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Crown Point man admits to tricking Two Six gang member into fatal meeting over owed drug debt

Times - 1/30/2019

Jan. 30--HAMMOND -- A Crown Point man on Tuesday admitted to aiding Two Six Nation street gang members in an attempted kidnapping that turned fatal more than 15 years ago.

In a plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court, Jerome Sims, 54, admitted to helping Two Six gang leader Jesus "Chu Chu" Fuentes, of Chicago, and others as they sought out East Chicago'sJulio Cartagena for an owed drug debt.

At the direction of Fuentes, Sims placed a tracking device on Cartagena's pickup truck and made plans to meet with him on May 16, 2003 -- so Fuentes and his associates could kidnap Cartagena and recover his lost money and drugs, according to documents in the case.

Fuentes' associates, while armed with firearms, ended up shooting and killing him, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Documents show Sims entered a guilty plea Tuesday of one count of aiding and abetting a murder resulting from the use and carrying of a firearm during a drug trafficking crime. He faces a minimum mandatory sentence of 10 years and a maximum $250,000 fine.

Sims played small role

Sims played a relatively small role in a grand scheme led by drug lord Fuentes as he worked to sell cocaine with members of a Mexican drug trafficking cartel, records show.

When Sims' tracking device was not successful, Fuentes directed other associates to kidnap Cartagena's children and their mother at gunpoint from their Hammond home to pressure Cartagena into returning the money or drugs.

When the family's kidnapping failed and Hammond police rescued the family, the gang members hot and killed Cartagena.

Fuentes and several others were indicted in Cartagena's murder in 2014. According to court records, after sentencing delays, Fuentes remains in federal custody and has yet to be sentenced.

Sims' case was investigated by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives with the assistance of the East Chicago Police Department.

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