Four Additional Latin Dragon Members Charged with Racketeering Conspiracy

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Four additional members of Chicago area criminal street gang, the Latin Dragons Nation, have been
charged with racketeering conspiracy and other related offenses in a second superseding indictment
unsealed today, Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department's
Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Thomas L. Kirsch II for the Northern District of Indiana
announced.

According to the second superseding indictment, the Latin Dragons Nation is a criminal street gang
that originated in Chicago and spread to other areas, including the Northern District of Indiana.
Members and associates of the Latin Dragons Nation allegedly engage in acts of violence, including
murder, attempted murder, witness tampering, and assault, to protect the gang's territory and
drug operations. Latin Dragons Nation gang members are required by gang rules to take immediate
violent action against anyone who threatens them, and gain respect and status within the gang by
doing so.

The four additional defendants charged in the nine-count indictment are Gustavo Colunga aka
"Barkley," 25, of Hammond, Indiana; Joshua Harris-White aka "BJ," 24, of Chicago, Illinois;
Mario Colunga, 30, of Whiting, Indiana; and Luis Colunga, aka "Panson," 28, of Chicago,
Illinois.

Among the various alleged offenses that the second superseding indictment added are:

The charged in this case are Manuel Diaz aka "Smiley," 27, of Hammond, Indiana; Eduardo
Diaz-Corral aka "Lalo," 20, of Calumet City, Illinois; Ralph Mendez Jr. aka "Lil Devious,"
22, of Chicago, Illinois; and Joseph Roggenkamp aka "Dro," 21, of East Chicago, Indiana.
Diaz-Corral and Diaz allegedly participated, respectively, in the murders of Paul Cruz on Nov. 20,
2016, in Chicago, and Charles Berrios on Sept. 30, 2017, in Hammond, Indiana. These murders and
other acts of violence are charged in this second superseding indictment.

The second superseding indictment is part of ongoing efforts to curb the activities of violent
street gangs in the Northern District of Indiana.

An indictment is merely an allegation and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty
beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

If convicted, any specific sentence to be imposed will be determined by the judge after a
consideration of federal sentencing statutes and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines. The maximum
penalty for murder in aid of racketeering is death or in the alternative a mandatory life
sentence.

This case is the result of the investigative efforts of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms
and Explosives; the FBI; the Hammond Police Department; the East Chicago Police Department; the
Merrillville Police Department; the Hobart Police Department and the Lake County Sheriff's
Department along with the Chicago and Calumet City, Illinois Police. The case is being prosecuted
by Trial Attorney Robert S. Tully of the Criminal Division's Organized Crime and Gang Section and
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joseph A. Cooley and David J. Nozick of the Northern District of Indiana.