Two Northwest Indiana men are pleading guilty to taking part in the racketeering conspiracy of the Latin Kings.
Joseph Christopher “Midnight” Brown, 21, of Merrillville, also pled guilty at his change of plea hearing Tuesday afternoon at the U.S. District Court in Hammond to one count of attempted murder.
According to Brown’s plea deal, filed Tuesday, federal attorneys agreed to make a binding recommendation that Brown serve no more than 20 years in prison. If the judge does not accept that, the agreement will be tossed and Brown can change his plea to not guilty.
His attorney, Adam Tavitas, could not be reached for comment.
The second plea deal, for Francisco “Frank Nitti” Gamez, 30, of Portage, was filed Wednesday. In it, Gamez agrees to plead guilty to one count of conspiring to racketeer in return for a binding sentence of no more than 23 years in prison. His change of plea hearing is set for Thursday.
Brown and Gamez were charged along with 15 other defendants last fall in the racketeering conspiracy, the second such case against Latin Kings members in Hammond in the past five years.
In the agreement, Brown admits to the attempted murder of Miguel Payan on Jan. 23, 2015. It does not provide details on who Payan is or on the attempted murder.
However, the racketeering count, which Brown also pled guilty to, says that Brown has had several run-ins with the law related to the conspiracy, including shooting someone he believed was a rival gang member in December 2009 and then cutting off his ankle monitor while he was on home detainment in that case. It also accused him of having a gun and then fleeing from police in December 2011.
Brown is being held without bail since.
The racketeering count also details several criminal acts by Gamez, including shooting a bystander in the head in 2003 and then shooting at two other people in 2004. It also accuses him of ordering the murder of fellow defendant Claudio Tino Martinez in the spring of 2015 because he believed Martinez was cooperating with police.
A sentencing date has been set for June 30.
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