Feds charge 10 notorious West Side gang members with running drug markets and seizing guns and narcotics – Chicago Tribune

Ten known members of the Four Corner Hustlers Street gang have been charged in US District Court with operating open-air drug markets that distribute cocaine and heroin containing fentanyl on Chicago’s West Side.

The joint operation between Chicago Police and the US Department of Homeland Security resulted in the confiscation of four rifles, four pistols, a MAC-10 submachine gun, a shotgun, and more than 450 rounds, as well as “several” kilograms of narcotics, according to the US Attorney’s Office.

The defendants charged with federal drug conspiracy are: Nathaniel Evans, 38, of Aurora; Jarrell Jones, 24, of Forest Park; Marquis Jones, 29, of Chicago; Defontay Logan, 27, of Chicago; Joseph Williams, 31, of Chicago; Dornell Williams, 34, of Chicago; Teremius Webb, 25, of Chicago; Antonio Fletcher, 40, of Chicago; Kyle Linton, 25, of Chicago; and Maurice Bell, 40, of Chicago.

According to the charges, Evans ran a drug smuggling operation and oversaw the three open-air markets in the East Garfield Park neighborhood.

His followers allegedly acted as “shift managers”, overseeing drug sales in illegal markets at various times of the day, while others in the scheme collected drugs from suppliers and collected illicit proceeds after the sale.

Conspiracy carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment if convicted. Prosecutors are asking that the 10 federal defendants be held without bail pending trial. Detention hearings for those seeking bail have been scheduled for next week in Dirksen US District Court.

More than 20 other people have been charged with state drug offenses in Cook County Circuit Court as part of the same process.

One of Chicago’s oldest and most notorious gangs, The Four Corner Hustlers are the gangs that for decades ruled the West Side drug trade by stealing rivals, killing rivals, and terrorizing the community.

Last year, longtime gang leader Labar Spahn, 43, was convicted in November of conspiracy to extortion for allegedly directing or participating in four murders as well as a number of burglaries and extortion over two decades. He is facing the mandatory life in prison.

jmeisner@chicagotribune.com