Eddie C. Hicks, Robbery and Extortion, Illinois 2023
Former Chicago Police Officer Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison
A federal judge sentenced a former Chicago Police sergeant to 13 years in prison for participating in a robbery and extortion crew in Chicago, Illinois.
According to court records, EDDIE C. HICKS, 71, and three other individuals participated in a robbery ring that targeted suspected drug dealers in the 1990s. The crew staged phony drug raids and automobile stops of suspected dealers, threatened them with arrest, then kept the drugs, cash, or weapons they discovered.
Hicks and the others were arrested and charged in federal court. However, Hicks fled Chicago in June 2003 while free on bond and awaiting trial. He remained a fugitive until his arrest in Detroit, Michigan, in September 2017.
A jury last year convicted Hicks on all eight counts against him, including conspiracy to commit racketeering; drug conspiracy; possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute; carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense; theft of government funds; and failure to appear for a judicial proceeding.
The sentence was announced by John R. Lausch, Jr., United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Emmerson Buie, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan; U.S. Marshals Service; Detroit, Mich., Police Department; Chicago Police Department; Cook County Sheriff’s Police Department; Bolingbrook Police Department; and Alsip Police Department.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Morris Pasqual and Grayson Walker. Hicks served as a Chicago Police officer from 1970 to 2000, ultimately attaining the rank of sergeant. Evidence at trial revealed that from the early 1990s to 2001, Hicks and his robbery crew stole thousands of dollars in cash, multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine, hundreds of pounds of marijuana, and several firearms.
The three other crew members were also convicted. They were previously sentenced to prison terms: LARRY HARGROVE, a former Chicago Police sergeant, was sentenced to 13 years; MATTHEW L. MORAN, a former employee of the Illinois Department of Professional Regulation, was sentenced to seven years and ten months; and LAWRENCE W. KNITTER, a former civilian CPD electrical mechanic, was sentenced to nine years and four months.
Hicks was sentenced to 13 years in prison on all eight counts against him.
Mandatory Facts:
Defendant: EDDIE C. HICKS
Criminal Charges: Conspiracy to commit racketeering; drug conspiracy; possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute; carrying a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking offense; theft of government funds; and failure to appear for a judicial proceeding
City and State: Chicago, Illinois
Exact Date: The sentencing took place in a federal court in Chicago in 2023.
Sentence or Outcome: 13 years in prison
Dollar Amounts: Thousands of dollars in cash, multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine, hundreds of pounds of marijuana, and several firearms were stolen.
Key Facts
- State: Illinois
- Category: Violent Crime|Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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