Feds charge suspected gang members in killing of National Guardsman Chrys Caravajal

US News

By Isabelle Keane

Federal prosecutors have charged two alleged gang members in the 2021 killing of a National Guard teenager — after Chicago's notoriously soft-on-crime district attorney declined to file charges.

Gary Robertson, 40, and Joseph Matos, 41, are accused of fatally shooting Chrys Caravajal, 19, on July 3, 2021, in a drive-by shooting intended to boost their positions in the Milwaukee Kings street gang , according to a recently unsealed indictment.

Both were charged with racketeering and firearms offenses “for allegedly murdering” Caravajal, the U.S. attorney’s office said.

Matos had been identified as a suspect shortly after the deadly shooting – but Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx claimed there was not enough evidence to file murder charges, despite reports desperate calls from the family of the deceased teenager.

“How many more lives will it take for the appropriate measures to be taken? » Carvajal's sister, Jennifer Ramirez, said at the time, while demanding “justice,” the Chicago Sun-Times reported.

“We live in a war zone and no one seems to be defending us. »

Caravajal was just a week shy of his 20th birthday, and at a pre-July 4 party, he was shot while retrieving something from his car. He was found lying on the sidewalk with gunshot wounds to his back and abdomen, police said at the time.

“My brother’s life was taken by a coward,” his sister said at the time.

“That coward didn’t know my brother. He didn't even speak to my brother. He simply saw an opportunity to kill and shot without any remorse,” she said.

Her brother had just finished basic training and was “working to become… a police officer,” his sister told WTTW a year after his killing.

“He was going to serve and protect your city. The least you can do is serve justice.

Foxx had said the evidence was “insufficient to meet the burden of proof that prompts us to file murder charges,” a spokesperson for his office told the Chicago Sun-Times.

“As prosecutors, we have both an ethical and legal obligation to make charging decisions based on the evidence, the facts and the law,” the spokesperson said.

Roberson was arrested last month and has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him. He was ordered held in federal custody pending trial, according to the indictment.

Matos is not in custody but an arrest warrant has been issued for him.

The indictment against Roberson and Matos provides no additional details about the shooting.

The Milwaukee Kings criminal organization operates on Chicago's North Side and engages in drug trafficking and other violence, including murder, to maintain its power within its territory, according to the indictment.