COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A Cook County Jail inmate who runs his street gang's operations inside the massive jail is now accused of trying to extort $2,500 from another inmate's mother to keep her son safe behind bars, authorities said.
The complicated plot also involved the high-ranking Gangster Disciple's fiance, who went to meet the mother and collect the money, prosecutors alleged this week.
The plot gives a glimpse into life behind bars for gangbangers — including how high-ranking ones mete out punishment for members who cooperate with authorities, which prosecutors said was why the victim in this case was targeted.
The man now facing aggravated intimidation charges is Antwon McClore, 34. He's described by authorities as the "Institutional Coordinator for the Gangster Disciples" within Cook County Jail. He's currently locked up on attempted murder charges, accused of shooting someone once in his face and twice in his back.
He appeared before a judge this week on the jailhouse intimidation charge, which came after he was nailed by officers from the Cook County Jail Intelligence Unit conspiring with his fiance, authorities said.
The investigation into the inner workings of the Gangster Disciples was just one of thousands undertaken by the specially trained jail unit tasked with protecting the inmates from each other, said Cara Smith, the jail's executive director.
"The jail is a world of its own," Smith said. "Gang issues and gang tensions are an unfortunate reality of running the Cook County Jail."
Prosecutors say McClore found out that a fellow gang member, also in jail, was cooperating with police in a murder investigation. Fellow Gangster Disciples threatened to stab him unless he paid for protection, prosecutors said.
One inmate ordered him to "pay $3,000 to McClore, as Institutional Coordinator for the Gangster Disciples within the Cook County Department of Corrections," prosecutors said.
To make the payoff, the victim was told to call his mother and "arrange payment," prosecutors said.
That's what the victim did. And that's when McClore's fiance, Latoshia Williams, got involved, according to court documents.
Williams, 36, told the victim's mother her son would be safe while in jail if she came up with the cash, prosecutors said. Back in the jail, McClore then sent the victim a handwritten note saying he "was waiting to be called," prosecutors said.
The victim's mother came to the jail and met with McClore, who lowered the asking price to $2,500, prosecutors said. If she paid, her son "would be allowed to use [McClore's] name for protection," according to court records.
On July 8, the victim's mother met Williams in a South Side parking lot and gave her the money, prosecutors said. Williams was arrested after taking the money, prosecutors said.
McClore has a long rap sheet that has repeatedly landed him in the huge jail complex and in prisons around the state.
He was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2000, possession of a controlled substance in 2001, aggravated battery causing great bodily harm in 2008 and unlawful use of a weapon in 2012, records show.
But his coordination duties were spotted by the Jail Intelligence Unit, authorities said.
The job of "the Jail Intelligence Unit is to keep inmates and staff safe [by] being aware of gang activity across Chicago and the county," Smith said. "It's everything from major street gangs to factions and lower level gangs. It's extraordinarily complicated."
The officers quell disputes, interrupt recruiting efforts, search out contraband and weapons in a jail population estimated at about 9,400 inmates, Smith said.
"It's our challenge in keeping the inmates safe from each other from gang tension and even our dedicated staff safe as they work in these conditions," she said.
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