Some background on the hobos from the indictment.
The Hobos
The Hobos were a criminal enterprise of enterprise of robbers, drug dealers, and murderers from the south and west sides of the City of Chicago, whose active criminal activity began no later than 2004 and continued through 2013. The members consisted of individuals with established rank within different factions of established street gangs, including the Gangster Disciples and Black Disciples. Unlike traditional organized street gangs in Chicago, such as the Black Disciples or Gangster Disciples, who may have had a hierarchical structure and maintained alliances with other gangs under the People and Folk Nations, the Hobos were representative of a new breed of street gang comprised of members from diverse gangs that were once rivals. The Hobos allied together in order to more profitably distribute narcotics, accumulate wealth, and establish “turf” control on the south and west sides of Chicago. The Hobos proved to be more ruthless and with a greater tendency towards violence than other criminal enterprise in order to obtain narcotics, money, and turf. Many individuals considered the undisputed leader of the Hobos to be Gregory Chester, aka “Bowlegs,” a Gangster Disciple from the Robert Taylor
Case: 1:13-cr-00774 Document #: 540 Filed: 06/15/16 Page 10 of 104 PageID #:4227
11 Homes.
1
Nonetheless, the Hobos had a relatively horizontal structure, which gave the Hobos flexibility, permitting one member to cover for another at any given time. The “leader” at any given moment would be the individual heading or arranging the criminal activity. Gregory Chester, Gabriel Bush, and William Ford were Gangster Disciples from the Robert Taylor Homes housing projects, while Paris Poe was a Black Disciple from the south side of Chicago. Stanley Vaughn, aka Smiley, and his brothers, Derrick Vaughn, aka D-Block, and Individual IV hailed from the “Dirty Low” faction of the Gangster Disciples, which controlled the neighborhood near 47
th
Street and Vincennes Avenue. Through Arnold Council, a group of up-and-coming shooters and freight-train burglars from 51st and Calumet known as the “Met Boys” associated with the Hobos. This crew included twins Byron and Brandon Brown,
2
as well as CD-1 and Keith Daniels, was from the neighborhood near 51
st
Street and Calumet Avenue on the south side of Chicago. When these factions allied with the Hobos, they worked together and interchangeably to engage in narcotics trafficking, and to commit home invasions, robberies, shootings, and murders. The Hobos considered themselves an exclusive and elite group. They called themselves “Hobo” and referred to each other as “Hobo” during conversation. They obtained tattoos identifying themselves as Hobos, used a unique hand sign, and, on
1
Gregory Chester’s “street” reputation was established after he robbed two jewelry stores as a teenager in the mid-1990s with Gabriel Bush
2
Brandon Brown, aka Twinsko, was fatally shot and killed in 2010.
Case: 1:13-cr-00774 Document #: 540 Filed: 06/15/16 Page 11 of 104 PageID #:4228
12 occasion, obtained and drove cars with the word “Hobo” stitched into the headrests. In contrast to other criminal street enterprises, which often relied on low-quality pistols and unreliable firearms purchased on the streets, the Hobos procured and used high-powered guns, including FN-5.7 handguns, assault rifles and handguns with 30-shot magazines, which the Hobos made accessible to the other members and their associates. The older Hobos shared their wealth with each other, their associates, and younger members, providing them access to narcotics, rental cars, luxury items and vacations, including trips to Hawaii, Atlanta, and Florida
