2010 Murder Solved, 19 Gangsters Charged With Drug and Weapons Offenses: Cops

JOLIET, IL — A local and federal investigation into the Latin Kings led detectives to crack a 6-year-old murder case, police said.

The multijurisdictional law enforcement operation also resulted in criminal charges against 19 area gangsters, police said. The law built both federal and state cases for narcotics and weapons offenses.

As part of the investigation, the Joliet police arrested 25-year-old Aaron Bowers of Joliet and charged him with the February 2010 murder of Nichole Rodriguez.

Rodriguez was shot to death as she sat in a parked car with her 8-year-old daughter. She was 28 when she died.

The warrant for Bowers’ arrest carried a $2.5 million bond.

Along with the Joliet police, the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Will County State’s Attorney’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Metropolitan Area Narcotics Squad participated in the investigation and Wednesday’s operational sweep.

“Street gangs rely on organization and numbers to wreak havoc in our communities, but these multijurisdictional sweeps tear down their structures and reduce their ranks significantly,” said Will County State’s Attorney James Glasgow.

“The involvement of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and ATF expands our reach exponentially and demonstrates our resolve to neutralize violent gang activity,” Glasgow said. “We’ve been conducting gang sweeps since the early 1990s, and they have always reduced the kind of street violence that claimed the life of Nichole Rodriguez in 2010.”

Joliet Police Chief Brian Benton called the the Latin Kings a “very organized gang with an extensive history of violence and drug dealing within our community.”

“This joint operation will have a lasting impact on the gang’s organizational hierarchy and overall effectiveness and will undoubtedly improve the safety and quality of life in the City of Joliet,” Benton said.

In addition to Bowers, the following individuals were charged Wednesday on state crimes:

• Jordan Rent, 25, of Joliet, weapons violations
• Salvador De Los Angeles, 33, of Joliet, narcotics violations
• David De Los Angeles, 29, of Joliet, narcotics violations
• Miguel Antonino, 24, of Joliet, weapons violations
• Miguel Holloway-Valadez, 21, of Joliet, weapons violations
• Kimberly Ledwell, 31, of Joliet, narcotics violations
• Samuel Williams, 27, of Joliet, narcotics and weapons violations
• Mario Quintero, 36, of Joliet, narcotics and weapons violations
• Richard Groth, 24, of Glendale Heights, narcotics violations
• Salvador Lopez, 26, of Joliet, weapons violations
• Gabriel Travis, 26, of Lockport, narcotics violation
• Juan Martinez, 37, of Joliet, narcotics violations
• Abiel Razo, 30, of Plainfield, narcotics violations

An additional six gang members were charged with federal weapons or narcotics offenses as a result of the sweep:

• Clemente Lopez, 31
• Carlos Lopez, 30
• Ralph Garcia, 56
• Collin Coon, 32
• Gabriel Rosas, 39