Latin Dragon Member Sentenced For Racketeering Conspiracy
Jonathan Arevalo, 28, of Gary, Indiana, was sentenced by United States District Court Judge Philip P. Simon to 240 months imprisonment following his guilty plea to conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity as a member of the Latin Dragons Nation street gang, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Bell.
According to documents in the case, Arevalo has been associated with the Latin Dragons Nation since approximately 2009, and he engaged in drug trafficking and possessed a firearm as a member of the gang. In 2012, Arevalo gave another Latin Dragon member access to a firearm, which was used to kill another individual in Chicago. In 2015, in Chicago, Arevalo was involved in a drive-by shooting incident which resulted in the death of a passenger in his vehicle when the rival gang returned fire.
In this case, a total of 19 members and associates have been charged with racketeering conspiracy for their participation in Latin Dragons Nation activity. Of those, 15 defendants have pled guilty and 7 are awaiting sentencing.
This case is the result of the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; the Chicago Police Department Criminal Enterprise Unit; the Cook County Sheriff’s Office; the Bartlett Police Department; the Hammond Police Department; the East Chicago Police Department; the Merrillville Police Department; the Hobart Police Department; the Lake County Sheriff’s Department; and the Calumet City Police Department, with assistance from the Lake County, Indiana Prosecutor’s Office, the Cook County, Illinois State’s Attorney’s Office, the Indiana Department of Corrections, and the Illinois Department of Corrections. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kevin F. Wolff and Maria N. Lerner and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Toth, with prior assistance from former Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph A. Cooley.
