From the U.S. Attorneh:
FEDERAL JURY CONVICTS CHICAGO STREET GANG LEADER OF PARTICIPATING IN RACKETEERING CONSPIRACY INVOLVING MULTIPLE MURDERS
CHICAGO — A federal jury in Chicago has convicted a leader of the Four Corner Hustlers street gang of participating in a criminal organization that terrorized the West Side of Chicago for two decades by committing murders, robberies, extortions, witness tampering, and drug dealing.
After a six-week trial in U.S. District Court in Chicago, the jury on Monday convicted LABAR SPANN on all four counts against him, including racketeering conspiracy, two murders in aid of racketeering, and extortion.
The jury found that Spann committed a total of four murders in a premediated manner as part of the racketeering conspiracy, including the killings of Willie Woods on April 17, 2003; Rudy Rangel on June 4, 2003; George King on April 8, 2003; and Maximillion McDaniel on July 25, 2000.
Spann, 47, of Chicago, faces a mandatory sentence of life in federal prison. U.S. District Judge Thomas M. Durkin set sentencing for April 20, 2025.
The verdicts were announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI, Christopher Amon, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Larry Snelling, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.
Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, Illinois Secretary of State Police Department, Illinois Department of Corrections, Illinois State Police, Cook County Sheriff’s Office, and Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Meghan C. Morrissey, Michelle J. Parthum, and Emily C.R. Vermylen.
The Four Corner Hustlers operated primarily in the Chicago neighborhoods of West Garfield Park and North Lawndale on the city’s West Side, as well as in the former LeClaire Courts public housing development on the city’s Southwest Side.
According to evidence presented at trial, the gang dealt drugs and robbed and extorted rival dealers, while using violence and intimidation to prevent victims and witnesses from cooperating with law enforcement.
The gang engaged in numerous acts of violence, including multiple murders and armed robberies.
During the trial, the jury heard testimony from other members of the Four Corner Hustlers, eyewitnesses to numerous crimes, law enforcement officers who responded to crime scenes, and expert witnesses who analyzed forensic and other evidence.
Spann was indicted in 2017 along with eight other members of the Four Corner Hustlers and two additional defendants. All the defendants have now been convicted.
