Latin Dragon Nation Member Sentenced to 18 Years In Prison Following A Conviction for Racketeering Conspiracy

HAMMOND- Javier Aguilera, 27, of Chicago, Illinois, was sentenced by Judge Philip P. Simon to 216 months in prison following his guilty plea to conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity as a member of the Latin Dragons Nation street gang, announced U.S. Attorney Kirsch.

According to documents in the case, Javier Aguilera has been a member of the Latin Dragons Nation since approximately 2012, sold drugs and possessed firearms as a member of the gang, and participated in a shooting of a residence in Chicago in April 2017 in which a suspected rival gang member was shot.  

This case is the result of the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives in coordination with multiple state and local agencies.  In Indiana, these agencies included: the Hammond Police Department; the East Chicago Police Department; the Merrillville Police Department; the Hobart Police Department; the Lake County Sheriff’s Department; the Indiana Department of Corrections; and the Lake County Prosecutor’s Office.  In Illinois, these agencies included: the Chicago Police Department Criminal Enterprise Unit; the Cook County Sheriff’s Office; the Bartlett Police Department; the Calumet City Police Department; the Illinois Department of Corrections; and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.  This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph A. Cooley and Kevin F. Wolff and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Toth.