Aurora Latin King's Conviction Upheld In State Court

AURORA, IL An Illinois appellate court upheld the 2015 conviction of a man from Aurora for associating with other gang members. Gabriel Berrios, 28, of the 1200 block of Sundown Dr., Aurora, was convicted in 2015 for unlawful conduct with streetgang members, but Berrios challenged the conviction, saying the law was unconstitutional and violated his First Amendment rights.

The state did not agree.

Berrios and 35 other "known members of the Aurora Latin King gang" were named in a civil suit in 2012, according to the Kane County State's Attorney's Office. The lawsuit's intent was to prevent the gang members from associating with one another.

A judge filed a default judgment against Berrios in December 2012 after he failed to appear for a court date. As a result he was "further prohibited from being together with any other member of the Aurora Latin Kings."

Berrios was arrested in 2013 after officers responded to a call of a disturbance on the west side of Aurora and found him with two members of the Aurora Latin Kings.

After Berrios was convicted of unlawful conduct, he made an appeal on the grounds that he wasn't found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, that the trial judge permitted hearsay evidence, and that the law violated his First Amendment rights.

After the appeals were rejected, Kane County State's Attorney Joseph McMahon stood by the conviction, saying, "The civil lawsuit filed against the Latin Kings street gang has been successful in making Aurora a safer community."

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