Gang Leader Charged In Shooting Of ATF Agent In Chicago

CHICAGO, IL — Federal authorities have made an arrest in the shooting of an ATF agent on Chicago's South Side last week. Ernesto Godinez, 27, of Chicago was charged Tuesday with assault of a federal officer with a dangerous and deadly weapon, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois. A report from ABC-7 indicates Godinez is a co-leader of the Almighty Saints gang in Chicago.

A multi-jurisdictional investigation led to the arrest of Godinez, who is suspected of being the one who shot the agent of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives early in the morning on May 4 in the 4500 block of South Hermitage Avenue in the city's Back of the Yards neighborhood.

“Violent assaults on law enforcement agents working to make the community safer will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney John R. Lausch, who announced the charges on Tuesday. “The U.S. Attorney’s Office is committed to holding such offenders accountable, as are our local, state, and Federal law enforcement partners, whose tireless investigation to identify and locate the defendant after the shooting made this prosecution possible.”

The charge Godinez faces calls for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

Federal officials say the investigation continues and others who may have been involved could be charged as well. Special ATF Agent Celinez Nunez, who represents the agency in Chicago, called the attack on her agent an "ambush."

The agent, who is in his late 20s, was part of an investigation team that was in the neighborhood looking into information that a street gang had recently been supplied a number of guns. He was initially taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, but was later improved to good condition and is expected to make a full recovery.

He became the fourth member of law enforcement to be shot in the Back of the Yards neighborhood over the last year. A $61,000 reward had been raised for information leading to an arrest.

"We have some violent individuals in that area," Chicago Police Department Superintendent Eddie Johnson said during a news briefing hours after the Friday shooting.

Godinez has been ordered to be locked up until a detention hearing set for Thursday, May 17 at 11 a.m.

Photo: Ernesto Godinez / Via Chicago Police Department