Two Men Indicted on Federal Racketeering Charge for Allegedly Murdering Man To Increase Positions in Chicago Street Gang

CHICAGO — Two men have been indicted on a federal racketeering charge for allegedly murdering a man to maintain and increase their positions in a violent Chicago street gang.

DIONTAE HARPER, 24, and AMONTI MCCLURE, 21, both of Chicago, are charged with one count of murder in aid of racketeering, according to an indictment returned in U.S. District Court in Chicago.  It accuses the pair of murdering Paul Harris on May 13, 2020, for the purpose of maintaining and increasing their positions in the Faceworld street gang, a criminal organization based on the South Side of Chicago whose members engaged in violence and trafficked narcotics.  Harris was fatally shot while sitting in a vehicle in the 8600 block of South Halsted Street in Chicago’s Auburn Gresham neighborhood.

The defendants are in law enforcement custody.  Arraignment for Harper is scheduled for Tuesday at 1:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Heather K. McShain.  Arraignment for McClure is scheduled for Wednesday at 9:00 a.m. before Judge McShain.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office will be seeking to have the defendants remain detained pending trial.

The indictment was announced by Morris Pasqual, Acting United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, Robert W. “Wes” Wheeler, Jr., Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI, and Larry Snelling, Superintendent of the Chicago Police Department.  The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John Cooke, Brian Kerwin, and Julia Schwartz.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt.  The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.  Murder in aid of racketeering is punishable by a mandatory sentence of life in federal prison, and the death penalty is also possible.  If convicted, the Court must impose reasonable sentences under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines.