to the head of [the young woman], who was spared only because the killers earlier zeal had emptied the weapon.. WebGino Gustavo Colon, also known as "King Gino," was the leader of the Latin Kings, a street gang that originated in Chicago in the 1940s. The calls often showed Colons wife acting as an operator, connecting him with gang lieutenants. Colon did come back to Chicago, but not in the way he hoped. These sentences hold these defendants accountable for the barbaric enterprise known as the Latin Kings and for their roles in murder, attempted murder, shootings, beatings, drug trafficking, and other crimes, said Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. ODonovan about this incident, but asked that he be given a cigarette and water first, detectives wrote. Rangel was headed somewhere else that day when he called a friend from prison who told him he was at Nationwide for a haircut. Simmons had been paroled just months before. The indictments serve as a powerful reminder that the state's Hispanic gangs operate in much the same way as its most powerful black gangs. Simmons then stated that he would talk to Det. [14] Edward L. Feightner, 100, American Navy officer and flying ace. Outside, a 21-year-old, recently paroled ex-con named Donell Squeaky Simmons walked through the alley to the shop, a red, white and blue Nets cap on his head and a pistol at his waist. Prosecutors are hailing the conviction of the alleged top leader of the Chicago-based Latin Kings as a blow to one of the nation's most powerful street gangs. Pissetzky filed a similar motion earlier this year, arguing for Colons release under the First Step Act, a reform bill signed into law in 2018 that aims decrease unnecessarily lengthy federal prison sentences. 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