‘We Are Coming After You': Officials Announce ‘Major Gang Takedown' in Chicago

The FBI and federal "partners" were involved in the operation

Dozens of members of the Latin Kings street gang have been charged in federal indictments alleging they used violent means, including murder, to protect their "territories" in the Chicago area and in northwest Indiana, authorities announced Tuesday.

According to the indictments, 34 gang members were charged with racketeering conspiracy, a 35th was charged with selling a firearm without a license and a 36th with being a felon in possession of a firearm. In addition, more than 20 others were charged with similar crimes in northwest Indiana. 

The charges allege members of the gang "violently enforced discipline within its ranks and retaliated against rival and former members to prevent cooperation with law enforcement." Authorities accused members of murder, attempted murder, assault with dangerous weapons, arson, extortion and the attempted murder of a Melrose Park Police officer.

"These cases are ultimately about one thing and that is violence," U.S. Attorney Zach Fardon said at a news conference. "Gang violence, gun violence, senseless violence that plagues our communities in Chicago and beyond."

According to Fardon, the indictments involve two regions of the national Latin Kings organization: the Southeast Regions, which has chapters on the Southeast Side of Chicago, nearby suburbs and northwest Indiana, and the Midwest Region, also known as the "M-Town Section," which operates in areas including Melrose Park and Maywood.

The Southeast Region charges involved three allegedly high-ranking Latin Kings, known as "regional enforcers" who enforced discipline. They include Raul Cavillo, 33, of Chicago; Joel Nunez, 39, of Chicago; and Carlos Padillar Jr., 35, of Chicago.

They also involved numerous "chapter leaders," "caciques," and "soldiers" from the group.

In the M-Town Section, alleged leaders charged include Piere Paolo Gennell, 30, of Melrose Park; Jose Hernandez, 45, of Maywood; and David Perez, 26, of Melrose Park.

In addition, Edgar Velarde-Saldana, 33, of Maywood, is charged in the indictment with attempting to murder a Melrose Park police officer on July 6, 2014. The officer was assisting agents from the FBI at the time, according to the indictment. 

Officials said the investigations that culminated in the indictment lasted several years and involved numerous agencies across the area.

Fardon called the charges the most "serious and impactful of federal charges as you can bring when it comes to violent crime and gang crime."

"If you are a member or an associate of one of these criminal enterprises, I don’t care what side of the border you live and I don’t care what side of the border you commit your crimes on, we are coming after you and you are next," said U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Indiana David Capp.

Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said the indictments should serve "as a warning to others that we will continue to come after them with everything we have," but he noted there is still more to do to combat the city's ongoing violence troubles.

While Fardon commended the officers and agents involved in the case, he also noted it does not address the "root causes of violence in Chicago" and is "one piece of the overarching solution."

"This is not by itself a longterm solution to the violence problem in Chicago," he said. "This is an impactful case."

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