Latin King trial pushed to September

HAMMOND | In the wake of a high-ranking Latin Kings leader deciding to cooperate with the government last week, a judge pushed the racketeering trial for 17 of his co-defendants to Sept. 10. It had been scheduled for March 19.

Judge Rudy Lozano said it was the last time he would extend the trial, which prosecutors estimate will last about 16 weeks if none of the remaining defendants chooses to plead guilty.

The Latin Kings case is one of region's largest racketeering prosecutions, with almost two dozen alleged gang members and associates snared in an indictment accusing them of crimes stretching back to 1989. At least 18 murders are alleged as part of the conspiracy, and many defendants could face life in prison if convicted. In addition to the 17 remaining defendants, five more have entered into plea agreements with the government.

Last week's major development came when Alexander "Pacman" Vargas, a 34-year-old Highland father of five, changed his plea and agreed to help prosecutors build their case. He was a regional leader of the Latin Kings, overseeing hundreds of "soldiers."

"In light of Mr. Vargas' cooperation and willingness to testify, I don't anticipate there being 17 defendants going to trial," said Joseph Cooley, a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice.

He said Justice Department lawyers anticipated having additional discovery with Vargas' help, though they did not plan on filing a fourth superseding indictment.

Regardless of the plea, many defendants still seem intent on going to trial, including former Chicago police Officer Alex Guerrero. He is accused of executing armed robberies of drug traffickers for the Latin Kings under the guise of legitimate police operations in Illinois and Indiana. His former partner on the force, Antonio Martinez Jr., changed his plea last year.

"Mr. Guerrero remains confident of his innocence and his ability to make that clear at trial," said his lawyer, Kevin Milner. "He is unimpressed with the government's ability to reach into the gutter to try and find 'witnesses' to make a case against (him)."

During Monday's hearing there was barely enough room for the defendants' attorneys to sit in the jury box, and Lozano said there would not be enough room for all 17 to go to trial at the same time.

Two attorneys had wanted to continue with the March trial date, saying their clients had been in custody for too long awaiting their day in court.

"My client's been locked up for 15 months," said Adam Tavitas, who is representing Martin "Lefty" Anaya. "I also believe he has a right to be tried. It seems a year and a half is sufficient for the government to get its case together."

Clark Holesinger, who is representing Brandon "Cheddar" Clay, said the government needed to be cut off from entering more discovery. Prosecutors had until Dec. 31 to give their materials to the defense attorneys, but last month they turned over three additional DVDs. And the Justice Department's Cooley said Monday the defense should receive additional surveillance footage from the Chicago Police Department that destroys two defendants' murder alibis.

"They should just be cut off," Holesinger said. "They had deadlines, and they haven't complied with them."

Attorney David Vandercoy, who is representing David "Flaco" Lira, said he already has thousands of pages of discovery on a hard drive to sift through.

"I anticipate it will take a couple of months just to get through the discovery I have, already," he said.

Cooley said the majority of discovery had been tendered, and that technical issues, locating pertinent cold-case evidence and the approximately nine months it took to address whether some defendants could face the death penalty led to delays. Lozano set a discovery deadline for 45 days from Monday.