Alleged Chicago gang member charged with putting bounty on Border Patrol chief pleads not guilty

CHICAGO (WLS) -- An alleged Latin Kings member accused of putting a bounty out on U.S. Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino in Chicago entered a plea of not guilty at a Friday afternoon arraignment in federal court.

According to the Northern District U.S. Attorney's Office, 37-year-old Juan Espinoza Martinez, an alleged Latin Kings gang member, offered a bounty on U.S. Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino: $10,000 for the murder and $2,000 dollars for information.

The defendant's attorney issued a statement Friday, saying, ""Today at Juan's arraignment, we demanded trial-and we can not wait. The government can not prove Juan engaged in a murder-for-hire plot, and they sure can not show Juan is, or ever was, a gang member-no matter how many times they say it on TV. The government is brazenly politicizing Juan's case, desperately scrambling to smear him as some violent street gang member without a single shred of evidence-all to justify ICE's absolutely ridiculous and blatantly illegal actions in Chicago. Let me be clear: Juan is innocent of these charges. The government knows it. We know it. And every single juror who hears the real facts will know it and will find him not guilty."

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Earlier this month, federal authorities unveiled what they say is a murder-for-hire scheme to kill the Border Patrol chief in Chicago.

The ABC7 I-Team was in federal court as Juan Espinoza Martinez made his first appearance after he was arrested Monday in Burr Ridge by a cadre of federal law enforcement including DEA, FBI, ATF, Border Patrol and Homeland Security Investigations officers.

Espinoza Martinez, who goes by the street name "Monkey," is accused of offering a bounty to members of the Chicago Latin Kings street gang to kill Border Patrol Chief Gregory Bovino, according to the complaint.

Bovino has been front-and-center in multiple Chicago immigration enforcement operations over the last several weeks of " Operation Midway Blitz."

"A street gang is a formidable organization. We know that. We know how much mayhem they can cause, but they're really no match for the power of the federal government. If there's evidence against them, it's taking an awfully big risk," said ABC7 Chief Legal Analyst Gil Soffer.

Homeland Security Investigations-Chicago says it received a screenshot of a Snapchat conversation seen here from a confidential source with a photo of Bovino and the bounties for murder and information with the letters "LK" appearing to link the message to the Latin Kings street gang in the city.

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Soffer said for federal prosecutors to win this case, they have to prove the facts and intent of those messages.

"The complaint alleges that he was a member, not only a member, of the Latin Kings, but that he was directing the solicitation to other members of the Latin Kings," he said.

According to the filing, after Customs and Border Protection officers opened fire on a woman over the weekend, Espinoza Martinez also instructed members of the Latin Kings gang to bring guns and deploy gang members in response.

"You got gang members that are doing drive-bys on the weekends for free. So, offer $10,000 and you might actually get one of these knuckleheads that would take them up on it," said retired Chicago Police Lieutenant John Garrido, who spent three decades with the Chicago Police Department.

He said, when it comes to the feds, Chicago street gangs don't know what they're up against adding, "He's in for a rude awakening. And, that should send a message to, you know, all these other gang members you're dealing with a different type of law enforcement now. The rules of engagement are different, the penalties are different, the laws, the federal laws, are a lot tougher than our local laws are, and you're actually going to do some time if you're convicted."

Espinoza Martinez is facing 10 years in prison if convicted.

Prosecutors said in court he is originally from Mexico and in the country illegally, entering at an unknown date and time.

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