Nine alleged Chicago gang members charged with racketeering and murder

Members of the Four Corner Hustlers street gang

CHICAGO — A federal indictment unsealed this week charges nine alleged members of the Four Corner Hustlers street gang with participating in a criminal organization that murdered six people and violently protected drug-dealing territories on the West and Southwest Sides of Chicago.

The charges stem back to murders as early as 2000 – years before Chicago's most recent surge in street killings.

From Northern Illinois FBI:

Authorities uncovered the alleged gang activity through a lengthy investigation conducted under the umbrella of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), with assistance from the Chicago FBI’s Safe Street Task Force, the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA), the ATF’s Chicago Crime Gun Strike Force, and the Chicago Police Gang Investigations Division.

The indictment charges that the Four Corner Hustlers dealt drugs and robbed rival dealers, used violence and intimidation to prevent victims and witnesses from cooperating with law enforcement, and tried to avoid detection by monitoring police scanners and outfitting its members with a security detail.  The gang engaged in numerous acts of violence, including murder, robbery, extortion and aggravated battery, according to the indictment. 

The gang operated primarily in the Chicago neighborhoods of West Garfield Park and Humboldt Park on the West Side, and in the former LeClaire Courts public housing development on the Southwest Side, the indictment states.

Nine alleged Four Corner Hustlers are charged with racketeering conspiracy.  Two other defendants are charged in the indictment with participating in an extortion conspiracy, bringing the total number of charged defendants to eleven.  The indictment identifies three Four Corner Hustlers who engaged in the racketeering conspiracy but died before they could be charged.

Charged with racketeering conspiracy are LABAR SPANN, 38; SAMMIE BOOKER, 43; TREMAYNE THOMPSON, 33; JUHWUN FOSTER, 37; MARCHELLO DEVINE, 30; RONTRELL TURNIPSEED, 24; KEITH CHATMAN, 29; STEVON SIMS, 27; and DEANDRE SPANN, 40; all of Chicago.

The indictment holds all nine members of the racketeering conspiracy criminally responsible for the murders of six people: Carlos Caldwell on Jan. 19, 2000; Maximillion McDaniel on July 25, 2000; Levar Smith on Aug. 14, 2000; George King on April 8, 2003; Willie Woods on April 16, 2003; and Rudy Rangel on June 4, 2003.