Hobos Proffer
Hobos Proffer
)
) Case No. 13 CR 774
)
) Honorable Judge John J. Tharp
)
v.
GREGORY CHESTER, et al.,
s/ Patrick M. Otlewski
PATRICK M. OTLEWSKI
DEREK OWENS
TIMOTHY J. STORINO
Assistant U.S. Attorneys
219 South Dearborn, Room 500
Chicago, IL 60604
(312) 353-5300
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Authorities ....................................................................................................... 5
I. Introduction ................................................................................................................ 9
II. Overview of the Charged Racketeering Conspiracy .............................................. 10
A. The Hobos........................................................................................................... 10
B. The Hobos Criminal Activity ............................................................................ 12
III. Governing Law ...................................................................................................... 14
A. Existence of and Membership in the Conspiracy ............................................. 15
B. In Furtherance of the Conspiracy .................................................................. 19
C. Alternative Bases for Admissibility of Statements .......................................... 21
1. A Defendants Own Statements .............................................................. 22
2. Non-Hearsay Statements ........................................................................ 22
3. Statements Against Penal Interest ........................................................ 23
IV. The Evidence Demonstrating the Existence of the Charged Conspiracy and the
Defendants Participation in the Conspiracy ....................................................... 25
A. The Hobos as an Enterprise .............................................................................. 25
1. Tattoos .................................................................................................... 26
2. Lifestyle .................................................................................................. 29
3. Recorded In-Person Conversations Between CI-3 and William Ford ... 33
4. Prison/Jail Records and Communications .............................................. 40
5. Cooperator Testimony ............................................................................. 43
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TABLE OF AUTHORITIES
Federal Cases
Beeson v. United States,
90 F.2d 720 (7th Cir. 1937) ..................................................................................... 21
Bourjaily v. United States,
483 U.S. 171 (1987) ........................................................................................... 15, 16
Crawford v. Washington,
541 U.S. 36 (2004) ................................................................................................... 14
Davis v. Washington,
547 U.S. 813 (2006) ................................................................................................. 14
Garlington v. O(Leary,
879 F.2d 277 (7th Cir. 1989) ................................................................................... 21
Salinas v. United States,
522 U.S. 52 (1997) ................................................................................................... 17
United States v. Alviar,
573 F.3d 526 (7th Cir. 2009) ................................................................... 9, 15, 19, 20
United States v. Ashman,
979 F.2d 469 (7th Cir. 1992) ................................................................................... 21
United States v. Ayala,
601 F.3d 256 (4th Cir. 2010) ................................................................................... 19
United States v. Bolivar,
532 F.3d 599 (7th Cir. 2008) ............................................................................. 18, 19
United States v. Bustamante,
493 F.3d 879 (7th Cir. 2007) ................................................................................... 20
United States v. Coe,
718 F.2d 830 (7th Cir. 1983) ................................................................................... 17
United States v. Cox,
923 F.2d 519 (7th Cir. 1991) ................................................................................... 20
United States v. Cozzo,
2004 WL 1151630 (N.D. Ill. 2004) .......................................................................... 19
United States v. Cruz-Rea,
626 F.3d 929 (7th Cir. 2010) ....................................................................... 14, 19, 20
United States v. Curtis,
324 F.3d 501 (7th Cir. 2003) ................................................................................... 18
United States v. Feldman,
825 F.2d 124 (7th Cir. 1987) ................................................................................... 18
United States v. Gajo,
290 F.3d 922 (7th Cir. 2002) ............................................................................. 20, 23
United States v. Gil,
604 F.2d 546 (7th Cir. 1979) ................................................................................... 17
5
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Federal Rules
Fed. R. Evid. 104(a) ....................................................................................................... 9
Fed. R. Evid. 801(a) ..................................................................................................... 27
Fed. R. Evid. 801(d)(2)(A) ............................................................................................ 27
Fed. R. Evid. 801(d)(2)(E) .................................................................................... passim
Fed. R. Evid. 804(b)(6) ........................................................................................... 88, 89
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INTRODUCTION
In this submission, the government describes the law governing coconspirator
statements, outlines some of its evidence establishing the charged conspiracy, and
sets forth some of the coconspirator statements for which a pretrial ruling by the
Court is requested, in accordance with Santiago, 582 F.2d at 1130-31, and
established practice in this Circuit. See United States v. Alviar, 573 F.3d 526, 540
(7th Cir. 2009); United States v. Harris, 585 F.3d 394, 398, 400 (7th Cir. 2009).
This submission does not detail all of the governments evidence that would
go to show the existence of the racketeering conspiracy or all of the coconspirator
statements that were made in furtherance of the charged racketeering conspiracy.
Rather, this submission highlights for the Court certain of the governments
evidence sufficient to establish the existence of the racketeering conspiracy
described in Count One and the participation of the coconspirators. As a result, this
submission does not list all of the governments evidence and witnesses, nor does it
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provide all of the evidence that will be presented by identified witnesses. Finally, by
presenting statements attributed to particular witnesses, the government is not
committing to call each of the witnesses for each of the statements attributed.
II.
The Hobos
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Homes. 1 Nonetheless, the Hobos had a relatively horizontal structure, which gave
the Hobos flexibility, permitting one member to cover for another at any given time.
The leader at any given moment would be the individual heading or arranging the
criminal activity.
Gregory Chester, Gabriel Bush, and William Ford were Gangster Disciples
from the Robert Taylor Homes housing projects, while Paris Poe was a Black
Disciple from the south side of Chicago. Stanley Vaughn, aka Smiley, and his
brothers, Derrick Vaughn, aka D-Block, and Individual IV hailed from the Dirty
Low faction of the Gangster Disciples, which controlled the neighborhood near 47th
Street and Vincennes Avenue. Through Arnold Council, a group of up-and-coming
shooters and freight-train burglars from 51st and Calumet known as the Met Boys
associated with the Hobos. This crew included twins Byron and Brandon Brown, 2 as
well as CD-1 and Keith Daniels, was from the neighborhood near 51st Street and
Calumet Avenue on the south side of Chicago. When these factions allied with the
Hobos, they worked together and interchangeably to engage in narcotics trafficking,
and to commit home invasions, robberies, shootings, and murders.
The Hobos considered themselves an exclusive and elite group. They called
themselves Hobo and referred to each other as Hobo during conversation. They
obtained tattoos identifying themselves as Hobos, used a unique hand sign, and, on
Gregory Chesters street reputation was established after he robbed two jewelry stores
as a teenager in the mid-1990s with Gabriel Bush
Brandon Brown, aka Twinsko, was fatally shot and killed in 2010.
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occasion, obtained and drove cars with the word Hobo stitched into the headrests.
In contrast to other criminal street enterprises, which often relied on low-quality
pistols and unreliable firearms purchased on the streets, the Hobos procured and
used high-powered guns, including FN-5.7 handguns, assault rifles and handguns
with 30-shot magazines, which the Hobos made accessible to the other members
and their associates. The older Hobos shared their wealth with each other, their
associates, and younger members, providing them access to narcotics, rental cars,
luxury items and vacations, including trips to Hawaii, Atlanta, and Florida.
B.
The Hobos and their associates distributed and managed the distribution of
heroin, cocaine, crack cocaine, and marijuana in areas around the city where they
and their associates developed control, colloquially known as lines and spots.
The core members of the HobosGabriel Bush, Gregory Chester, and Paris Poe
built their base of operations in the Robert Taylor Homes, a public housing project
on the south side of Chicago. Arnold Council, while not from the Robert Taylor
Homes, frequented the area and helped manage the Hobos narcotics distribution
line at the Robert Taylor building located at 4429 South Federal Street. Around
the timeframe when the Robert Taylor Homes were being torn down, the Hobos
expanded their territory to the Ida B. Wells Extension Homes and other
neighborhoods on the south and west sides of the City of Chicago, including the area
around 47th and Vincennes, 51st and Calumet, and 51st Street and Martin Luther
King Drive. The Hobos helped each other with narcotics trafficking, helping
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resupply each other when necessary, offering protection for members and associates
where they distributed narcotics, and assisting with the collection of narcotics
proceeds.
The Hobos criminal activity was not limited to narcotics trafficking. They
also engaged in violent and armed robberies, home invasions, and burglaries. The
Hobos robbed other drug dealers of their narcotics and narcotics proceeds,
conducted home invasions of individuals believed to be narcotics traffickers, and
robbed other high-value targets. From the robberies, the Hobos kept, wore, and
sometimes sold the jewelry they stole, divvied up any firearms and cash proceeds,
and sold the narcotics. These robberies were designed to enrich the Hobos and
enhance their street reputation.
On other occasions, the Hobos helped each other during conflicts with rivals.
The Hobos called upon other members when necessary to protect drug trafficking
territory, to eliminate competition, and to retaliate against rivals by shooting to kill
and killing them and their associates, in part to increase gangs and neighborhoods
fear of the Hobos. The Hobos had disputes leading to shootings and killings with
multiple gang factions, including the Fifth Ward Black Disciples, the New Town
Black Disciples, the Gutterville Mickey Cobras, and the Row Row Gangster
Disciples. The Hobos violence against rivals increased their reputation and allowed
the Hobos to maintain their power on the streets, while decreasing the likelihood
that other gang factions would seek to retaliate.
When the Hobos learned that individuals were cooperating with law
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enforcement or had cooperated, the Hobos took steps to prevent these people from
cooperating by, among other things, resorting to murder. On January 19, 2006,
Hobos Arnold Council and Paris Poe shot and killed Wilbert Moore, who had been
cooperating with CPD and who provided information to CPD, which had led to
firearms and narcotics-related charges against Council in state court. A little over
seven years later, on April 14, 2013, Hobo Paris Poe shot and killed Keith Daniels
after Daniels cooperated with this federal investigation against Hobos Gregory
Chester and Individual LD.
III.
GOVERNING LAW
Federal Rule of Evidence 801(d)(2)(E) provides that a statement is not
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A.
In accord with United States v. Santiago, 582 F.2d 1128 (7th Cir. 1978), this
Court must determine whether statements by the defendants coconspirator will be
admissible at trial under Federal Rule of Evidence 801(d)(2)(E). In making this
determination, this Court must decide if it is more likely than not that the
declarant and the defendant were members of a conspiracy when the hearsay
statement was made, and that the statement was in furtherance of the
conspiracy . Id. at 1143 (quoting United States v. Petrozziello, 548 F.2d 20, 23
(1st Cir. 1977)); see also United States v. Hoover, 246 F.3d 1054, 1060 (7th Cir.
2001). If this Court determines the statements are admissible, the jury may
consider them for any purpose. United States v. Thompson, 944 F.2d 1331, 1345
(7th Cir. 1991).
Under Santiago, the government must make a preliminary offer of evidence
to show: (1) a conspiracy existed; (2) the defendants and declarant were members of
the conspiracy; and (3) the statements sought to be admitted were made during and
in furtherance of the conspiracy. Santiago, 582 F.2d at 1134-35; see also, e.g., United
States v. Alviar, 573 F.3d 526, 540 (7th Cir. 2009). According to Bourjaily v. United
States, 483 U.S. 171, 176-81 (1987), the court can consider the statements in
question (the statements to be admitted) to determine whether the three Santiago
criteria have been met.
Seventh Circuit cases construing Bourjaily have held that properly admitted
hearsay, including statements admitted under the coconspirator exception to the
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hearsay rule (Fed. R. Evid.801(d)(2)(E)), may be used to prove what another person
did or said that may demonstrate their membership in the conspiracy. United States
v. Loscalzo, 18 F.3d 374, 383 (7th Cir. 1994) ([W]hile only the defendants acts or
statements could be used to prove that defendants membership in a conspiracy,
evidence of that defendants acts or statements may be provided by the statements
of co-conspirators.); United States v. Martinez de Ortiz, 907 F.2d 629, 633 (7th Cir.
1990) (en banc).
While this Court may consider the proffered statements themselves as
evidence of both the existence of a conspiracy and the defendants participation in it,
United States v. Bourjaily, 483 U.S. 171, 178, 180 (1987); United States v. Harris,
585 F.3d 394, 398-99 (7th Cir. 2009), the contents of the proffered statements alone
are not sufficient to establish the existence of a conspiracy and a defendants
participation. There must also be some supporting evidence or facts corroborating
the existence of the conspiracy and a defendants participation. Harris, 585 F.3d at
398-99. The evidence showing the existence of a conspiracy and a defendants
membership in it may be either direct or circumstantial. See United States v.
Johnson, 592 F.3d 749, 754-55 (7th Cir. 2010); United States v. Irorere, 228 F.3d
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United States v. Longstreet, 567 F.3d 911, 919 (7th Cir. 2009); United States v.
Jones, 275 F.3d 648, 652 (7th Cir. 2001). The government need not prove that a
defendant knew each and every detail of the conspiracy or played more than a
minor role in the conspiracy. United States v. Curtis, 324 F.3d 501, 506 (7th Cir.
2003). Further, a defendant joins a criminal conspiracy if he agrees with another
person to one or more of the common objectives of the conspiracy; it is immaterial
whether the defendant knows, has met, or has agreed with every coconspirator.
Longstreet, 567 F.3d at 919; Jones, 275 F.3d at 652.
A defendant (or other declarant) may be found to have participated in a
conspiracy even if he joined or terminated his relationship with other conspirators
at different times than another defendant or coconspirator. United States v. Noble,
754 F.2d 1324, 1329 (7th Cir. 1985); see also United States v. Handlin, 366 F.3d 584,
590 (7th Cir. 2004) (it is irrelevant when the defendant joined the conspiracy so
long as he joined it at some point). Under Rule 801(d)(2)(E), a coconspirators
statement is admissible against conspirators who join the conspiracy after the
statement is made. United States v. Sophie, 900 F.2d 1064, 1074 (7th Cir. 1990). A
coconspirator who has become inactive or less active in the conspiracy nevertheless
is liable for his coconspirators further statements unless he openly disavows the
conspiracy or reports it to the police. See United States v. Feldman, 825 F.2d 124,
129 (7th Cir. 1987).
The government is not required to prove the identity of the declarant; nor
must the declarants identity be confirmed in the statement itself. See United States
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v. Bolivar, 532 F.3d 599, 604-05 (7th Cir. 2008). Rather, the government need only
prove (from the statement, the context and/or other evidence) that the declarant
was in fact a coconspirator. Id.
B.
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(quotations and citations omitted). See also United States v. Gajo, 290 F.3d 922, 929
(7th Cir. 2002). These include statements made:
to identify other members of the conspiracy and their roles, Alviar, 573
F.3d at 545;
to inform and update others about the current status of the conspiracy
or a conspiracys progress (including failures), United States v. Rea,
621 F.3d 595, 605 (7th Cir. 2010); Alviar, 573 F.3d at 545;
Statements that prompt the listener to act in a manner that facilitates the carrying out of
the conspiracy are also made in furtherance of the conspiracy. See United States v. Monus,
128 F.3d 376, 392 (6th Cir. 1997).
5
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Finally, it has long been the rule that any statement made by a conspirator
during and in furtherance of a conspiracy is admissible against all coconspirators.
Beeson v. United States, 90 F.2d 720 (7th Cir. 1937); United States v. Lindemann,
85 F.3d 1232, 1238 (7th Cir. 1996); see also United States v. Rivera, 136 F. Appx
925, 926 (7th Cir. 2005) (Whether any other conspirator heard (or, in this instance,
saw) that statement is irrelevant; agency, not knowledge, is the theory of
admissibility.).
C.
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1.
Non-Hearsay Statements
The coconspirator statement rule is not implicated where the relevant verbal
declaration is not a statement within the meaning of Rule 801(a), that is, not an
assertion subject to verification. An example would be an order or a suggestion.
See United States v. Tuchow, 768 F.2d 855, 868 n.18 (7th Cir. 1985). This is because
a statement is defined as an oral or written assertion or nonverbal conduct of a
person, if it is intended by the person as an assertion. Fed. R. Evid. 801(a). Thus, a
statement which is incapable of verification, such as an order or a mere suggestion,
Rule 801(d)(2)(A) provides in pertinent part that a statement is not hearsay if [t]he
statement is offered against a party and is the partys own statement, in either an
individual or a representative capacity.
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is not hearsay and does not invoke a Rule 801(d)(2)(E) analysis. See Tuchow, 768
F.2d at 868.
Finally, the coconspirator statement rule does not apply when a statement is
not being offered for the truth of the matter asserted, and thus does not constitute
hearsay as defined by Rule 801(c). 7 Accordingly, statements by alleged
coconspirators may be admitted against a defendant, without establishing the
Bourjaily factual predicates set forth above, when such statements are offered
simply to show, for instance, the existence, the illegality, or the nature or scope of
the charged conspiracy. Gajo, 290 F.3d at 929-30; see also United States v. HerreraMedina, 853 F.2d 564, 565-66 (7th Cir. 1988); Van Daal Wyk, 840 F.2d at 497-98;
Tuchow, 768 F.2d at 867-69.
3.
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that
jailhouse
conversation
between
two
codefendants
which
incriminated a third codefendant but was also inculpatory of the first two codefendants was admissible against the third codefendant); United States v. Curry,
977 F.2d 1042, 1056 (7th Cir. 1992) (affirming the district courts decision to allow a
co-defendants inculpatory statement which also incriminated the defendant in
because it was not made in an attempt to curry favor with law enforcement, but was
made to an acquaintance).
Such statements against penal interest are admissible against non-declarant
defendants. See United States v. Volpendesto, 746 F.3d 273, 288 (7th Cir.) cert.
denied sub nom. Sarno v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 382 (2014) and cert. denied sub
nom. Polchan v. United States, 135 S. Ct. 383 (2014); United States v. Watson, 525
F.3d 583, 587-88 (7th Cir. 2008); United States v. Hamilton, 19 F.3d 350, 356 (7th
Cir. 1994). See also United States v. Smalls, 605 F.3d 765, 773-81 (10th Cir. 2010). 8
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IV.
Arnold Council, Paris Poe, Gabriel Bush, Stanley Vaughn, William Ford and
Derrick Vaughn conspired with each other and with others, including CD-1, Byron
Brown, Brandon Brown, Gary Chester, CI-1, CI-2, CI-3, CI-4, Individuals JF, AC,
KD, KD2, LD, PD, KB, PS, WT, LB, IV, TC and WB, and UM2 to conduct and
participate in the affairs of the Hobos, an enterprise, through a pattern of
racketeering. As set forth below, the evidence that establishes the existence of this
racketeering conspiracy meets the preponderance of the evidence standard
applicable at this stage of the proceedings. Below, the government has summarized
some of the evidence that it will present at trial regarding the existence of the
charged conspiracy.
A.
To establish that the Hobos were a criminal enterprise and conspiracy for
purposes of this submission, the governments evidence includes the following:
(a) defendants tattoos reflecting their allegiance to the Hobos; (b) defendants
statements during recorded in-person conversations with cooperating individuals as
well as testimony from cooperating individuals regarding their personal knowledge
of the Hobos, as well as their firsthand experience with the Hobos criminal activity;
(c) testimony by lay witnesses regarding their interactions with the Hobos;
(d) correctional institution records and documents, as well as monitored outgoing
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calls from those institutions, certain of which involved recorded calls between the
Hobos and their associates; (f) photographs of the Hobos and their associates;
(g) flight and travel records; and (h) telephone records demonstrating the frequency
of contacts between the defendants and their coconspirators.
1.
Tattoos
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Paris Poe has a tattoo on his arm with the misspelled rank of Cheif Hobo:
Also across Paris Poes back is a large tattoo that states, The Earth Is Our
Turf with Hobo in the middle, similar to Gregory Chesters:
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When Arnold Council was arrested in 2006 for the robbery of Victim 1, the
police photographed his arm during the booking process. Councils arm had a
temporary tattoo with the block letters HB:
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2.
Lifestyle
With the proceeds of their criminal activity, the Hobos sought out ways to
live a lifestyle beyond their means. They took trips together, including trips to
Atlanta, Hawaii, south Florida, and Las Vegas.
For example, Gabriel Bush paid for five friends to fly to Hawaii; below is a
photograph from the trip, with Bush the third person from the right:
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Also as part of their lifestyle, the Hobos purchased and rented high-end
vehicles for their own use and for use by their associates and girlfriends. Stanley
Vaughn, for instance, purchased a Jeep Cherokee SRT8, which he financed with
criminal proceeds; Arnold Council had a Dodge Magnum and a Nissan Maxima;
Gabriel Bush had a minivan, a Grand Prix, an Intrigue, a Buick Cutlass, a Dodge
Charger and a Range Rover; Gregory Chester had a white Dodge Charger, a
Cadillac Escalade and a Land Rover; and Paris Poe had an old school Chevy Impala
with the word Hobo stitched into the headrest. Stanley Vaughn and Gregory
Chester also used the proceeds of their criminal activity to purchase homes in
Chicago, Illinois.
The Hobos also visited casinos and gambled frequently. Gregory Chester
gambled so much at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana, that he became a
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Seven Stars is the most elite players level at the Horseshoe Casino, reserved for a select
few who qualify. The rewards and special privileges for Seven Stars members include:
(a) Guaranteed complimentary room at any Total Rewards destination; (b) Once a year,
Seven Stars members can bring a guest along on a retreat, including airfare and
transportation to any Total Rewards destination; (c) next-in-line service; and (d) each year,
Seven Stars members receive a $500 Celebration Dinner at any Caesars-owned
restaurant of their choice.
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Ford
So uh, Jodale [Individual JF] was like, shit. Ima uh, Jodale was like
Ima plug in wit 49th. My cousin and them, so Bowlegs [Gregory
Chester] took Jodale down there. He got on the count. First
motherfucker he met was Louie [Gabriel Bush].
CI-3
Right.
Ford
Him and Louie hit it off. Next thing you know, him and Louie was
robbin motherfuckin jewelry stores on erythang. 11
***
Ford
CI-3
Right.
Ford
CI-3
Right.
Ford
Ford
In 1996, defendants Gabriel Bush and Gregory Chester committed two armed robberies
of jewelry stores together while armed with a Tech-9 handgun, and a sawed-off 12-gauge
shotgun.
11
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CI-3
Right.
Ford
I see Louie [Gabriel Bush], nah I see Hobo [Arnold Council]. He flag
me down.
CI-3
Right.
Ford
William Ford discussed how Gregory Chester bought Ford a Grand Prix and gave
him several thousand dollars to buy clothing after Ford returned home from prison,
and also how Gabriel Bush, Ford, and Stanley Vaughn decided upon control of
narcotics trafficking territory on the south side of Chicago:
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Ford
CI-3
Right.
Ford
CI-3
Right.
Ford
CI-3
Right
Ford
CI-3
Right
Ford
Now Louie [Gabriel Bush] plottin on, this when Smiley had the
Lincoln. The four door black car. Smiley had the whip and he just, on
erything. Rim, he put them rims on there cause Louie and them hit
that lick [robbery/home invasion]. Thats why he got right. He, at
first it was just Plain Jane. Louie and them hit the lick, then he put
the rims on there and all that other shit. So Louie was like shit. I, I
liked the shit. They, I aint, 49th was locked. They aint got no
building.
CI-3
Right
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***
Ford
So Louie took 51st, opened the D [heroin] line up right there, put one
of the [unintelligible], and he would start hangin.
CI-3
Right
Ford
So then D-Block, I mean uh, Louie was like them niggas too close. I
dont want them BDs [the Fifth Ward Black Disciples] next to me
like that. And they move. We, we, naw but listen. Before that, that,
naw, no. Before that, Im, Im skippin a part. Real shit. Its me,
Showtime, its me, Showtime, KD, Bones, and [unintelligible] got all
the shorties. They throw a, they throw a session on, on the Dirty
Low. So I aint, I aint [unintelligible], so I aint come.
CI-3
Right.
Ford
So Louie, Smiley smash up. Flyin. (noise with mouth) into Louie.
Like man joe, why you aint along Champlain. Im like shit, I aint
Dirty Low. Im GD.
CI-3
Right.
Ford
the involvement of the Vaughn brothers (including Stanley Vaughn and Derrick
Vaughn) with the Hobos:
Ford
Cause see, D-Block [Derrick Vaughn], Boo [Individual IV] had that
tag, I mean uh.
CI-3
Ford
Smiley got that tag. So Boo, man Ima tell you, he used to tell me
like, man, D-Block a good nigga, Joe Buck. He like man, when yall
get out, they writin each other. He like man, when yall get out,
cause he, he used to be like I, I, I [unintelligible] get a letter from DBlock. He like man, send D-Block, Ill send D-Block a stride. Then DBlock send me a stride back like man, T, wassup. Like woo woo win.
So he used to be like, you know, after
Smiley
got
cracked
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[incarcerated], joe, you know, they used to be like man. We all, yall
need to be brothers now.
CI-3
Right.
Ford
in the Hobos violence; instead, it was a team effort. He also explained how Stanley
Vaughn and his crew of Dirty Low Gangster Disciples became affiliated with the
Hobos:
Ford
Cause Ill be sayin, Im sayin it like this. Kid, aint no nigga make
me do nothin I aint wanna do. I did it cause Im part of the team,
you feel what Im sayin?
CI-3
Right.
Ford
CI-3
Right.
Ford
You know, yall was in, yall help me. Thats, this, this, I aint, look.
Before Dirty Low had all went, like it wadnt no, this wadnt no team
effort or none of that. I, this how the, the hood was. Dirty Low was on
Champlain, we was on Vincennes, wadnt nobody hangin by the
barber shop. Like it was just like, Dirty Low come in there, we come
in there. Simple as that.
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William Ford continued, explaining how Arnold Council was responsible for
bringing members of the Met Boys into the Hobos, and how Council supplied them
with kush marijuana:
Ford
Hobo [Arnold Council] is. Hobo end up sellin them kush, kickin it
wit em. [unintelligible] go down here and kick it. Then after they got
to bein buddies, now they got the free [unintelligible], the free drugs.
Then when they take the hook, he got Louie [Gabriel Bush]. Boom.
So now this open up the door for them to be like oh, we, we Met but,
we Met Boys-HB thirty [unintelligible]. Aw we teamin up wit them.
You feel what Im sayin? So now, lemme tell you somethin that
happened. [unintelligible] shit. You call all they homies. Nigga they
gon come through.
CI-3
Exactly.
Also on December 27, 2012, William Ford discussed how the Hobos conducted
surveillance of Antonio Bluitt, aka Beans, the leader of the New Town Black
Disciples, before Bluitt was ultimately killed:
CI-3
Cause look. They, they had told us one day when Beans was out
there um, at Evergreen, naw he was at um, um.
Ford
Ford City.
CI-3
Ford City.
Ford
CI-3
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Thats who told me that though.
Thats, thats, thats--.
Ford
CI-3
Ford
Yeah, we went there. We went up there like three cars deep. We have
it out there, nigga. It was round like 1 oclock in the afternoon on my
momma. It was on a Sunday. Cause the parkin lot wadnt even that
The government will prove at trial that there was an Old Country Buffet restaurant
located at Ford City Mall (which is now closed).
12
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updates to Chester about his case, his attorney (Charles Murphy), 13 and other
incarcerated Hobos (including CD-1, the Brown twins, Paris Poe, and Arnold
Council). Gregory Chester also provided updates to Gabriel Bush about the
enterprises activities, as well as Chesters efforts to help obtain bond for Bush and
to pay Bushs lawyer.
While housed in the Illinois Department of Corrections, William Ford sent his
girlfriend a letter telling her to call Bo[w]legs, and signed letters Mr. Joe Buck.
Ford also sent his girlfriend a letter asking her to call Lee-ski [an associate of the
Hobos] and tell him I need $150 send [sic] over night. Also, on July 8, 2012, Ford
wrote a letter to a female that discussed Pops [Gregory Chester] and the FBI,
stating, Look the F.B.I is on Pop [Gregory Chester] I talk to him about 3 week [sic]
ago he said he got me and house got my ass big. M got me too so yes the money is
coming in when I come home you feel me. In a letter dated June 1, 2013, Ford
identified himself as Joe Buck, stating, When Im in the streets Im Joe Buck.
When Im at home with you Im Jajuon.
William Ford was released from IDOC custody in early January 2013. On
January 5, 2013, Ford sent CI-3 a $50 money order (consistent with the Hobos
practice of supporting incarcerated Hobos), and wrote I got you on our family. On
January 17, 2013, Ford had a recorded prison call with CI-3. Ford discussed
The Hobos, including Gabriel Bush, Gary Chester, Gregory Chester, Arnold Council, and
Paris Poe often retained Charles Murphy to represent them in criminal matters. (Murphy
has since been removed from the practice of law after a conviction in the United States
District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, Case No. 07 CR 853, on charges of fraud
and a sentence of 72-month imprisonment.)
13
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meeting up with Gregory Chester about a robbery. Toll records will show contacts
between the telephone number Ford used and Paris Poes cellphone through
February 2, 2013, when Ford was arrested for unlawful possession of a firearm.
On March 21, 2012, a Bureau of Prisons Special Investigative Services
Technician conducted a search of Stanley Vaughns prison locker. During that
search, the technician found a handmade birthday card, the front of which said,
Happy Birthday Ho-Bo. A copy of the front follows:
Inside were birthday wishes phrased, Happy B-Day Big Bro, Hobo Killa, Happy
Birthright Stay suckfree and know real n***as do real shit Hobo crazy, and
happy b right hobo from killer. Also amongst Vaughns person effects was a
booklet from the funeral of Kristopher Daniels, one of Arnold Councils brothers.
42
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5.
Cooperator Testimony
CI-2 has prior convictions for narcotics and firearms-related offenses. In approximately
June 2008, CI-2 was arrested by CPD. CI-2 was convicted in that case and received a
sentence of probation. CI-2 provided information to CPD that led to a search warrant at a
storage locker. CI-2 has not been provided monetary compensation for cooperating;
however, CI-2 has received monetary assistance from the FBI to relocate to another location
after CI-2 received credible information indicating that the Hobos wanted to kill CI-2.
14
43
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b.
CI-3 15 was actively involved in the criminal activity with the Hobos from
approximately 2007 until CI-3s arrest in or about 2008. From firsthand experience
with the Hobos, CI-3 knew Gregory Chester, Gary Chester, Paris Poe, Gabriel Bush,
Stanley Vaughn, William Ford, CD-1, twin brothers Byron and Brandon Brown,
Arnold Council, as well as CI-2, Individuals KD, PD, WB, KB, and Keith Daniels to
be members of and associated with the Hobos.
CI-3 knew the Hobos unique hand sign, which involved extending the index
and pinkie fingers on ones hand with the other fingers closed in a first. 16 CI-3
considered the Hobos to be a real organization, which was flashy and obtained
money by doing robberies and by selling drugs. CI-3 understood Gregory Chester to
be the leader of the Hobos, and that Chester assigned robberies to the other Hobos.
CI-3 heard other Hobos refer to Chester as Pops. CI-3 understood other ranking
members of the Hobos to include Paris Poe, Stanley Vaughn, Gabriel Bush, and
Arnold Council.
CI-3 went to concerts and other places, including a trip to Hawaii that Bush
paid for, with the Hobos and others associated with the Hobos. CI-3 recalled that
CI-3 has been convicted of robbery and has two prior arrests. CI-3 has not received any
monetary assistance from the government. CI-3 is cooperating with the hopes of receiving a
reduced sentence in the robbery case and with the hopes that CI-3 will not be charged with
RICO conspiracy with the Hobos. No promises or guarantees have been made by the
government to CI-3 regarding CI-3s cooperation. CI-3 has been relocated for CI-3s safety.
15
Hobo Gary Chester is displaying this hand sign in the photograph discussed supra as are
other members of the Hobos in the photograph found July 9, 2008, in the residence of
Gabriel Bushs girlfriend.
16
44
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many of the Hobos, including Bush, Council, and the Brown twins were at New
Years Eve 2008 concert by Councils brother, who was a rapper. Bush let CI-3 wear
Bushs jewelry, drive his cars, and hang around the more senior Hobos. CI-3 knew
Bush to have multiple vehicles, including a Range Rover, a silver Charger, a Nissan
Maxima, and that Bush and other Hobos rented vehicles for their own use.
CI-3 spent a lot of time with Bush, whom CI-3 felt had taken CI-3 under his
wing, and Bush talked a lot to CI-3. Bush talked about robberies that he and other
Hobos had done. Bush said that the Hobos were robbers, and that they robbed drug
dealers. Bush said that the other guys lived from robbery to robbery (using the word
sting, which is a street term for the word robbery), but that Bush was different
because he was actually a drug dealer who also sold drugs in smaller quantities so
that Bush had a steady stream of income. When CI-3 was in Chicago in 2007 and
2008, CI-3 spent nearly every day with Bush, and was taken around with Bush
while he ran his heroin dealing operation. CI-3 identified CI-2 as running a line on
51st and Cottage Grove in Chicago, Illinois; William Ford and a Vaughn brother ran
lines on 47th and Vincennes and under the El tracks; and the Brown twins and
CD-1 sold heroin for Bush on 51st and Calumet.
From conversations with other Hobos and from personal observations, CI-3
knew the Hobos to have disputes with other gang factions. The Hobos had a dispute
with the Fifth Ward Black Disciples over drug territory near 47th Street and
Vincennes, which resulted in multiple shootings. The Hobos also had a conflict with
the New Town Black Disciples, whom the Hobos believed responsible for shooting
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Gregory Chester. Another dispute arose with the Mickey Cobras, during which
vehicles were lit on fire and shootings occurred.
c.
CI-4 and CI-4s associates obtained crack cocaine from the Hobos, who
operated a drug line in the Robert Taylor housing projects. 17 CI-4 recalled that the
line was managed by Arnold Council and Gregory Chester, but that Individual TC
managed the line until Chester was released from prison. CI-4 supplied the Hobos
and their associates with disposable cellphones (known as burner phones), which
CI-4 obtained by having drug addicts activate cellphone contracts with phone
companies in order to obtain the cellphones and service. CI-4 will testify that
Chester was one of CI-4s primary customers for burner cellphones.
CI-4 will testify that he knew the follow individuals to be Hobos and their
associates: Gregory Chester, Gabriel Bush, Arnold Council, Paris Poe, Stanley
Vaughn, William Ford, Derrick Vaughn, Gary Chester, twin brothers Byron and
Brandon Brown, CD-1, as well as Individuals PS, IV, PD, WT, AC, CI-2 and CI-3.
CI-4 understood the Hobos had a hand sign where the index and pinkie
fingers on one hand were extended to make an H and a B with the thumb. From
CI-4s interactions and conversations with the Hobos, CI-4 understood that the
CI-4 has four prior convictions related to firearm and narcotics offenses. In or about 2008,
CI-4 was paid approximately $6,000 for cooperating. LEOs have also provided CI-4
monetary assistance to relocate CI-4. CI-4 testified during the trial of Individual PS for the
Collections robbery and testified in substance that he was not a participant in the robbery.
However, during a proffer, CI-4 stated that CI-4 was the lookout on the Collections robbery
and that Council gave CI-4 one of the stolen jackets for being the lookout.
17
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Hobos were a group of drug dealers that got together to rob anyone who had money,
including other drug dealers. The Hobos were also very violent. If one Hobo got into
it with another gang, that Hobo could count on every other Hobo having his back.
The Hobos also had street power, the kind of power that could end someones life.
The Hobos felt that they could go anywhere in the city and no other gang would
bother them. When it came to robberies, the Hobos looked for people who had
money. Once the Hobos identified a target, they followed that person to watch who
that person met, where he went, and what times he went places. When CI-4 was in
custody with Poe, he called this doing homework. Arnold called it lamping.
d.
CD-1 18 was an active member of the Hobos until his arrest in or about March
2009. CD-1 knew other members of the Hobos to include Gregory Chester, Arnold
Council, his brother Individual KD, Gabriel Bush, Paris Poe, Gary Chester, twin
brothers Byron and Brandon Brown, Stanley Vaughn, Derrick Vaughn, William
Ford, CI-2, CI-3, as well as Individuals LD, WB, WT, and LB.
CD-1 considered Gregory Chester to be the leader of the Hobos, with Council
and Bush also at the top of the Hobos. Each of the three had his own crew of Hobos
that he usually worked with. CD-1 believed Chester to be the overall leader of the
Hobos because he had the connections to the people who supplied drugs. Chesters
CD-1 is a convicted felon with multiple prior state convictions for firearms-related
offenses and crimes of violence, including murder. CD-1 provided the information detailed
pursuant to a proffer letter. CD-1 is cooperating with the hopes of receiving a reduced
sentence in the federal racketeering charges currently pending against CD-1 and with the
murder charge against CD-1 in state court.
18
47
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crew of Hobos included Paris Poe and Gary Chester. CD-1 heard Chester refer to
Poe as his son, and Poe referred to Chester as Pops. CD-1 considered Poe to be
Chesters protector. Councils crew included CD-1, the Brown twins, and other Met
Boys from the area of 51st Street and Calumet Avenue.
CD-1 will testify that he identified himself to others as a Hobo and he also
used the term Hobo when talking to other people he considered to be a Hobo.
According to CD-1, the Hobos flashed a hand sign to each other, which involved
extending the index and pinkie fingers on one hand to make an H. CD-1 will
testify, in substance, that he believed the Hobos were a team. If something
happened to another member, the other Hobos would support that member however
necessary, including through retaliation. CD-1 will also explain that the Hobos had
power and control on the south side of the City of Chicago. They felt that they could
put their drugs out for sale on any block in the city and nobody would give them
problems because the Hobos were feared and respected by virtually everyone on the
south side. The Hobos had a reputation that, if someone shot or had issue with a
Hobo, the members would come after that person and kill him.
Through the Hobos, CD-1 had access to a pool of shared guns. For instance,
after CD-1 was shot multiple times in November 2007, Arnold Council offered CD-1
access to Councils firearms, which included three to four .45 pistols, three to four
.40 pistols, a mini-14 rifle, and a 30-shot nine-millimeter pistol. On other occasions,
CD-1 swapped out guns with other Hobos, including on one occasion swapping a .40
caliber pistol for a Mini-14 rifle with Derrick Vaughn. CD-1 will also testify that the
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Hobos had access to a lot of money and drove nice cars. The older members of the
Hobos rented cars and let CD-1 and the younger members use them. CD-1 recalled
that at least one member of the Hobos, Arnold Council, had the word Hobo
stitched into the headrest of a Nissan Maxima.
From the other Hobos, CD-1 learned techniques to employ when committing
robberies and shootings. For instance, CD-1 learned to use multiple cars in
robberies or shootings so that there would be a car to block the police or to rotate off
the car the Hobos were following. From Gabriel Bush, CD-1 learned to use hand
sanitizer after a shooting to remove the gunshot residue and to get batting gloves
from Sports Authority for shooting so that gunshot residue would not be left on his
hands. CD-1 also learned from Gabriel Bush to look for places in cars where CD-1
could hide guns.
CD-1 engaged in narcotics trafficking with the Hobos, distributing narcotics
(including marijuana, heroin, and cocaine), collecting narcotics proceeds, and
providing armed security for the Hobos narcotics operations. CD-1 also engaged in
multiple shootings, and on occasion murdered people, on behalf of the Hobos and
with other Hobos, in order to preserve their territory, to enrich the Hobos, to
eliminate rival factions, and to retaliate against others who threatened the Hobos.
B.
At trial, the government plans to introduce evidence that the Hobos were
responsible for a number of crimes of violence, ranging from kidnapping to murder,
as well as multiple instances of unlawful firearms possession, narcotics distribution
49
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TYPE OF EVENT
DESCRIPTION
Narcotics
Firearms
Narcotics
Murder
Kidnapping
Shooting
Armed Robbery
Attempt Murder
Murder
This chart is intended to be a summary of the expected evidence at trial regarding the
Hobos criminal enterprise. It is not intended to be a full description of each and every
crime perpetrated by the Hobos during and in furtherance of the conspiracy.
19
50
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DATE
TYPE OF EVENT
DESCRIPTION
Murder
Shooting
Attempt Murder
June 5, 2007
Attempt Murder
July 9, 2007
Aug. 9, 2007
Shooting
Shooting
Attempt Murder
51
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DATE
TYPE OF EVENT
DESCRIPTION
Sep. 1, 2007
Murder
Sep. 2, 2007
Murder (x2)
Attempt Murder
Nov. 5, 2007
Attempt Murder
Dec. 4, 2007
Narcotics
Murder
Apr. 4, 2008
Narcotics
Apr. 6, 2008
Shooting (x2)
Home Invasion
Armed Robbery
52
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DATE
TYPE OF EVENT
May 4, 2008
Narcotics
Attempt Murder
Firearms
Narcotics
Home Invasion
July 3, 2008
Home Invasion
Felony Murder
Narcotics
DESCRIPTION
53
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DATE
TYPE OF EVENT
DESCRIPTION
Nov. 8, 2008
Armed Robbery
Home Invasion
Armed Robbery
June 1, 2011
Narcotics
June 9, 2011
Narcotics
Sep. 1, 2011
Narcotics
Feb. 2, 2013
Firearm
Narcotics
Murder
Below, the government sets forth additional detail regarding the evidence
relating to certain of these crimes.
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1.
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Luther King Drive in Chicago, Illinois, which was operated by CI-2, CI-3, and others
working with CI-2, CI-3, and Bush and at their direction.
Witnesses, including the cooperating individuals and defendant identified
above, will testify that the Hobos were established narcotics traffickers who
distributed narcotics at and through multiple locations in the Chicago area, and
that the Hobos would supply and assist each other and their associates with their
narcotics trafficking activity. Specific instances regarding the Hobos narcotics
trafficking is addressed in the chart above, as well as below with respect to certain
of the distributions that occurred to individuals who, unbeknownst to the Hobos,
were cooperating with law enforcement at the time.
The government will also establish other instances when the Hobos, as part
of their narcotics trafficking, were in possession of narcotics. For example, on
December 4, 2007, Hobos Byron Brown and Arnold Council were sitting in Councils
black Dodge Magnum, parked in a no-parking zone near 61st Street and Langley in
Chicago, Illinois. When CPD approached Councils vehicle and asked for his license,
Council handed over an invalid drivers license. When the CPD officer noticed this,
he asked Council to exit the vehicle. Council refused. CPD called for backup.
Officers broke the window to Councils Dodge Magnum and pulled Council out of the
vehicle. During a patdown of Council, officers found a plastic baggie that contained
approximately 28 grams of crack cocaine.
In approximately 2006, Gary Chester and Paris Poe attempted to rob a
kilogram of a drug supplier after setting up a drug dealer (identified here as Drug
56
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Dealer A). Drug Dealer A will testify to being a cocaine trafficker operating out of a
car wash on the south side of Chicago. On one occasion, Drug Dealer A sold Gary
Chester and his associates a kilogram of cocaine for approximately $22,000, after
Paris Poe introduced Gary Chester to Drug Dealer A. A few weeks later, Poe and
Gary Chester put in an order for another kilogram of cocaine. During the
transaction, Poe and Chester inspected a kilogram of cocaine, said they didnt like
it, then returned it. Drug Dealer A then returned the kilogram of cocaine to his/her
drug supplier. As the drug supplier was driving off, car lights came on. Poe called
Drug Dealer A and said in substance, Mind your business, at which point Drug
Dealer A understood that Poe was going to rob the drug supplier. Drug Dealer A
drove away, and a short while later Gregory Chester, Paris Poe and Gary Chester
met Drug Dealer A, and discussed the attempted robbery with him.
2.
Wilbert Moore was a drug dealer in the Ida B. Wells Housing Project. In
approximately the spring of 2004, Moore cooperated with CPD, providing
information that led to a search at an apartment on East 33rd Avenue in Chicago,
Illinois, where Council distributed crack cocaine. During the search, CPD found and
seized approximately 1,269 grams of cannabis, 1259 grams of cocaine, and 331
grams of heroin, a 9MM pistol, a .45 caliber pistol, an AR15-style assault rifle with
two 50-round magazines, and ammunition from a residence. Council was charged
with narcotics and firearms-related offenses in the Circuit Court of Cook County,
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but, on August 26, 2005, the charges were dismissed. Information regarding Wilbert
Moores cooperation, namely, the complaint for search warrant, was provided in
discovery during Councils state case.
When CPD arrived at the scene of the murder on January 19, 2006, they
found Moore lying in a pool of blood near a van in a vacant lot by 4236 South
Langley. CPD found a set of car keys returning to a blue Nissan Maxima that was
parked in front of the barbershop on 43rd Street. CPD recovered nine .45 caliber
shells near Moore and, near a blue Nissan Maxima parked outside the barbershop
near 648 East 43rd Street, found a .45 caliber shell. The locations of the shell casings
are consistent with the shooting beginning outside the barbershop and continuing
down the street. The medical examiner who performed the autopsy on Moore to
testify that he died from gunshot wounds, namely, shots to the nose, chin, neck,
chest, left temple, right temple, abdomen, left rear shoulder, and hand.
CI-2 will testify that, on January 19, 2006, CI-2 was with Gabriel Bush in the
area of a barbershop on the south side of Chicago, where Moore happened to be
getting a haircut. When Bush saw Moore, he called Council. Council and Poe
arrived together in a car. When they arrived, Poe opened fire on Moore. Moore ran.
Council and Poe followed. They chased Moore down to a van parked in a vacant lot.
Poe shot Moore, and handed the gun to Council, who shot Moore. Poe and Council
fled. CI-2 and Bush drove away, and Bush took CI-2 home. A couple hours later,
Bush called CI-2 and told CI-2 what happened, specifically, Council had told Bush
that Council and Poe had killed Big Shorty (Moore).
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According to CD-1, before Moore was killed, but during the conspiracy,
Arnold Councils brother, Individual KD, 20 stated that the Hobos were trying to kill
Big Shorty (Moores nickname). Individual KD explained that Big Shorty put the
police on Council, meaning Moore cooperated with law enforcement against Council.
During the conspiracy, Council said Poe and he killed Moore after Moore got out of a
barbershop. Council explained that Poe started shooting at Moore outside the
barbershop, then shot at Moore when he was trying to crawl under a car. During a
van ride coming to federal court on one occasion, Poe said that they were not trying
to kidnap Moore, they were trying to kill him, and that Moore had his keys in his
hand when they killed him.
CI-1 will testify that, while incarcerated with Poe, Poe stated that Council
and he murdered Moore. Specifically, Poe stated that Council and he received
information that Moore was around 42nd Street, and that they were going to kidnap
him. When Moore fled on foot, they gave chase and they both shot Moore.
CI-4 will testify that, while in IDOC custody with Poe, another inmate
approached Poe and said that the police were trying to get Poe for Big Shortys
murder. Poe became very nervous. CI-4 also had conversations with Council, during
which Council stated that Big Shorty (Wilbert Moore) cooperated with the police
and helped the police get a search warrant on Councils residence.
During the conspiracy, Individual KD distributed approximately 16.8 grams of crack
cocaine on January 29, 2003, participated in an armed robbery of jewelers on October 22,
2004, and, on October 4, 2007, was found by CPD to be in possession of a 9MM pistol, a
bulletproof vest, and cannabis.
20
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3.
On February 24, 2006, Paris Poe, while in the presence of CI-4, 21 kidnapped
Individual JH and held Individual JH against Individual JHs will until
Individual JHs mother brought Poe a firearm, namely, a Master Piece Arms 9MM
machine pistol.
CI-4 will testify that, on the day in question, CI-4 was driving with Arnold
Council when they pulled up behind Gregory Chester in his black Charger near
55th Street on the south side of Chicago, Illinois. Council went and sat with Chester
in his car. Poe walked out of a nearby building with what appeared to be a 14 or 15
year old boy. Poe also had what appeared to be a machine-style pistol. Poe had the
boy (Individual JH) sit in the back seat of CI-4s vehicle. Poe had CI-4 move over to
the passenger side and Poe got behind the wheel and started driving. While Poe and
CI-4 were driving, Poe was arguing with someone on the phone (Individual JHs
mother), saying that he wanted his shit back. They drove over to a gas station on
55th where Individual JHs mother handed Poe a gun wrapped in a towel in
exchange for the boy. While they were driving away, they saw the police by a KFC
in the area and Poe sped off. The police chased; Poe crashed into another car. Poe
took off running, but was arrested. CI-4 was also arrested on the scene.
Individual JHs mother will testify that her son (Individual JH) had been
kidnapped and that a gun was to be exchanged for the release of her son.
21
CI-4 was not cooperating with law enforcement at the time of this incident.
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Individual JHs mother retrieved the firearm and brought it to Paris Poe, with
whom she gave the firearm in exchange for her son. Individual JHs mother called
the police and the police responded to the scene.
The CPD officers involved will testify that they received information about
the incident and responded to the scene. When they attempted to stop CI-4s
vehicle, driven by Poe, it stopped. When CPD officers exited their vehicle, the
vehicle drove away at a high rate of speed, ran a red light, then crashed. Poe fled
and, after a brief foot chase, was arrested. During a vehicle search, CPD recovered a
Master Piece Arms 9MM machine pistol with a high-capacity magazine, and a
Glock .45 caliber pistol with a high-capacity magazine.
4.
On or about June 11, 2006, Victim 1, an NBA basketball player, was standing
outside a nightclub when Paris Poe approached, pointed a gun at Victim 1, and
demanded the necklace that Victim 1 was wearing. Victim 1 handed over the
necklace and Poe fled to a vehicle parked nearby. Victim 1, with several other
individuals, gave chase and pursued the vehicle, which was driven by Arnold
Council. During the chase, Poe fired his gun at Victim 1s vehicle, but then jumped
out the car and fled on foot. Council ultimately crashed his vehicle and he was held
at the scene by Victim 1 until the police arrived. Paris Poe, however, had the
necklace and it was never recovered.
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Victim 1 will testify that, initially, s/he would not identify Poe or Council to
the police because Victim 1 was afraid. Victim 1 had heard word on the streets that
both Poe and Council were extremely dangerous and Victim 1 was afraid for his/her
life. Victim 1 also stated that s/he received mysterious phone calls from unknown
individuals asking Victim 1 what was going to happen with the case. After Poe and
Council were placed in custody on other charges, Victim 1 agreed to cooperate and
then identified Poe and Council. According to Victim 1, the white gold necklace
stolen by Poe was worth more than $200,000.
At trial, the government will introduce testimony from witnesses and records
maintained by the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, establishing that Paris
Poe and Arnold Council both on or about December 13, 2010, entered oral guilty
pleas to the charge of robbery against Victim 1. The government will also introduce
into evidence records maintained by the Circuit Court of Cook County, including a
personal injury complaint filed by Arnold Council against Victim 1 arising out of the
incident.
5.
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crossfire, an innocent bystander was shot and killed. Gregory Chester was taken to
the hospital and treated for his wounds; just as Chester later did on June 3, 2007,
Chester used a fake identity (Desjuar Anderson) when he was treated at the
hospital. An eyewitness identified Paris Poe as the shooter. And recalled that Poe
was with a bowlegged male prior to the shooting. When Gregory Chester was
interviewed by CPD, he did not identify the other people involved in the shooting
and he did not identify Paris Poe. Instead, Chester merely stated that he was at the
car wash having his Charger cleaned when the shooting happened.
6.
At trial, the government plans to prove that Gabriel Bush murdered Steven
Bogovich the night of November 24, 2006, after Bogovichs associates took $17,000
after providing a fake kilogram of cocaine to Gabriel Bushs associates.
Individual A will testify at trial that Individual A and Individual RF planned
to purchase a kilogram of cocaine from Bogovich and Bogovichs associates, using
approximately $9,000 of cash provided by Gabriel Bush (Individual RF provided the
remainder of the money). Individual A knew Bogovich from working with him. After
Individual A and Individual RF obtained the money from Bush, Bush followed them
in his vehicle to the area of a residence on the south side of Chicago where
Individual A and Individual RF went inside to meet Bogovich and his associates.
Bush and Arnold Council waited outside in the area as surveillance. After giving
the cash to Bogovich and his associates, Individual A and Individual RF went to a
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separate location, the area of 3328 West 38th Street, Chicago, Illinois, to obtain the
cocaine.
When Individual A and Individual RF arrived there, they met two Hispanic
individuals associated with Bogovich who handed over a package containing what
appeared to be cocaine. 22 An argument ensued over the substance, and, at
approximately 9:26 p.m., CPD observed Individual A and Individual RF with the
two males engaged in what appeared to be a narcotics transaction. When CPD
moved to intervene, Individual A and Individual RF fled. CPD gave chase.
Individual A was apprehended hiding in a garbage can; when CPD looked at
Individual As cellphone, CPD observed that it had been in contact with a telephone
number with the user-provided nickname of GB. Individual RF made good on his
escape.
While CPD was conducting the search, CPD observed a van driving around
the area suspiciously. The van, whom CPD observed to be occupied by two black
males (in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood) was circling the area
approximately one city block (less than a quarter mile) from where the drug deal
was interrupted. CPD stopped the vehicle; the occupants identified themselves as
Arnold Council and Gabriel Bush. Bush and Council were then allowed to leave the
area in the van. 23
22
It was not; subsequent testing later confirmed that the substance was a lookalike.
Stanley Vaughn was also in the area that night. He claimed that he had been driving
down to Springfield, Illinois, when he had car trouble and pulled off I-55 at the Kedzie exit
for assistance with his car before getting back on the road, and that he had been in contact
23
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white guy beat him out of the money, and that the white guy tried to get away, but
they followed him. Bush said he was walking to or from a house, and that Bush
walked up to him and blew his brains out. Bush informed CI-2 that Stanley Vaughn
and Arnold Council were with him that night.
7.
The Hobos Conflict with the New Town and Fifth Ward
Black Disciples
The testimony of cooperating individuals and the cooperating defendant, inperson recordings of William Ford and Derrick Vaughn, and the testimony of
individuals associated with the Black Disciples will establish that in 2007, the
Hobos were engaged in a conflict with the New Town and Fifth Ward factions of the
Black Disciples street gang. The conflict with the Fifth Ward Black Disciples
originated from a drug territory dispute near 47th Street and Vincennes on the
south side of Chicago. The conflict escalated on June 3, 2007, when Gregory Chester
was shot nineteen times leaving his girlfriends apartmentat the time, she lived in
territory controlled by the New Town Black Disciples. 24 The Hobos believed the
Black Disciples responsible and went looking to shoot anyone associated with the
Black Disciples:
1. On June 5, 2007, Gabriel Bush, William Ford, Arnold Council, and
another individual were in a rental car when they spotted Victim 2, a
member of the Black Disciples, and Victim 3, Victim 2s brother, in
another car. Bush, using a high-powered FN-5.7 pistol, and William Ford
On June 3, 2007, Chester was shot multiple times in the arm, leg, and buttocks while in
the area of the 3600 block of South Lake Park, Chicago, Illinois, which was a neighborhood
controlled by the New Town Black Disciples. When Chester was admitted to the hospital,
he gave the false name Gregory Greene. When interviewed by CPD, Chester gave the
false name Desjuar Anderson.
24
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shot at both Victim 2 and Victim 3, resulting in Victim 2s eye being shot
out and Victim 3 being shot in the head.
2. On June 27, 2007, Gabriel Bush, Stanley Vaughn, and Derrick Vaughn,
while with two of their associates shot Victim 4 multiple times, causing
permanent injuries.
3. On July 9, 2007, Gabriel Bush and William Ford shot at three juvenile
males who were walking in the Black Disciples neighborhood, leaving one
critically wounded with a gunshot wound to the head.
4. On September 2, 2007, a number of the Hobos, including Brandon Brown,
Gabriel Bush, Arnold Council, William Ford, CD-1, Derrick Vaughn, and
Stanley Vaughn participated in a drive-by shooting in broad daylight
outside a funeral home, shooting and killing Antonio Bluitt and Gregory
Neeley. 25
5. On June 19, 2008, Paris Poe, while in the presence of Individual LD, shot
at Individual CW and a fellow Black Disciple while driving on the Dan
Ryan Expressway.
During a series of recorded in-person conversations in 2013 with a person
who was then cooperating with the FBI, Derrick Vaughn detailed how the Hobos
war with the Black Disciples began with a standoff at a picnic in the summer of
2007. Below are highlights of the recordings:
Me, Boo [Individual IV], Smiley [Stanley Vaughn], them niggas respect the
shit outta nigga. So I pull up, bump heads with them and Smiley Arnold
[Arnold Council], um, who else it was? Me, Smiley, Gabe [Gabriel Bush], um,
Beebo, and a few more . . .
***
So I got my pole [handgun] in my car. Smiley like, um, nah I got a pole in the
car. I still take mine anyway, boom. Hop in the car, we go clean down here.
Right down here. Um, the lil block where we be turnin.
Witnesses will testify that Antonio Bluitt was the leader of the New Town Black
Disciples. He was attending the funeral of a female who had been electrocuted during a
storm.
25
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***
So I goes down here off the support of Smiley [Stanley Vaughn] and Gabe
[Gabriel Bush] and them. So, you know, Im goin now cause of my brother.
You know what I mean? And, um, you know thats how me and bruh been.
You know what I mean? Throughout the years since the nigga been allowing
a nigga to be around. You know what I mean? A nigga been up under him. So
you already know what that go.
***
Now I got my banger [handgun] on me bruh. Now, it was a lot of mother
fuckers, boy. This whole, that whole block, that long block right there.
***
So why Smiley and them out there spacin, bruh I swear to god. We got like
four, five bangers [four or five handguns] though. Matter fact, [CS-3] was
with us too. [CS-3] was with us too. On the real, [CS-3] was with us too. So
look, [CS-3]spacy, I dont know whats goin on. So look, I just, look look look
look look. But Im payin attention to everything, bro. Look. Why the nigga
Reeceebo [member of the rival Black Disciple street gang] talkin to this
nigga, right? Now the nigga, oh we fucked him up too. I hear his name, Im,
Im, I just gotta hear his name.
***
I tell Smiley, I say man, come here, joe. I say man, joe, this nigga Reece-ebo.
So Smiley and [CS-3] grabbed bangers, go over there. They went over
there wit banger [unintelligible] they was on the side though, you know what
I mean? [unintelligible] And I think the third time they left, they left and
went and got the pole. We took that bitch and everything and got em
[unintelligible] thirty [handgun with a 30-shot clip] and came back.
***
On my momma, [CS-3] got two bangers [two handguns]. I swear to god. That
lil motherfucker was like this. On my momma. They took the banger from
the nigga, um, Reeceebo. It was me, um, it was me, Smiley, um, [CS-3] had a
banger, um, I dont even know if Louie had a banger on him. I think Louie
had a banger. Or if not him, Arnold had a banger. Somebody aint have no
banger, you know what I mean? Muh fucker up. And then after that, A muh
fucker coulda put that bitch, finna put that nigga on the news.
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Derrick Vaughn then explained how, after the standoff, Gregory Chester, aka
Bowlegs, was shot eighteen times. Vaughn believed the Black Disciples were
responsible for the shooting of Chester because of the earlier standoff:
And like days later, the nigga Bowlegs [Gregory Chester] damn near on 37th
and Lake Park down there fuckin with a bitch. I dont know what the fuck
was goin on. Ray shot that boy ass up, boy. Eighteen times some shit like
that. Fucked him up.
***
Fucked him up. He was in the hospital, he lost weight, he aint look the same
or nothin. Cause he gained in the joint, was big. Lost all that shit, boy.
Derrick Vaughn explained how, as a result of the shooting of Gregory
Chester, the Hobos went through the Black Disciples neighborhood looking to
retaliate. Vaughn further explained that the Hobos kept police scanners in their
cars to elude detection by law enforcement, and how the Hobos were effective at
shutting down the Black Disciples drug line:
Boy all our cars stay in on the scanner, bruh. Not like that, but it was a nice
lil amount of time that I can recall, you know what I mean? Them niggas
puttin the police, so mother fuckin Smiley start, man, bitch. So now, so
look we start getting smart. Okay, yall wanna come through this bitch? They
come to this bitch and blow - where we goin? We, we, we, we, we, we goin
down there. Fuckin them niggas up. Them niggas, what? Clap them niggas
ass up. Goin down there, what? Bruh, them niggas stopped their line. They
had a line. Remember they had the line down there? Aw, we put a stop to
that.
a.
On February
Victim 8
25,
2007,
Derrick
Vaughn
Shot
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a neighborhood that the Hobos and the Dirty Low Gangster Disciples believed they
controlled. Vaughn shot Victim 8 multiple times in the back and neck. Victim 8 was
taken to the hospital where he was treated for gunshot wounds to his spine, right
thigh, left forearm and head. Doctors removed a .38 caliber casing from his head.
According to Victim 8, Victim 8 recalled that the shooter was Derrick, and that
Derrick said that this war with the Fifth Ward [Black Disciples] was not over.
CI-3 will testify that he was at the barbershop when Vaughn shot Victim 8 from
behind. CI-3 will identify Victim 8 as a rival Black Disciple who the Hobos were at
war with over drug territory.
Also during a recorded in-person conversation with the cooperating
individual, Derrick Vaughn implicated himself in the attempted murder of Victim 8,
a rival Black Disciple, explaining the type of firearm Vaughn used (a silver, shiny,
brand new ass .380), the location of the shooting (the t-shirt place by the barber
shop), and how Vaughn wanted to either kill or paralyze Victim 8: I tried to
paralyze. I was tryin to kill that little nigga. Might get locked up. He got shot all in
the back though.
Vaughn then described how he changed his clothes and poured bleach on his
hands, saying, They take me to Mo grandma crib, its east. And I change my
clothes, take everything I had off in case a motherfucker do. Aw and they know who
did that shit cause they come lookin for me. They, um, bleach my hands and shit.
Put on some mo clothes and hop back out.
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Vaughn continued by explaining how his older brother, Stanley Vaughn, aka
Smiley, and Gabriel Bush were proud of Derrick Vaughn after the shooting:
So Smiley like man what the fuck happened [unintelligible]. Shit, you know
what I mean? Shit. Its like man, just chill out, man. [unintelligible] that shit
all in the air. Smiley lil brother did it. Smiley lil brother. Thats when Gabe
really got to likin me then [unintelligible] I love that lil nigga. Where he at?
On the real. Thats how we end up clickin though. Thats how [unintelligible]
bein the one nigga around. [unintelligible] no problem, you know. That shit
all in the air.
b.
On June 5, 2007, Gabriel Bush, Arnold Council, and William Ford, while CI-3
was present, 26 committed a drive-by shooting of Victim 2, a Black Disciple, and
Victim 3, Victim 2s brother. The Hobos were in a rented white Chevy Impala. 27
When Victim 2 and Victim 3 drove their vehicle down Martin Luther King Drive on
the south side of Chicago, William Ford pulled the Chevy Impala alongside. Bush
shot an FN-5.7 pistol into the other car, which crashed into a bus stop. Victim 2 was
shot multiple times in the face and ultimately lost an eye from the shooting.
Victim 3 was shot in the ear. Both survived. The four Hobos abandoned their car
and ran away. CPD arrested Arnold Council and CI-3 near the scene, but both were
released. Bush and Ford were not caught. The FN-5.7 shells recovered from the
scene were a forensic ballistics match for the FN-5.7 firearm CPD seized June 20,
26
The Impala was rented in the name of a female associate of Gabriel Bushs girlfriend,
who will testify that she rented the vehicle for Gabriel Bush.
27
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2008, from a storage locker unit rented in CI-2s name and which contained Gabriel
Bushs property.
A short time after the shooting, CI-2 was playing video games when Bush
stated that he was with Arnold Council and that they were in a high speed chase
with Diamond Dre (Victim 2s nickname). Bush stated that they tried to kill
Diamond Dre because Diamond Dre had set up Bowlegs [Gregory Chester], to be
shot. While Bush and CI-2 were together that day, Bush received a phone call from
someone telling him that Diamond Dre did not die, but had had only been shot in
the eye. Bush stated that he thought they killed Diamond Dre.
c.
A few weeks later, the Hobos continued their shooting when, on the afternoon
of June 27, 2007, Hobos Gabriel Bush, Stanley Vaughn, Derrick Vaughn, CI-3, and
a fourth person were driving through a Black Disciple neighborhood when they saw
Victim 4 outside a daycare. As Victim 4 walked into the daycare, Gabriel Bush,
Stanley and Derrick Vaughn, and the fourth person shot at Victim 4, 28 who was hit
in the buttocks and leg, but was able to make his way to the daycare and make it
inside. Victim 4 suffered nerve damage from the shooting, but survived. Gabriel
Bush, Stanley Vaughn, and CI-3 were in a rental car rented in Stanley Vaughns
name. After the shooting, Stanley Vaughn returned the vehicle to Alamo and
obtained a new rental car.
The FN-5.7 shells recovered from the scene were a forensic ballistics match for the FN-5.7
firearm CPD seized June 20, 2008, from a storage locker unit rented in CI-2s name and
which contained Gabriel Bushs property.
28
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d.
On July 9, 2007, CI-3 was present when Gabriel Bush and William Ford were
in a neighborhood controlled by the Black Disciples when Bush and Ford shot two
juveniles who were standing near a park. One juvenile was hit in the head, both
survived.
e.
On August 27, 2007, CD-1 was present when Arnold Council and Gabriel
Bush pulled up in a vehicle outside the residence of an associate of Antonio Bluitt,
in the area of 4100 South Wabash, Chicago, Illinois. Gabriel Bush shot multiple
times at the individual, who was shot in the thigh/buttocks region, but survived.
Shell casings from the scene were forensically matched to the FN-5.7 firearm CPD
seized June 20, 2008, from a storage locker unit rented in CI-2s name and which
contained Gabriel Bushs property.
f.
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While the Black Disciples were sitting in the Range Rover, Hobos Arnold
Council, Brandon Brown, CD-1, Gabriel Bush, Stanley Vaughn, Derrick Vaughn,
William Ford, and two other associates of the Hobos (identified here as
Individual LB and Individual WT), drove by in four to five cars, shooting multiple
firearms, including a 9MM, an FN-5.7, and an assault rifle, at the Range Rover.
Bluitt and Neely were killed. Two of their associates were wounded.
Later that same night, the Hobos went to the downtown Swissotel to
celebrate the double murder. CD-1 and other junior members of the associates
expected to be paid by Chester for the murder, but ultimately were not. Instead,
Gregory Chester gave CD-1 several thousand dollars worth of heroin for free.
CI-1 will testify that, while incarcerated with CD-1, CD-1 stated that he,
Brandon Brown, William Ford, and a couple other Hobos killed Bluitt at a funeral
home after a Hobo called in the hit. CD-1 told CI-1 that Bluitt was shot in
retaliation for the New Town Black Disciples shooting of Chester on June 3, 2007.
CD-1 relayed that Chester was playing games by not paying the Hobos for killing
Bluitt. 29
CD-1 will testify that, the day of the double murder, CD-1 was on 51st Street
and Calumet with Brandon Brown and others when Arnold Council arrived and
asked if they had guns. Brandon Brown and CD-1 had two .45 caliber pistols, and
CI-1 recalled a similar jailhouse conversation with Gary Chester. While in prison
together, Chester said that his cousin, Gregory Chester, did not want to pay some of the
younger guys for their role in killing Bluitt at the funeral home.
29
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they drove with Arnold Council in his car. Their friend, Individual EO, drove CD-1s
vehicle. They drove to the area of 79th and Cottage Grove and waited. More Hobos
arrived in cars with guns: Gabriel Bush arrived, Stanley Vaughn and Individual LB
arrived together; William Ford and Derrick Vaughn arrived together; and
Individual WT arrived. Before the shooting, Arnold Council told CD-1, in substance,
that the person responsible for shooting Gregory Chester was at the funeral, and
that there was money on the dude. Brandon Brown went into the funeral home to
confirm that Antonio Bluitt, aka Beans, was in there.
When the cars at the funeral home began lining up southbound on 79th
Street to go to the repast, Gabriel Bush pointed and the Hobos vehicles made a Uturn and started driving past Bluitt in his Range Rover. As they passed the Range
Rover, the occupants of the vehicles shot into the Range Rover. CD-1 will testify to
seeing Bluitt, Neeley and a third person inside the Range Rover. A fourth person,
Individual CW, was standing outside the Range Rover. For the drive-by shooting,
CD-1 was in the lead car with Brandon Brown, Arnold Council, and Individual WT,
with Council driving. Brandon Brown leaned out the front passenger window
shooting. CD-1 shot into the Range Rover from the rear passenger seat. Individual
WT was sitting behind Council.
After the drive-by shooting, CD-1 will testify that most of the Hobos went to
the area of 40th Street and Langley. The night of the drive-by, the Hobos went to
the downtown Swissotel to celebrate. After the murder, CD-1 didnt get paid what
CD-1 expected to be a large sum of money. Awhile after the double murder,
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however, Gregory Chester gave Byron Brown and CD-1 several thousand dollars
worth of heroin for free. Individual LD handed over the heroin on behalf of Chester.
During an in-person recorded conversation with a cooperating individual in
2013, Derrick Vaughn discussed how, on September 2, 2007, he went with a group
of Hobosincluding William Ford, Stanley Vaughn, Gabriel Bush, and Arnold
Councilto a funeral home on the south side of Chicago where they shot and killed
the leader of the Black Disciples, Antonio Bluitt, aka Beans. Vaughn implicated
himself as one of the many Hobos who participated in the drive-by shooting of
Beans:
I was ridin Boo car. So um, I call Joe Buck and Joe Buck call me. His ass
left. Thats how I ended up in the car with him. I had a lil nine on me that
was from (UI). It was a nine. A nine. That bitch was bogus as hell.
Cause I try to fire this bitch, this bitch dont even fire, bruh. Dont even fire.
At this particular day. 30
Yeah. So look, I [unintelligible] he come and get me out. I, I mean we flyin
around there. We get down there, um, we down there, Me, Smiley, (UI),
Arnold [Council], Twin [Brandon Brown], [unintelligible] Walt GD from out
west [Individual WT], (pause and mumbling to self) and um, the one with the
bullet [unintelligible] he the one dead, right?
Yeah, so um, I had nine, they had a chopper. Them niggas from um, out um,
out west brought it up here for a muhfucker. Smiley had a nine, Smiley- I
dont think that bitch [unintelligible] it was. Um, um, I think that Five-Seven
that Five-Seven [Bushs FN-5.7 handgun] and gave him to them boys.
***
To the extent Vaughn tried to minimize his involvement, the physical evidence recovered
at the scene would contradict any suggestion that Vaughn nine-millimeter handgun did not
work during the funeral home double murder. Numerous nine-millimeter shell casings were
found at the murder scene.
30
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Smiley and them did that shit. Louie aint do shit, man. We was like five cars,
they was like five cars.
I swear to god. They say bruh a nigga was over a hundred and some shell
casings out there. damn. Swear to god. And [unintelligible]get a chance to
shoot the one I had. They shot go fast. Boom boom [making machine gun
sounds with his mouth].
Derrick Vaughn then described in vivid detail exactly where the Hobos were
prior to the shooting, how they executed the drive-by shooting in front of the funeral
home, and how the victims were slumped over in their car after the shooting:
We was behind there lookin through the bushes sittin back there. We back
there smokin erything. Enough time for muhfuckers go in the front, enjoy
the funeral then come out back there. On Langley. Just say the car park right
here.
So they come out. Be all in the back of that bitch. We back there bored,
tweakin. We back there wit hoods up and shit. Hopin the police dont come
back there. [unintelligible]for a minute. Twin [Brandon Brown] and the car
pull in wit the chopper [assault rifle] and shit. Im thinkin, Im like this shit
finna happen. 79th, 78th, 78th the lil street? Its a one way goin east.
Bruh, we come up out, out they get in the car, . So we come out and come
up the one way. [unintelligible]and then they in the [unintelligible]. They
went across, pulled over, um, on the right hand side um, on um, on um the
side of the post office. Pulled over, boom. Still facin north. Nah mean?
***
Its four cars. My car, Smiley, Louie car, I mean Joe Buck [William Ford] car,
um, Louie car, Smiley car, [unintelligible]car and then the one from out west
car. Four cars. When they bust a U we bust a U. And as they, um, pulled
up, um [unintelligible]. By the time they pulled up, they bust a U, we bust a
U, they bust a U, boom. Went up, they aint even see us. We bust a U
(woosh sound), [unintelligible] the car same way they did facing 79th. Smiley
in the first car, they pull up, they do what they doin. That shit was so fast,
bro when I pulled up, I was like at the end.
***
The shit happened fast and [unintelligible] slid up, slid up. Boom boom boom.
Slid up, got dammit. Im like this. Im kinda, boom. [unintelligible] blow. I
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woulda threw the, cause the shell, threw the muhfucker up out the
muhfuckin window. For real. And then, um, we took off.
***
Yeah bruh, by the time we pulled up on his ass and by the time I, look, look,
look. When had [unintelligible] I looked like this, them [unintelligible] was
like this. Bruh, them niggas was slumped over, both of them. Smiley and
them got some good aim.
And, and thats somethin that a nigga need to do, you know what I mean?
Cause things really had, things getting worse. You know the only good thing
was? You know the only good thing? Them niggas got into some bullshit and,
and they into it with niggas they dont even know.
After discussing the drive-by shooting, Derrick Vaughn explained how the
Hobos had power over the city, how the Hobos were smarter than other gangs, and
how the Black Disciples were too scared to retaliate after the drive-by murder of
their leader:
Dont get me wrong, shit. We got a lot of niggas too, thats with us, you know
what I mean? But dude. Power all over the city, you know what I mean? Shit,
go get muh fuckers from everywhere, you know what I mean? But we aint
dumb, niggas dont think like how we think, you know what I mean? Shit,
and thats one thing, bruh. Muh fucker dont think like how I think. Muh
fucker dont think like how we think, bruh.
***
On the real, joe. That was somethin that needed to be done and I was happy
when it happened. I wasnt worryin no mo. Worryin about if a nigga gon,
you know what I mean? [unintelligible] them ol [unintelligible], I aint scared
but Im just sayin though. They dont want, Im not finna be lettin no nigga
do no shit.
***
The head gone and niggas really still aint know at that time who did that
shit. But, or aint wanna say or whatever, you know what I mean? Like, man,
them niggas gon kill us next, man. Niggas went scared. Them niggas went
hidin, bruh.
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Vaughn also discussed the Hobos as an enterprise, describing how the Hobos
frequently switched up cars to avoid detection by other gangs, how the Hobos were
an elite group that only allowed in select people, and how, every day, Vaughn used
to carry marijuana, a handgun, and a police scanner.
You know, um, my most, like one thing I learnt about bein around my
brother and all them, how to move. You know what I mean? Um, you know
thats why a nigga always runnin from so many cars and try to keep different
cars. That way a nigga wont know what the fuck you ridin in.
***
Its like, I cant let no anybody, afford to let anybody in my circle, uh, afford to
be fuck wit anybody, you know what I mean? Cause my life would be at
stake.
***
Every day, all day. [unintelligible] I used to have weed, banger, scanner,
what? Everything at once. Everything. I aint give no fuck.
Hobo Paris Poe was in custody at the time of the double murder of Bluitt and
Neeley. However, on June 19, 2008, Paris Poe was driving on the Dan Ryan
Expressway with Individual LD when they observed Individual CW (who had
survived the shooting on September 2, 2007) driving with another Black Disciple
and a female. Paris Poe shot at the other vehicle, leading to a car crash. CD-1 will
testify that, after the shooting, Arnold Council told CD-1 to go help Poe because he
had been in a shootout on the expressway. CD-1 let Brandon Brown take CD-1s car
to find them. Later, Poe told CD-1 that he shot across a females face at
Individual CW, and that Individual LD jumped out and ran. Law enforcement
arrested Paris Poe on the scene; he suffered a fractured hip during the crash.
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8.
Terrance Anderson operated a narcotics line that competed with the Hobos
operations in the Robert Taylor Homes. Anderson and Gabriel Bush also had prior
disputes, which resulted in a 2005 shooting of Gabriel Bush by Anderson. In 2007,
Anderson was in the custody of the Cook County Department of Corrections, but
was allowed to return home for work release the weekend of September 1, 2007.
On September 1, 2007, while Terrance Anderson attended a party for the
Robert Taylor Homes with his friends, Arnold Council, William Ford, Gabriel Bush,
and Brandon Brown came looking for him.
Terrance Andersons sibling was at the party. That sibling is expected to
testify that, while at the party on the south side of Chicago, the sibling saw Gabriel
Bush and Arnold Council standing together near 60th and State. The sibling was
talking to Anderson, then standing around, when the sibling heard gunshots. The
sibling then saw Gabriel Bush standing behind a car shooting a gun. When the
shooting stopped, the sibling saw Bush and Council jump into a car together and
drive away.
CD-1 was with Gabriel Bush, Arnold Council, and Brandon Brown earlier
that day. Bush told CD-1 that some Snakes, meaning members of the Mickey
Cobra street gang in the area, and CD-1 shot at a person who CD-1 thought Gabriel
Bush wanted shot. CD-1 went home after the shooting. Later that day, Brandon
Brown called CD-1 and asked CD-1 to come to the party. When CD-1 drove to the
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area, CD-1 saw ambulances and CD-1 gave Individual AC, an unindicted
coconspirator, a ride home. Individual AC told CD-1 that Individual AC had fired
into the crowd to show them how Hobos got down. 31 CD-1 then went to 51st Street
and saw Arnold Council, who said in substance that they got down on Anderson,
which CD-1 understood to mean that Council and Bush killed Anderson. Council
said Bush slammed Terrance Anderson to the ground and shot him. Then, while
Anderson was on the ground, Council shot him. 32
CI-2 will testify that, the night of September 1, 2007, CI-2 received a phone
call that CI-2s cousin had been shot. 33 A few days later, CI-2 was with Gabriel
Bush when CI-2 told Bush that his cousin had been shot at the picnic. Bush
responded in effect that, Yeah, I finally bumped heads with that n----er TA, which
CI-2 understood to mean that Bush saw Terrance Anderson. Bush told CI-2 that he
crept up through the bushes and had seen that Anderson was not paying attention,
31
While in state custody in or about 2008, CD-1 signed a handwritten statement for the
Cook County States Attorney about the murder, and also testified in the state grand jury
about the murder. According to CD-1, after he testified, he felt that the police did not help
him for his cooperation. In or about March 2009, CD-1was arrested and placed in Cook
County Jail, where CD-1was in the same deck as Gabriel Bush. At the time, Bush and CD-1
were represented by the same lawyer (Charles Murphy). The lawyer showed CD-1 the CPD
paperwork about his cooperation and testimony, and Murphy told CD-1 to get out of the
case. According to CD-1, he then wrote a letter to the States Attorney saying that he lied
and was forced to testify. CD-1 has proffered that the letter was a lie. CD-1 explained that
he wanted to get out of cooperating in the case against Bush. CD-1 clarified that CPD police
never asked CD-1 to lie about the murder, nor did they threaten CD-1 or his family if CD-1
did not cooperate. CD-1 confirmed that he did tell the truth to the state grand jury and in
the handwritten statement.
32
CI-2s cousin was standing in the area near Terrance Anderson when Anderson was shot
and killed.
33
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so Bush started to shoot and Anderson started running, Council then came and shot
Anderson and Anderson went down.
After the murder, CPD recovered a baseball hat in the area of the murder
and submitted the hat for DNA analysis. A forensic analysis indicated that DNA on
the hat returned to Arnold Council.
9.
In the late summer and fall of 2007, the Hobos had a conflict with a faction of
Mickey Cobras known as the Gutterville Mickey Cobras, who sold crack cocaine
near 51st and Martin Luther King Drive. The conflict started after CI-2 fought with
a member of the Mickey Cobras and also as a result of a dispute over drug
trafficking territory. The Hobos escalated the violence. On August 9, 2007, Gabriel
Bush and CI-3 confronted Mickey Cobra Eddie McNutt, aka 40, and CI-3 shot
McNutt. The Mickey Cobras, including Victim 5, responded by setting one of
Gabriel Bushs vehicles on fire. The Hobos then retaliated by setting fire to a car
owned by one of the Mickey Cobras. Several weeks later, on August 28, 2007,
Gabriel Bush found two Mickey Cobras seated in their car near 4800 South
Forrestville Avenue, Chicago, Illinois, and began shooting. Neither was shot, though
there were bullet holes in their vehicle from the shooting. The Mickey Cobras
retaliated again, this time by setting fire to Gabriel Bushs Range Rover. Then, on
November 5, 2007, CD-1 shot Victim 5 multiple times to the elbow, back and
stomach.
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10.
In November 2007, a short time after Byron Brown was released from
custody, he went to the neighborhood controlled by the Row Row faction of
Gangster Disciples, 34 and stole kush marijuana from them. A few days later, CD-1
went to the neighborhood controlled by the Row Row Gangster Disciples, where he
and Individual RC were shot multiple times and left in critical condition. While
hospitalized, CD-1 received visits from the Hobos, including several of the charged
defendants, namely, Gabriel Bush, Arnold Council, Derrick Vaughn, Stanley
Vaughn, William Ford, and twin brothers Brandon and Byron Brown. During the
visits, the Hobos told CD-1 that they had been going through the Row Row
Gangster Disciples neighborhood, which CD-1 understood to mean that they were
retaliating on CD-1s behalf. CD-1 will testify that the Hobos told him that they
shot up a van, shot a person on a porch, and also shot a person that they followed
out of the hospital.
In order to retaliate against the Row Row Gangster Disciples, Byron and
Brandon Brown, along with a third person, went to the neighborhood controlled by
that rival faction where they encountered Eddie Moss, Jr., a semi-professional
basketball player from Chicago who was home after playing basketball in Europe.
Byron Brown shot and killed Moss execution-style, ordering an unarmed Moss down
on the ground and emptying his pistol of bullets into Moss.
The Row Row Gangster Disciples hailed from the row houses (hence their nickname) in
the area of 57th Street and Normal Avenue on the south side of Chicago.
34
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Whats up with dude and them, uh, they aint paid bro and them off
yet?
Brown
Which ones?
CI-1
Brown
CI-1
Brown
But they supported, they did a lot of stuff for a motherfucker though.
They hit a motherfucker.
***
CI-1
I thought, um, dude owed brother [Brandon Brown] and them for
that shit at the funeral home?
Brown
Uh, but they, yea. They, well, you know. Legs [Gregory Chester], he
been gone for a minute, the plan man. We aint seen him very much.
CI-1
Who?
Brown
Legs.
CI-1
Brown
Nope, I aint seen him in a minute. You know the polthem peoples
on folks and them ass. He trying not to have nothing to do with that.
CI-1
Brown
He out there. They playing around right now. They was just calling
us yesterday, talking about they goin to the store to buy some coupes
and shit. Some Benz coupes and shit.
CI-1
Hey. Now dude talking about the shit on 57th [Row Row Gangster
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Who?
CI-1
That, um, that um, whats his name? That basketball player dude
[Eddie Moss].
***
BROWN
They be with all them. We aint give a fuck who was out there. They
be together. All them out there.
***
CI-1
Hey thats the, thats the only ni**er yall got down on though, aint
it?
BROWN
Who dude?
CI-1
BROWN
Hell no!
CI-1
BROWN
Milk [CD-1] was in the hospital another ni**er came in the hospital.
They reported that ni**er dead while was all in the hospital seeing
Milk. Us and Gabe [defendant Gabriel Bush] and them, Hobo, all
them. They reported it at. This was the next day when Milk done got
shot.
CI-1
He died?
BROWN
Yep.
CI-1
BROWN
CI-1
Um, hey, hey, who gonna, who gonna, uh, who gonna say, us, they
got down on dudes ass?
BROWN
On who?
CI-1
BROWN
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CI-1
Yea.
BROWN
CI-1
Like, who, who, like, thats my man there. Thats my body there. I
gotta have them bodies under my belt.
BROWN
CI-1
BROWN
CI-1
Execution.
BROWN
CI-1
BROWN
On my granddaddy, ni**er.
CI-1
[Laughing]
BROWN
On my ni**er. On the g.
CI-1
[Laughing]
BROWN
CD-1 will also testify that on May 4, 2008, after CD-1 was released from the
hospital, Arnold Council lent CD-1 an assault-style rifle, which CD-1 used to shoot
at two individuals associated with the Row Row Gangster Disciples.
11.
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wallets. When Gregory Chester was interviewed about the search on October 22,
2008, he was shown photographs of the heroin seized and told the police that it was
not 100 grams of heroin (an accurate statement), even though the police had not
told Chester how much heroin was in the apartment. CI-3, as well as two females
associated with Gregory Chester and Individual LB, will testify that Chester used
the apartment. CI-4 will testify that during the summer of 2008, CI-4 went to visit
Chester at the condo. When CI-4 arrived, Chester was there with two guys that CI-4
did not recognize. Chester told the guys to rob CI-4 and one of the guys grabbed a
gun from under a pillow in the couch. Chester said that he was just joking around
and CI-4 was able to leave unscathed.
12.
Distributed
35
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distributing more than 100 grams of heroin to CI-4 on or about July 25, 2008.
Specifically, he admitted that on or about July 25, 2008, he sold heroin to a
confidential source who was cooperating with federal law enforcement. This
transaction took place inside the confidential sources automobile, which was
parked near the intersection of 42nd Street and Martin Luther King Drive [in
Chicago, Illinois]. After the confidential source gave Mr. Council $9,700, Mr.
Council handed him approximately 106 grams of heroin.
13.
36
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robbers was carrying a handgun. The robbers took the employees at gunpoint to the
rear of the store. The robbers put the three employees in a storage room and tied
the employees hands. The robbers took jackets and other clothing from the store
before they fled. The employees remained tied up in the storage room until after the
robbers fled. The employees could not see the robbers faces because the robbers
were wearing masks.
Store surveillance video depicted four masked men walking into the store, the
fourth of whom was wearing a red Philadelphia Phillies jacket. The robbers grabbed
the three employees and directed them to a room in the rear of the store. The
robbers then removed clothing from the racks and placed the clothing in bags that
the robbers brought with them. A short time later, the four robbers left the store
through the front entrance. A representative from Collections also provided an
inventory of the items taken during the robbery: (a) sixteen black leather jackets,
including jackets manufactured by Pelle Pelle; (b) two suede jackets; (c) two wool
jackets; and (d) six pairs of black jeans. The items had a total value of
approximately $17,488.
Later that night, CPD observed a white SUV in the area of the 4300 block of
South Martin Luther King Drive, Chicago, Illinois, where Councils aunt resided. 37
When CPD attempted a traffic stop of the white SUV, the vehicle fled but was
The government will introduce evidence that law enforcement searched Individual KBs
cellphone, finding an incoming telephone call from the telephone number associated with
Councils aunt at a time consistent with the two driving to the location.
37
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stopped when it hit a fire hydrant. Individual KB exited the passenger side of the
vehicle and ran, but was arrested a short distance away. Individual AH, the driver,
pointed a handgun at officers; they returned fire and fatally wounded
Individual AH.
After the shooting, CPD searched the white SUV and found, among other
things, (a) a loaded Smith & Wesson nine-millimeter pistol; (b) a Colt .45 caliber
pistol; (c) a black bandana; (d) two black ninja masks; (e) handcuffs; (f) two laundry
bags; (g) a black bag containing zip ties; (h) duct tape; (i) two Pelle Pelle jackets;
and (j) two pairs of Pelle Pelle jeans. At the time of arrest, Individual KB was
wearing a Pelle Pelle jacket.
CPD received written and verbal consent from Councils aunt to search her
residence. Inside the apartment, officers found a Pelle Pelle jacket and observed a
red Philadelphia Phillies jacket, which was consistent with the jacket worn by one
of the robbers.
14.
On March 25, 2009, Paris Poe, Gary Chester, and two associates of the
Hobos, committed a home invasion robbery of two individuals of Hispanic heritage
that Poe and Chester believed to be narcotics traffickers. Gary Chester, disguised as
a city employee, gained entry to the house by putting one of the Hispanic
individuals in a headlock after pointing a gun at him. After gaining entry to the
home, Poe and Chester beat, pistol-whipped, and tortured the victims with a
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clothing iron in an effort to learn where the narcotics were hidden. The victims
pleaded that they didnt have any narcotics. Eventually, Poe and Chester made off
with cash, jewelry, a brand new cell phone, Xbox games, and a TV. One of the
victims later identified Poe as the person during the home invasion who said, Just
shoot him in the leg. Shoot him in the leg. Poe subsequently pleaded guilty to
aggravated battery for this offense in state court. One victim had burns to his left
forearm and calf, burns to his hands, right foot, and swelling to his face and head,
requiring surgery to repair his third-degree burns. The other victim had seconddegree burns to both hands, including one burn mark of a clothing iron.
15.
38
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Council, was a member of the Hobos and was a close friend of Chesters. Daniels
understood Chester to be the leader of the Hobos. After Chester was released from
state custody in 2003, Daniels saw Chester carrying large amounts of money and
guns. Once, Chester showed Daniels $100,000 in cash that Chester was carrying.
Daniels also saw Chester carrying Glock pistols and .45 caliber handguns. On May
18, 2011, Daniels met Chester at a house located at 58th Street and Wolcott Avenue
on the south side of Chicago. During the meeting, Chester offered to front fifty
grams of heroin to Daniels, meaning provide the heroin to Daniels on credit. During
that meeting, Chester stated that he was mad at someone involved in the drug
trade and wanted that motherfucker shot in the face. On one occasion during the
summer of 2011, Chester asked Daniels to kill someone. Daniels was with Chester
at a baseball game in the area of 39th and Cottage Grove. Daniels and another
individual were in Chesters car when Chester pointed out a bald-headed male.
Chester stated that he wanted Daniels to knock him off, which Daniels understood
to mean kill the man. Daniels did not murder the man. Also during the summer of
2011, Chester took Daniels to a house in Indiana where Chester bought a loaded
MAC-11 firearm. (A MAC-11 is a subcompact machine pistol that is chambered to
fire .380 rounds of ammunition.) Chester informed Daniels that he bought the
MAC-11 for another member of the Hobos street gang, who was having a dispute
with the Black Disciples. After Danielss younger brother was shot and killed in
early 2011, Chester gave Daniels a black nine-millimeter Beretta handgun. 39
39
These statements, including Danielss grand jury testimony, will be offered as evidence at
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a.
On June 8, 2011, Keith Daniels spoke with Gregory Chester about meeting
that day for a drug deal. Chester, however, needed 24 hours to procure the heroin
and agreed to meet Daniels the next day (June 9, 2011). Following that
conversation, Chester and Individual LD spoke via cellphone that same night. On
June 9, 2011, Daniels spoke again to Chester. Daniels asked to meet with Chester
that day because Daniels had a customer ready to purchase heroin. Chester did not
want to speak to Daniels customer, but agreed to get up fo sure, meaning
trial and are not hearsay under the forfeiture by wrongdoing doctrine. Federal Rule of
Evidence 804(b)(6) provides that a prior statement by an unavailable declarant is
admissible when offered against a party that wrongfully causedor acquiesced in
wrongfully causingthe declarants unavailability as a witness, and did so intending that
result. Fed. R. Evid. 804(b)(6).
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Chester did not want to deal directly with Daniels drug customers and instead only
wanted to deal with Daniels, whom Chester knew. (Drug traffickers typically avoid
dealing with customers they are not familiar with and, instead, insist on dealing
only with people they know.)
Following that call, Chester spoke with Individual LD by cellphone four
times. After the last telephone contact, Individual LD called Daniels and instructed
Daniels to come to the alley near 58th and Prairie on the south side of Chicago. At
the alley, Individual LD learned from Daniels that he needed 100 grams of heroin.
Daniels informed Individual LD that he (Daniels) had been trying to get up,
meaning meet up, with Chester about the heroin, but that Chester had not been
helping. Individual LD stated that he needed fifteen minutes and instructed
Daniels to not be hollering over them lines, meaning Individual LD did not want
Daniels using his cellphone for fear of being detected by law enforcement.
Approximately 30 minutes after the alley meeting, Individual LD, using a
new cellphone, called Daniels and instructed him to meet at the Citgo gas station
located at 76th and Cottage Grove Avenue on the south side of Chicago. When
Daniels arrived at the gas station, he met Individual LD inside a tan SUV, where
Individual LD asked, For a hundred?, meaning 100 grams of heroin. Daniels
exchanged $8,000 in cash for 100.2 grams of heroin.
On June 24, 2011, just weeks after making $8,000 in cash selling heroin,
Individual LD and Chester flew with two women to Las Vegas, Nevada. Chester
gambled thousands of dollars at the Planet Hollywood Casino in Las Vegas,
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Nevada. On July 1, 2011, Chester and Individual LD flew back to Chicago from Las
Vegas together.
c.
The Distribution
September 1, 2011
of
98
Grams
of
Heroin
on
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for someone else to open the main door and Ford walked behind that personand
went up to Daniels apartment. Once inside Daniels apartment, Ford pulled out a
black and silver handgun and asked Daniels to come ride with him. Daniels refused.
After Ford left, Daniels called CPD and FBI, who moved Daniels and his family to a
safe location. Daniels told CPD and FBI that he believed Ford was trying to lure
him out of the apartment building to kill him. FBI and CPD then assisted Daniels
with relocating to a different residence. The next day, CPD went to Fords parole
residence where they seized a loaded 9MM pistol and cannabis from Fords
residence.
On April 10, 2013, between approximately 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m., Gregory
Chester was arrested by law enforcement on charges of distributing heroin. At the
time of arrest, Chester was with Individual WB, an unindicted coconspirator, who
left the scene separately.
According to the IDOC, on April 10, 2013, at approximately 11:15 p.m. (no
later than three hours after Chesters arrest), Paris Poes electronic monitoring
transmitter went out of range. 40
On April 11, 2013, Gregory Chester made an outgoing recorded jail call to a
female associate, identified here as Female A. Female A stated, Goofball cut his
band off [Poe removed his electronic monitoring device]. Female A then stated that
the reason Goofball [Poe] cut off his band was because he missed Chester and
At the time, Paris Poe was serving a state-imposed term of mandatory supervised
release, which was set to be terminated June 2, 2013.
40
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Daniels jumped out of the front passenger seat of the vehicle and fell to the ground.
Poe walked over to the front passenger side of the car, stood over Keith Danielss
body, and fired his gun into Danielss body while Daniels was lying on the ground.
Poe then walked to a tan SUV that had parked nearby, entered the vehicle, and
departed the area.
Less than two hours later, at approximately 9:12 p.m., Gregory Chester made
a recorded jail call to Female B, who then placed a three-way call and connected
Chester with an unknown male. Chester asked the unknown male what he was up
to. The male replied that he was with Poe. The male then handed the phone to
someone else. Chester asked who it was and Poe responded, Whats up? Chester
asked, What up with it? Poe asked, How you feeling man? Chester asked, Who
this? Poe responded, This is me, man. This homey! Chester asked, "What
happened with it [unintelligible]? Chester and Poe then laughed. Chester then
asked, Did you read that goofy ass shit [the complaint affidavit], man? Poe
responded, You told me that conversation before I seen it. Man, it aint nothing I
haven't seen before. Poe said, "You gonna be alright, Bow. Chester replied, It
aint nothing. You feel me? Mainly hearsay.
Continuing on April 14, 2013, at approximately 9:29 p.m., Chester made
another recorded jail call to Female B, who connected Chester with a different
unidentified male (UM-2). UM-2 referred to a Trailblazer, the same model of vehicle
used in the murder, and stated, Shit just got real. Chester responded, Played me
like a straight bitch.
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After the murder, Paris Poe fled the Chicago area, first going to Madison,
Wisconsin, then traveling with associates to the area of Las Vegas, Nevada, then
returning to Madison Wisconsin. On or about May 2, 2013, the FBI arrested Poe in
the area of Madison, Wisconsin. Poes head appeared to be recently shaved.
At trial, the government will introduce evidence that incarcerated Hobos
were kept apprised of Chesters arrest and Danielss murder by other Hobos and
their associates. For example, on April 14, 2013, Individual KD had a recorded
prison call with Arnold Council. During the call, they spoke in code about Keith
Danielss cooperation. Specifically, Individual KD informed Council that them
people grabbed Cowboy [a reference to Chester, given the way he walks
bowlegged] because of Shorty [Daniels]. Individual KD said that the word on the
street was Keith was going to killed, and they talking bout a motherfucker about
to be gone.
The day after Danielss murder, April 15, 2013, Councils mother (and
Danielss mother) had a recorded prison call with Council. She told Council that
Daniels had been shot 27 times. Council told his mother that, with the lifestyle that
Daniels was living, that was result of it. Council then reminded his mother that she
shouldnt have stopped paying on Danielss policy [life insurance policy]. Council
then said that he was not shocked, and that Daniels could not have been a snitch
and expected to live. Council said that he hoped that the youngest people in the
family used this as an example and would not follow Danielss lead.
The shell casings recovered from the Daniels murder were submitted for
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laboratory analysis. The analyst concluded that one of the .45 caliber pistols used in
the double murder of Bluitt and Neeley on September 2, 2007, was used to murder
Daniels on April 14, 2013.
V.
COCONSPIRATOR STATEMENTS
The statements between the coconspirators in furtherance of the racketeering
conspiracy fall into numerous categories, all concerning subjects integral to the
conspiracy and its success. These statementswhich will establish the information
flow between coconspirator intended to help each perform his rolewill be
introduced through the testimony of cooperating sources (including CI-1, CI-2, CI-3,
and CI-4), CD-1, other individuals who will be compelled to testify, consensually
recorded in-person and telephone recordings, including the recordings referenced
throughout this submission, as well as recorded prison and jail telephone recordings
involving the defendants, their associates, and their unindicted coconspirators.
The coconspirator statements offered at trial will concern the subjects listed
below, and include, but are not limited to, the coconspirator statement discussed
above: 42
1. Statements regarding other members of the conspiracy, including the
following:
a. Identifying other members of the conspiracy and their roles;
Given the extent and number of such statements in this case, the government is not
detailing each and every proposed coconspirator statement of each witness or document,
but rather is providing this general framework for the categories of statements. Further, by
attributing statements to particular witnesses in this Santiago proffer, the government is
not committing to call each of the witnesses for each of the statements attributed.
42
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CONCLUSION
The above is an outline of the evidence that the government will introduce to
establish that the charged conspiracy existed. Based upon this proffer, the
government respectfully requests that this Court find that categories of
coconspirator statements listed above, as well as coconspirator statements like
them, are admissible pending the introduction of evidence to support this proffer.
Respectfully submitted,
ZACHARY T. FARDON
United States Attorney
By:
104
s/ Patrick M. Otlewski
PATRICK M. OTLEWSKI
DEREK OWENS
TIMOTHY J. STORINO
Assistant U.S. Attorneys
219 South Dearborn, Room 500
Chicago, IL 60604
(312) 353-5300