CHICAGO - A member of a violent Chicago street gang has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for engaging in racketeering activity that included murder.
WILLIAM HAYSLETTE, 27, of Chicago, conspired with leadership of the Latin Kings street gang to engage in racketeering activity that included using violence and intimidation to protect the gang’s territory on the Southeast Side of Chicago and punishing fellow gang members suspected of cooperating with law enforcement. Hayslette admitted in a plea agreement that he served as a “soldier" in the Latin Kings for several years and that he committed assault in aid of the gang’s racketeering activities.
In imposing the 30-year prison sentence Oct. 6, 2021, U.S. District Judge Virginia M. Kendall found that Hayslette participated in the murder of Sergio Hernandez on May 15, 2012, in the South Chicago neighborhood of Chicago. After the murder of Hernandez, Hayslette obtained a “teardrop" tattoo on his face, signifying that he had killed someone on behalf of the Latin Kings. Judge Kendall also found that Hayslette attempted to prevent a fellow Latin King from cooperating with law enforcement by setting fire to a vehicle.
Hayslette was indicted in federal court in 2018 along with more than 30 other alleged members of the Latin Kings. The indictment charged numerous acts of violence allegedly committed by the gang’s members, including the killing of Hernandez and several other slayings. Nearly all of the charged defendants have pleaded guilty or were convicted at trial, including GERONIA FORD, of Chicago, who last month was sentenced to 29 years in federal prison for participating in Hernandez’s murder and committing acts of witness intimidation.
The investigation is part of an Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) operation. OCDETF identifies, disrupts, and dismantles criminal organizations that threaten the United States using a prosecutor-led, intelligence-driven, multi-agency approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies.
The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI; and David Brown, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department. Valuable assistance was provided by the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, and the Hammond, Ind., Police Department.
“Acting according to a manifesto and constitution, Latin Kings have devastated neighborhoods with gun violence, drug dealing, and witness intimidation," Assistant U.S. Attorneys John D. Cooke, Ashley A. Chung, and Brian J. Kerwin argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “Hayslette’s acts typify the terroristic nature of the Latin Kings and the conspiracy in which he enthusiastically participated."
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
