Latin Kings Leader Sentenced To Over 21 Years in Prison for Racketeering Conspiracy

Gang Activities Included Two Attempted Murders, Armed Robbery And Witness Tampering

Greenbelt, Maryland — U.S. District Judge Alexander Williams, Jr. sentenced Francisco Ortiz, a/k/a “Francis Gabriel Ortis,” “Pone,” and “King Pone,” age 26, of Rockville, Maryland, today to 262 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise, in connection with his gang activities as a member and leader of the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (Latin Kings).

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Assistant Attorney General Lanny A Breuer, of the Department of Justice Criminal Division; Special Agent in Charge Theresa R. Stoop of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives — Baltimore Field Division; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy; Chief Roberto L. Hylton of the Prince George’s County Police Department; and Prince George’s County State’s Attorney Glenn Ivey.

U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said, “The strategy of combining the resources and intelligence of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to pursue federal racketeering charges is proving effective.”

“As part of his plea, Mr. Ortiz admitted to being the leader of this violent gang, and today he is seeing the consequences,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “By targeting gang leaders, we weaken a gang’s structure and, ultimately, make safer the communities that gangs terrorize.”

“This sentencing demonstrates how serious and determined ATF and our law enforcement partners are in bringing violent criminals to justice,” says ATF’s Special Agent in Charge Theresa R. Stoop. “We have and will continue to work tirelessly to protect our communities from senseless acts of gang violence and intimidation. Violent criminals involved in gang activity have no place within our communities and we will target and remove them to ensure the public is safe.”

According to Ortiz’s plea agreement, the Latin Kings is a violent street gang with thousands of members across the country 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 mid-2007, Ortiz became a member of the Royal Lion Tribe in Maryland and the tribe’s Third Crown/Enforcer. Ortiz became the First Crown/Inca of the tribe in 2008, when members of the Royal Lion tribe formed the MOG tribe. Ortiz led the MOG tribe until mid-2009, when he was removed from power, then formed and became the leader of the UTL tribe. As a Latin King leader, Ortiz organized meetings where dues were collected from members and gang business was discussed. As First Crown/Inca, Ortiz traveled to Pennsylvania, New York and Florida where he met with other Latin King leaders.

Ortiz admitted that as part of his gang activities, in late summer or fall of 2007, Ortiz and other Latin King members carried out the armed robbery of a drug dealer at condominiums in Langley Park, Maryland. According to the plea agreement, one of the Latin Kings knocked on the drug dealer’s door and when the door opened, Ortiz and two other Latin King members and associates forced their way into the apartment, each carrying a gun. Once inside, they put their guns to the heads of the dealer and his young daughter. The Latin King members held the drug dealer and his daughter at gunpoint in the bedroom while they searched the residence, eventually stealing powder cocaine.

According to the plea agreement, in December 2007, Ortiz and other Latin King members and associates participated in the attempted murder of a suspected rival gang member. When several Latin King members began walking in the wooded area behind a condominium complex in Langley Park, one or more people - suspected to be MS-13 members — began shooting at them. After the Latin Kings began running to their cars, Ortiz made them stop, get out of their cars and retaliate against the suspected MS-13 members. When the Latin Kings found an individual whom they believed was a member of MS-13, they attacked and stabbed him.

Ortiz admitted that on January 19, 2009, he and other Latin King members and associates threatened and attempted to physically assault a Latin Queen, who was the intended victim of an earlier firebombing. Three days earlier, three members of the Latin Kings had been sentenced after pleading guilty in that case. Ortiz and other Latin Kings attended the sentencing at U.S. District Court in Greenbelt. Believing that if the Latin Queen was not a witness or changed her testimony the three Latin Kings would be able to successfully appeal their convictions for the firebombing, Ortiz and other Latin Kings put a plan in place to assault the Latin Queen in an attempt to influence or prevent her testimony. ATF agents learned of the plan and were able to prevent the attack.

Finally, Ortiz admitted that on July 8, 2009, he and members of the UTL tribe attempted to murder a person in Germantown, Maryland. The victim was walking on a residential street with two friends when a car approached them. Several people got out of the car and began chasing the victim. The victim was eventually caught and struck in the back of the head. The victim fell to the ground where Ortiz and other Latin Kings beat the victim with a bat, kicked, punched and stabbed him multiple times. Ortiz was arrested two days after the attack and at the time of his arrest had three machetes with him.

Six co-defendants previously pleaded guilty to the racketeering conspiracy. All remain in federal custody.

Mr. Rosenstein and Mr. Breuer thanked the ATF-led RAGE Task Force, including the Gaithersburg Police Department; the Montgomery County Police Department; Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office; Prince George’s County Police Department; Prince George’s County State’s Attorney’s Office; the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, the Maryland National Capital Park Police — Prince George’s County Division; and the Maryland State Police; as well as, the New York Police Department; the U.S. Secret Service, and the Internal Revenue Service — Criminal Investigation, for their assistance in this investigation and prosecution. United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended Assistant United States Attorneys Emily Glatfelter and David Salem, and Lara M. Peirce, a Trial Attorney with the Criminal Division’s Gang Unit, who are prosecuting the case.