From the U.S. Attorney:
Federal Indictment Charges Three Alleged Members or Associates of Chicago Street Gang With Racketeering Conspiracy Involving Multiple Murders and Carjackings
CHICAGO — A federal superseding indictment returned today charges three alleged members or associates of a Chicago street gang with conspiring to commit multiple murders and carjackings in the city and suburbs.
EDSON RESENDEZ, MAVERICK CELA, and PREZILA APREZA committed the violence as part of their membership or association with the Spanish Gangster Disciples street gang, a criminal organization based on the Northwest Side of Chicago, according to a second superseding indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Chicago.
Cela was among the leaders of the gang, the indictment states.
The indictment alleges that in furtherance of a racketeering conspiracy, Resendez, Cela, Apreza, and other gang members and associates committed three murders, two attempted murders, four carjackings, an attempted carjacking, and an act of arson.
The violence occurred in a two-week period in 2020, the charges allege.
Resendez, 23, Cela, 24, and Apreza, 24, all of Chicago, are in law enforcement custody.
Arraignments on the new superseding charges have not yet been scheduled.
The superseding indictment was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. Valuable assistance was provided by the Skokie, Ill. Police Department, Chicago Police Department, Morton Grove, Ill. Police Department, and Berwyn, Ill. Police Department. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Cornelius A. Vandenberg and Simar Khera.
“Combating the unacceptable level of gang violence in the Chicago area has been and will continue to be a top priority in our Office,” said U.S. Attorney Boutros.
“As I mark my first 30 days as the United States Attorney, I want to emphasize that we are using every available federal law enforcement tool to bring impactful cases that hold violent gang members accountable and reduce violent crime.”
“The FBI is committed to eradicating neighborhood street gangs and the violence unleashed in our communities,” said FBI Chicago SAC DePodesta. “This investigation is just one of many cases worked by FBI Chicago’s Violent Crime Task Force along with our dedicated Task Force Officers (TFOs) and local law enforcement partners. We remain united in using all available resources to ensure that groups like these can no longer harm Chicago’s residents.”
The second superseding indictment in this case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN).
The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
