Latin Counts

The Latin Counts is a Latino street gang based in Chicago, Illinois with a very small branch in Detroit, Michigan. It is a member of the People Nation alliance.

History[]

The gang was founded in 1955 by Mexican youth who lived in the Pilsen neighborhood of Chicago. The original gang members were all related to one another. They named their gang the Texans in homage to the state they originally lived in. The name was changed two years later to Sons of Mexico City to better reflect their ethnic heritage. The name was changed again in 1959 to Latin Counts, inspired by the Polish Counts gang that operated in the nearby Back of the Yards community. During the 1960s, the Counts came into conflict with other gangs in the Pilsen area such as the Latin Kings, the Satan Disciples and Ambrose. In 1970, a faction broke off from the gang to be named the Bishops, who retained good relations with the Counts due to their sharing of the same bloodlines. Their alliance, known as the Bishop Count Nation, would falter in the 1990s.

In 1993 a member by the name of Shorty C started a faction in Addison, IL in Green Oaks. Their rivals the insane deuces shot at the counts and hit an innocent bystander. Javier Ureste was arrested and sentenced. In 1995 Joey De La Torre a.k.a. Menace C took over the faction and started to recruit members all over Addison, Il mainly Michael Lane that was run by the Latin Kings. Recruited in Green Oaks, Highview park, and Swift rd.

The Addison faction spread all over DuPage County ran by De La Torre opening factions in West Chicago, Lombard, Warrenville, Naperville, Villa Park, Glendale Heights, Carol Stream, and Itasca.

De La Torre enforce and led the gang until Jose moved because their rivals the Double I Vicelords threw gasoline filled 40z through the second floor of a 3 flat Jose and his family lived.

Jose was put in protective custody and sent to prison on charges pending.

After De La Torre left, the gang had a power struggle and the DuPage County gang died and shrank back to only one faction Addison, IL (Michael Lane)

In 1978, the Counts were invited to join the People Nation, a gang alliance formed in the Pontiac Correctional Center. This enabled the Counts to enter a truce with the allied Latin Kings, but street-level conflict continued between the two gangs until the 1980s. Starting in 1980, the Counts began to expand their operations to the South Chicago and South Deering neighborhoods, and in the mid-1980s they expanded to Cicero, Illinois and Southwest Detroit. In 1991, a full-scale shooting war erupted with the Latin Kings over turf in Cicero that pitted all Counts and Kings against each other nationwide.^[1]

Insignia[]

The Latin Counts' symbol consists of a depiction of Count Dracula, a knight's helmet, and a sword with five slashes above it. The helmet was inspired by the image on the Knight brand matchbox. Their colors are black and red.^[1]

Territory[]

The Latin Counts gang operates in the Chicago neighborhoods of Pilsen, South Deering, McKinley Park, South Chicago and suburban Cicero.^[1] Its territory has expanded to include some parts of Southwest Detroit, Michigan.^[2][3]

Activities[]

The Latin Counts' main criminal activity involves drug activity and racketeering.^[4] Gang members have also been involved in selling stolen weapons, assaults and murders.^[3]

Leadership[]

~MICHIGAN ONLY~ Isidro Garza led the gang while incarcerated in the Michigan Department of Corrections, where he was already serving 25-50 years for a 1993 gang-related homicide. He was sentenced in federal court to an additional ten years in prison.^[5] In June 2017, gang leader Victor Vasquez was sentenced to 30 years in prison for violating the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.^[3] Benjamin Beightol, the gang's Minister of Information who disseminated Garza's instructions to lower ranking gang members, pleaded guilty to racketeering charges on January 29, 2018, and faced ten years in prison.^[5]

References[]