Bond set for 9 street gang members arrested in multi-agency operation

Bond has been set for eight of nine members of the La Raza street gang for alleged illegal drug and weapons offenses committed in DuPage County.

The other defendant, a juvenile, was released to parental custody.

All nine defendants were taken into custody Feb. 28 and appeared in bond court later that afternoon and Feb. 29.The juvenile appeared at his detention hearing on March 2, according to a DuPage County State's Attorney's Office news release.

The arrests are the culmination of a multi-agency effort begun last fall conducted by the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, the DEA, the Addison Police Department and the DuPage County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Charged in the operation are:

• Eli G. Resendez, 33, of the 100 block of Euclid Avenue, Bloomingdale, was charged with two counts of felony delivery of a controlled substance. Bond set at $225,000. His next court appearance is scheduled for March 23 for arraignment.

• Samuel Resendez, 29, of the 100 block of Euclid Avenue, Bloomingdale, was charged with one count of felony delivery of a controlled substance. Bond set at $100,000. His next court appearance is set for March 23 for arraignment.

• Missael Resendez, 23, of the 100 block of Euclid Avenue, Bloomingdale, was charged with one count of felony delivery of a controlled substance. Bond set at $75,000. His next court appearance is scheduled for March 23 for arraignment.

• Ricardo Favela, 41, of the 200 block of West Roosevelt Road, Bensenville, was charged with one count of felony delivery of a controlled substance. Bond set at $150,000. His next court appearance is set for March 23 for arraignment.

• Christopher J. Hernandez, 24, of the 500 block of North Neva Avenue, Addison, was charged with one count each of felony unlawful possession of a firearm by a street gang member, felony criminal damage to property, misdemeanor fleeing and eluding/driving while license suspended and misdemeanor criminal defacement of property. Bond was set at $60,000. His next court appearance is scheduled for March 23 for arraignment.

• Nikko DePasquale, 26, of the 100 block of South Iowa Avenue, Addison, was charged with one count of felony unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon with body armor and one count of felony unlawful possession of a firearm by a felon. Bond was set at $200,000. His next court appearance is scheduled for March 23 for arraignment.

• Armando Carrasco Jr., 18, of the 500 block of North Highview Avenue, Addison, was charged with two counts of felony criminal damage to property and one count of misdemeanor criminal defacement of property. Bond was set at $10,000. His next court appearance is set for March 23 for arraignment.

• Ryan Villanueva, 22, of the 500 block of Green Oaks Court S., Addison, was charged with two counts of misdemeanor possession of a firearm without a FOID card and one count of possession of firearm ammunition without a FOID card. Bond set at $2,000. His next court appearance is scheduled for April 3 for arraignment.

The remaining juvenile defendant was released to parental custody with a next scheduled court appearance for March 16.

At 6 a.m. Feb. 28., officials from the four agencies, working in teams, located and arrested the defendants. By 7 a.m., the first of the defendants was located and arrested. Throughout the morning, authorities continued their search. By noon, the final defendant, Favela, was located and arrested. In total, the state filed 14 felony drugs and weapons charges and six misdemeanor charges.

“Gang activity continues to be a problem throughout the region, but with coordinated efforts between multiple law enforcement agencies such as this, we will continue making progress in ridding our communities of dangerous individuals as alleged in this case” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the release.

“ATF is an agency dedicated to protecting communities from violent criminals and criminal organizations,” Assistant Special Agent in Charge Bennie Mims said in the release. “To achieve this, we collaborate with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to identify and target those who drive violence in our communities. This operation is a great example of how those working relationships can help stem the flow of criminal activity in our communities.”

“DEA is committed to targeting violent criminal organizations that poison our communities with a variety of drugs,” Special Agent in Charge Robert J. Bell said in the release. “DEA will continue to aggressively bring all resources to bear in cooperation with law enforcement partners and prosecutors against these types of criminal groups. This prosecution is the result of working closely with our partners to bring violent drug distributors to justice.”