Openings set in major Chicago gang trial focused on killings

[NaturalHigh]

CHICAGO (AP) — The biggest street-gang trial in recent Chicago history starts in earnest Wednesday, with months of testimony expected to provide a rare look inside the gangland activity fueling deadly gun violence in the nation's third-largest city.

On trial for federal racketeering charges are six purported leaders of the Hobos gang who prosecutors say murdered, maimed and tortured their way into controlling the most lucrative drug markets on the city's South Side.

Among the defendants is alleged Hobos hit man Paris Poe, who prosecutors say killed a government witness in 2013, shooting the man 25 times at close range while his horrified step-kids, aged 4 and 6 at the time, screamed in the back seat of a car. The 4-year-old later told investigators the "Boogie Man" had attacked them, according to court filings.

Prosecutors will seek to prove that the defendants' criminal conspiracy involved at least nine murders, including the killing of semi-pro basketball player, Eddie Moss Jr., in a case of mistaken identity and the fatal drive-by shooting of two rival gang members outside a funeral home.

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/usworld/ap/openings-set-in-major-chicago-gang-trial-focused-on-killings/article_87425cb0-70ec-56f0-afeb-95667b8354aa.html

[Duckhunter935]

1. Let me guess drop the weapons charges and get 6 months in jail

That seems to be how they do it there.

[Eugene]

2. Chicago's Hobos gang leaders convicted over nine alleged murders

Source: Associated Press

Chicago's Hobos gang leaders convicted over nine alleged murders

Associated Press
Thursday 5 January 2017 13.11 GMT

Jurors who heard the biggest gang trial in recent Chicago history on Wednesday convicted the core leadership of the Hobos, a group described by prosecutors as an “all-star team” of criminals whose ruthlessness contributed to the city’s alarming spike in homicides.

To extend their power on the South Side, prosecutors said, the Hobos cultivated a reputation for brutality so terrifying to witnesses that some chose to go to jail rather than provide evidence against gang leaders.

The conspiracy allegedly included the murders of at least nine people, including gang rivals and government witnesses. One victim was fatally shot in 2013 in front of his screaming stepchildren to stop him from testifying. Another incident involved the robbery of NBA player Bobby Simmons at gunpoint outside a nightclub for a $200,000 diamond-and-gold chain.

Jurors deliberated for six days before returning the verdicts against accused Hobos boss Gregory “Bowlegs” Chester, alleged hitman Paris Poe and four others. They were convicted of racketeering conspiracy and drug and weapons charges.

So feared are the Hobos that some witnesses were visibly nervous as they took the stand with alleged gang leaders looking on. One refused outright to speak against the gang, telling the judge, “I choose not to testify for the sake of me and my family.” The witness was held in contempt and given a 60-day sentence.

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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/jan/05/hobos-gang-convicted-chicago-murders