Federal attorneys want to drop their complaint against a New York man accusing him of murdering a rival gang member in 1999 in East Chicago.
The motion to dismiss the complaint, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Hammond, does not give a reason.
Neither a representative for the federal attorneys, who do not normally comment on cases, nor Anthony Laviena’s attorney could be reached for comment.
The complaint, filed last month, claimed Laviena was a member of the East Chicago Two Six street gang in 1999, which at the time was at war with the rival Imperial Gangsters.
Several defendants already charged in the case told federal investigators that after one of their fellow gang members was shot at in October 1999, a Two Six leader ordered Laviena, Rodney King and Deaundra Joshua to drive around East Chicago looking for an Imperial Gangster to shoot.
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They eventually found Alberto Guzman, and Laviena was accused of being one of two people to shoot into Guzman’s car.
Joshua and King are still charged with Guzman’s homicide.
The complaint said several of the defendants, including Joshua and King, told federal investigators that Laviena was one of the shooters.