A 22-year-old East Chicago man was sentenced to 10 years in prison for his role in a gang-related shooting in 2013.
Julio Ivan Cartagena Jr pleaded guilty on March 22 to Use of a Firearm During and in Relation to a Crime of Violence. The crime occurred on August 31, 2013, when Cartagena and others engaged in a car chase and shooting with members of a rival gang in Hammond.
Cartagena’s stepbrother had been denied admission to a party by members of the rival gang, prompting Cartagena to join the chase. The group followed the rival gang members in a car, shooting at them as they drove away. One of the victims was struck in the finger, while several shots also hit a nearby house.
The FBI Gang Response Investigative Team, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the Hammond Police Department, and the Lake County Police Department investigated the case. The prosecution was handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Nozick and Trial Attorneys Andrew L. Creighton and Robert Tully.
Cartagena was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Joseph Van Bokkelen to 10 years in prison and a 2-year term of supervised release.
The case highlights the ongoing threat of gang violence in the region and the need for continued law enforcement efforts to combat it.
Related Federal Cases
- Ivan Brazier, Kidnapping and Extortion, Indiana 2024 · Indiana
- Jaron Johnson, Witness Kidnapping and Shooting, Indiana 2019 · Indiana
- Yashmine Odom, Retail Store Robbery, Indiana 2016 · Indiana
- Jonathan Andrew Felkel, Shooting with Racial Bias, South Carolina 2019 · Washington
- Jonathan Andrew Felkel, Racially Motivated Home Invasion Shooting, North Carolina 2019 · Washington
Key Facts
- State: Indiana
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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