Articles

Gang funeral procession stops to take out rival
November 2, 2004
BY FRANK MAIN Crime Reporter
Gang-bangers never stop gunning for their rivals -- even on the way to the cemetery.
Chicago gang history is full of examples of shootings involving funerals. In May 2000, a 5-year-old Evanston boy was wounded when a West Side funeral procession came under fire.
But an Oct. 21 shooting during a funeral procession for a slain Latin Kings gang member left even the most experienced gang watchers shaking their heads: The cars stopped to let someone in the procession shoot a rival gang member on the street.
But no one is charged
At 11 a.m., the line of vehicles was traveling west along Archer toward Resurrection Cemetery where Latin King member Leonel Zarco was going to be laid to rest, police said.
Joel Castro was walking down a sidewalk near 63rd and started flashing rival Ambrose gang signs at the procession, police said.
The vehicles halted and one of the Latin Kings -- who was wearing a Latin Kings sweater like his fellow mourners -- yelled a gang slogan at Castro, 27, who was paroled from prison in July on a stolen vehicle conviction.
Someone in a burgundy Cadillac Escalade leaned out of the SUV and shot Castro in the back, police said.
Then as Castro lay on the ground, the procession rolled onward to the cemetery, although police said they think the Escalade fled.
Castro was treated at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and released. Police took suspects into custody, but Castro told detectives he could not identify his assailants and no charges were filed.
"He probably thinks he can take justice into his own hands," one investigator said.
Karen Kerbis, an assistant Cook County state's attorney who handles gang cases, said the shooting demonstrates how entrenched gang violence is in Chicago.
"If people want to know why this won't end, just look at people who will stop in a funeral procession to shoot someone," she said.
Police said they are continuing to investigate the killing of Zarco, 23, who was shot Oct. 16 in the 3200 block of West 25th after a gunman jumped out of a white SUV and opened fire.