Related Federal Cases
- Remy Heath, Racketeering Conspiracy, Maryland 2007 · North Carolina
- Jawaun Harris, Conspiracy to Participate in a Racketeering Enterprise, Maryland 2023 · Illinois
- Remy Heath, Racketeering Conspiracy, Maryland 2011 · New York
- Amir Mohamed Alsaidi, Conspiracy to Traffic in Contraband Cigarettes, Maryland 2024 · Pennsylvania
- Zuleyka Jeanette Colon-Rivera, Heroin Distribution and Conspiracy, Florida 2016 · Florida
Latin Kings Leader Pleads Guilty to Racketeering Conspiracy in Maryland
Andres Echevarria, aka “B-Boy” and “King B-Boy,” pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise in connection with his gang activities as a member of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (Latin Kings)
The guilty plea was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein.
According to Echevarria’s plea agreement, the Latin Kings is a violent street gang with thousands of members across the United States and overseas. The Latin Kings have a detailed and uniform organizational structure, which is outlined – along with various “prayers,” codes of behavior and rituals – in a written “manifesto” widely distributed to members throughout the country.
Members of the Latin Kings are also traditionally given “King Names” or “Queen Names,” which are names other than their legal names by which they are known to members of the gang and to others on the street. At the local level, groups of Latin Kings are organized into “tribes,” including the Royal Lion Tribe, MOG, Sun Tribe and UTL.
According to the plea agreement, in the spring of 2008, Echevarria, 23, of Brooklyn, New York, became a member of the Tiger tribe in Brooklyn and later became a member of the Murda Maya tribe, also in Brooklyn, the MOG tribe in Maryland and the TBF tribe in Brooklyn.
Echevarria admitted that he held leadership positions in the Latin Kings, including the Third Crown/enforcer position for the MOG tribe in the fall of 2008, and for the Murda Maya tribe at the end of the summer of 2009.
Echevarria admitted that as part of his gang activities, he attempted to murder an individual in Wheaton, Md., on November 1, 2008, after the individual made a disparaging remark about the Latin Kings while attending a party at which many Latin King members and associates were present.
According to the plea agreement, Echevarria, along with other Latin King members, threatened to kill the individual, as well as chased and beat the individual. Echevarria stabbed the individual with a two-pronged tool.
Echevarria also admitted to firing a gun at a rival gang member in Brooklyn on May 23, 2009. The bullet missed the rival gang member, traveled some distance and hit another person, penetrating the person’s clothes and causing an abrasion on the person’s back.
The defendant will be sentenced on a date to be determined. According to the plea agreement, Echevarria faces up to 20 years in prison.
Key Facts
- State: Maryland
- Category: Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
Organized CrimeOrganized CrimeOrganized CrimeOrganized Crime