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Press Release

Cheko’s Crew/7th Street Gang Member Sentenced On Rico Charge For His Role In Two Murders

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of New York

CONTACT:      Barbara Burns
PHONE:         (716) 843-5817
FAX:            (716) 551-3051

Buffalo, N.Y. -- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Jordan Hildalgo, 25, who was convicted of Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations (RICO) conspiracy, was sentenced to 262 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara. The defendant was also sentenced to 240 months for assaulting a federal officer while in custody. The sentences will be served concurrently.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph M. Tripi, who is handling the case, stated that the defendant was a member of the Cheko’s Crew/7th Street Gang which was responsible for multiple acts of violence and the distribution of illegal narcotics on the West Side of Buffalo between 2000 and 2012. The narcotics included heroin, crack cocaine, cocaine, and marijuana. Hildalgo was involved in the murders of two people:

•           On November 6, 2008, Hidalgo and co-defendant Ritchie Juarbe went to Raquan Lloyd’s house where Hidalgo shot and killed Lloyd. After the murder, Juarbe discarded the murder weapon, throwing it into the Niagara River.
•           On August 11, 2009, Hidalgo participated in the murder of Eric Morrow, a rival 10th Street Gang member, who was shot and killed at the corner of West and Auburn Avenues in Buffalo. Following the murder, Hidalgo got into a getaway vehicle driven by co-defendant Ritchie Juarbe.

A total of 18 defendants have been charged and convicted in the 7th Street case.

On September 17, 2013, the defendant was being held at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia, NY. Assistant U.S. Attorney Wei Xiang, who handled that case, stated that on that day two deputy United States Marshals went to the facility to transfer Hidalgo to another facility. The defendant refused to leave his jail cell and began cursing and threatening the deputies. As the deputies went inside the jail cell to remove Hidalgo, the defendant punched one of the deputies multiple times in the head causing several cuts and a broken nose.    

The sentencing is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Adam S. Cohen, the New York State Police, under the direction of Major Michael Cerretto, the Buffalo Police Department, under the direction of Commissioner Daniel Derenda, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Charlie J. Patterson.

Updated September 26, 2016