UPDATED 2:42 P.M.
PEORIA, Ill. – Peoria Police are touting their role in an investigation into members of an alleged gang that were indicted Tuesday.
Police say the investigation over the past two years focused on a group of ten people involved in a gang known as the “Snakes.”
The gang of adults and juveniles ranging from 16 to 22 years old were reportedly responsible for violent events, including murders and shootings.
All ten have been charged with violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization Law.
Peoria Police say the ten include:
- Messiah Carpenter, 20, violation of RICO
- Korion Hopkins, 18, violation of RICO
- Quandarius Jones, 22, violation of RICO, First Degree Murder
- Skylar Jordan, 16, First Degree Murder
- Keon Patterson, 20, violation of RICO, Aggravated Discharge of a Firearm (two counts), Aggravated Battery with a Firearm
- Juvenile, 17, violation of RICO, Aggravated Battery with Firearm
- Juvenile, 17, violation of RICO, Attempted First Degree Murder, Aggravated Discharge of a Firearm,
- Juvenile, 17, violation of RICO, Aggravated Discharge of a Firearm (multiple counts), Aggravated Battery with a Firearm
- Juvenile, now 18, violation of RICO, Aggravated Discharge of a Firearm
- Juvenile, 16, violation of RICO
“I have stated over and over again that we would use every available tool to apprehend, charge, and bring justice to victims of crimes,” said Peoria Police Chief Eric Echevarria.
Echevarria confirmed information shared earlier from the Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office, of the “Snakes” allegedly being responsible for three murders and 12 shootings over the past two years, along with 18 guns being recovered during their investigation.
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PEORIA, Ill. – The Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office says it has filed charges against ten people it alleges are part of a “violent street gang.”
The office says it has filed Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act charges against the gang known as the “Snakes,” the first time the county has ever filed such charges.
Prosecutors allege the four adults and six minors are linked to violence in the past two years that include three murders and 12 shootings.
The adults charged include 18-year-old Korion Hopkins and 20-year-old Messiah Carpenter, the two men charged with First Degree Murder in the April shooting death of MikeQuese Taylor in Peoria’s East Bluff. The other adults charged include 20-year-old Keon Patterson and 22-year-old Quandarius Jones.
Prosecutors say police recovered 18 guns during their investigation into the gang, four of which had a “switch” equipped to make it a fully automatic weapon.
The state’s attorney’s office says all ten are in custody, nine of which are in the Peoria County Jail or Juvenile Detention Center, with one in custody in another state. A petition to transfer the juveniles to adult court was filed along with the charges.
Peoria County State’s Attorney Jodi Hoos says the gang “joined together to terrorize our community.”
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