But Williams, along with several members of his faction, were charged with the murders of Lloyd's associates, and for the highway assault on Lloyd's family members. He was acquitted for the abduction after the judge declared the witnesses testifying against Lloyd unreliable. Lloyd attempted to hide from his attackers, but he was forced to appear in court for the abduction and ransom of Williams' brother. No one was fatally injured, but all suffered gunshot wounds. They then followed Lloyd home from a court appearance and shot him, as well as his three passengers. In a separate incident, Williams' soldiers also executed two of Lloyd's teenaged drug dealers. A few months later, Williams' splinter gang murdered Lloyd's right-hand man in a drive-by shooting. Law enforcement apprehended Lloyd's group before they could retaliate, but the conflict was far from over. However, by the time he was released in 1992, he had developed a heroin addiction that left his soldiers skeptical of his ability to lead. While serving his time at Logan Correctional Center, Lloyd still managed to effectively run the Vice Lords. That August, he was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison. Police discovered a 9 mm and a MAC-10 submachine gun. However, in January 1988, he was pulled over for a routine traffic violation.

Anyone who didn't pay was extorted or murdered.Ĭhicago law enforcement tried to put Lloyd back behind bars, but were unable to make any charges stick. As the self-proclaimed 'King of the Vice Lord Nation,' Lloyd helped generate new methods of income for the group, including drug dealing and street taxes for anyone who wanted to do business in Vice Lord territory. Lloyd returned to Chicago after his release and declared himself boss of all local Vice Lord gangs. By the time he finished his sentence, Lloyd had become a legend on the streets.

The three men, all of whom have been in federal custody since their arrests, are scheduled to be sentenced in September.Although Lloyd hadn't been the triggerman in the crime, other Vice Lords members referred to Lloyd as a 'cop killer,' giving him the reputation of a cold, hardened criminal. 'It was unfortunate that the jury did not see the reasonable doubt that we believe existed,' she wrote.

Fund, Melendez' lawyer, said in an email Wednesday that her client will appeal. They also noted that a man photographed leaving Melendez’ address during the probe in 2019 was stopped with a large amount of cocaine about an hour later. Prosecutors noted drug dealers speak in coded language for a reason and told jurors that the men openly referred to marijuana using the common phrase “bud” when they discussed it. The lawyers said raids of the men’s addresses did not yield large quantities of cocaine and argued the men could have been talking about selling marijuana. Jean, who represented himself, argued along with lawyers for the others that authorities hadn’t proved lingo used during the taped phone conversations alluded to cocaine sales. They said the base of the operation was 69 Cutler St., a location Rodriguez owned, and that Jean sometimes acted as a runner. Prosecutors, relying on extensive wiretap evidence authorities gathered over three months in 2019, alleged Melendez bought and sold kilos of cocaine with help from the other two men.

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