Feds: 9 charged in gang conspiracy, including 5 murders
The alleged leader of the Hobos street gang, Gregory "Bowlegs" Chester, 36. Members of the Hobos gang, based originally at the Robert Taylor Homes, are alleged to have committed five murders, including the 2006 slaying of a federal informant in the case. (Illinois Department of Corrections / September 26, 2013)
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Nine members of a violent street gang known as the Hobos were charged today in a federal racketeering case that involves narcotics trafficking, robberies and murders, including the 2006 slaying of a federal informant in the case. The five-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury alleges five murders, solicitation of a sixth murder, four attempted murders, three robberies and the operation of “drug spots” and “drug lines” on the city’s South Side among a pattern of criminal activity between 2004 and 2009, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Four of the defendants are charged with personally shooting to death five victims between 2006 and 2009, including one victim, Wilbert Moore, who authorities said was killed because he was cooperating with law enforcement.
Among those charged with racketeering conspiracy was the alleged leader of the Hobos, Gregory “Bowlegs” Chester, 36, of Richton Park. The two defendants charged in the murder of the informant were identified as Paris “Poleroski” Poe, 33, and Arnold “Armstrong” Council, 37, prosecutors said.
Poe is suspected in a second slaying of a gang informant in April, according to court records, but he was not charged today in connection with that slaying.
“Law enforcement has identified the Hobos as a tight-knit, violent crew that originated in the former Robert Taylor Homes and banded together from factions of the much larger Gangster Disciples and Black Disciples street gangs,” prosecutors said in a news release. “They allegedly targeted drug dealers and high-value targets to rob and relied upon each other to protect their drug territory, retaliate against rival gangs, and prevent witnesses from cooperating with law enforcement.”
All of those charged are currently in either federal or state custody.
Acting U.S. Attorney Gary Shapiro, Chicago police Superintendent Gary McCarthy, and other law enforcement personnel were scheduled to discuss the case at a news conference this afternoon at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse.
jmeisner@tribune.com
Among those charged with racketeering conspiracy was the alleged leader of the Hobos, Gregory “Bowlegs” Chester, 36, of Richton Park. The two defendants charged in the murder of the informant were identified as Paris “Poleroski” Poe, 33, and Arnold “Armstrong” Council, 37, prosecutors said.
Poe is suspected in a second slaying of a gang informant in April, according to court records, but he was not charged today in connection with that slaying.
“Law enforcement has identified the Hobos as a tight-knit, violent crew that originated in the former Robert Taylor Homes and banded together from factions of the much larger Gangster Disciples and Black Disciples street gangs,” prosecutors said in a news release. “They allegedly targeted drug dealers and high-value targets to rob and relied upon each other to protect their drug territory, retaliate against rival gangs, and prevent witnesses from cooperating with law enforcement.”
All of those charged are currently in either federal or state custody.
Acting U.S. Attorney Gary Shapiro, Chicago police Superintendent Gary McCarthy, and other law enforcement personnel were scheduled to discuss the case at a news conference this afternoon at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse.
jmeisner@tribune.com
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