Chicago, IL–(ENEWSPF)– Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was joined today by Jim Ryan, Chief of the Forest Park, Illinois Police Department (FPPD) in announcing the arrest of a suspected member of Conservative Vice Lords street gang.
MARCO SMITH, age 31, whose last known address was 5940 West Fillmore in Chicago, was arrested Saturday night by officers of the FPPD, after a foot chase along the embankment of the Eisenhower expressway and on the right-of-way for the CTA Blue Line. SMITH was a passenger in a vehicle that was stopped for a possible traffic offense when he attempted to flee.
SMITH had been the subject of a nationwide manhunt, coordinated by Chicago FBI’s Joint Task Force on Gangs (JTFG), since December of last year when he was charged in a criminal complaint, along with 13 additional gang members and associates, with violation of federal drug and firearms laws.
SMITH was turned over to the FBI and appeared in U.S. District Court in Chicago before Magistrate Judge Nan Nolan on Monday, at which time he was formally charged. SMITH was ordered held without bond, pending his next scheduled court appearance and is being held at the Metropolitan Correctional Center (MCC) in Chicago.
In announcing this arrest, Mr. Grant wishes to recognize the officers of the Forest Park Police Department for their exemplary service in pursuing and apprehending a wanted and potentially dangerous fugitive. Said Mr. Grant “The officers responsible for the arrest of Marco Smith displayed extreme bravery in pursuing on foot, a wanted fugitive across a busy expressway and along live CTA train tracks. They are a credit to the law enforcement profession.”
The Chicago FBI’s Joint Task Force on Gangs is comprised of FBI Special Agents and Detectives from the Chicago Police Department’s Gang Crimes Unit.
The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt and that all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Source: CHICAGO.FBI.GOV
