Men who say they quit gangs say suit stops them from preaching for change

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The city of Elgin is suing these four men -- (from left) Elias Juarez, Ruben Sanchez, Oscar Sanchez, and Saul Juarez -- saying they are Latin King gang members who must stop associating with each other. | Al Podgorski~Chicago Sun-Times

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Updated: November 20, 2011 2:21AM

Oscar Sanchez said he has encouraged members of the Latin Kings to quit since he found religion and left the gang in 2009.

But Sanchez said he and others are being unfairly branded as gang members in a lawsuit filed last year by the Kane County state’s attorney’s office on behalf of the city of Elgin.

The lawsuit targets 81 reputed members of the Latin Kings, seeking compensation for the cost of police work and other emergency services stemming from the gang’s violence. The lawsuit also asked the court to bar the defendants from associating with each other. DuPage and Boone counties have filed similar lawsuits against gangs under the 1993 Illinois Street Gang Terrorism Omnibus Prevention Act.

Sanchez and three co-defendants filed a motion last week asking the court to dismiss them from the Kane County case. They said the state presented no solid evidence they are Latin Kings. The motion said the state’s attorney “could just as well assert Senators Dick Durbin and Mark Kirk are Latin Kings.”

Chicago lawyer John Mauck, who represents the four defendants, said the irony is that his clients and the state’s attorney are seeking the same goal: discouraging gang activity.

“The state’s attorney is trying to use the law to get people out of gangs,” Mauck said. “Our guys are trying to use the word of Jesus to get them out of gangs.”

Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon said he would not comment on ongoing litigation but said he will file a written response to the court. A hearing on the motion is scheduled for next Tuesday.

Sanchez, 24, and his brother Ruben, 23, said they left the gang in 2009, inspired by another defendant, 26-year-old Elias Juarez, who said he quit the Latin Kings in 2008 and became a born-again Christian.

A fourth defendant, Saul Juarez, 24, said he was never a member of the gang but engaged in illegal activities until 2007 when he started going to church.

Elias Juarez and Oscar Sanchez said they were able to leave the gang only after enduring a vicious two-minute beating by fellow gang members.

“When you leave the gang, they cut you off,” Oscar Sanchez said. “However, I would witness to them. … I believe with all of my heart that ministering to gang members and leading them to Christ is a mandate on my life.”

The four men said they all have regular jobs now. One drives a forklift in a warehouse, one is a machine operator, one works in a science lab and another works as a supervisor at a logistics company.

They said at least four men have quit the gang because of their intervention.

And until last year, according to Saul Juarez, he spoke to middle-school students about the danger of gangs — seeking input from his brother Elias and the Sanchez brothers. But that ended when the lawsuit was filed, Ruben Sanchez said.

“We stopped getting invited,” he said. “This lawsuit is stopping us from reaching out to whoever needs change.”