Gang member charged in fatal shooting at South Side gas station: prosecutors

An alleged member of the Evans Mob street gang is facing federal charges that he shot and killed a man on the South Side to seek a promotion within the gang’s ranks.

Derrick Swanson was arrested Thursday in connection with the 2018 murder of Anthony Carter outside a Falcon Fuel gas station, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Northern District of Illinois.

Swanson, 22, allegedly shot Carter in the head on Oct. 2 as Carter stood near a vehicle in the 800 block of East 79th Street in Grand Crossing, prosecutors said.

Carter, 27, was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he died of the gunshot wound, authorities said.

Prosecutors said Swanson carried out the murder to maintain and increase his position in the Evans Mob gang.

Evans Mob, also known as “GuttaGang” and “HitzSquad,” uses violence to acquire and maintain its territory, prosecutors said. The gang publicly claims responsibility for its acts of violence and taunts rival gang members.

Swanson has been charged with committing murder in aid of racketeering, and with illegally possessing a handgun, prosecutors said. His arraignment has not been scheduled.

If found guilty of murder, Swanson could face a mandatory life sentence or the death penalty, prosecutors said. The illegal gun possession charge is punishable by up to 10 years in prison.

The indictment against Swanson also renews the charge against another alleged member of the Evans Mob. Pierre Robinson, 26, was charged in November 2018 in the murder of Glenn Houston in 2014, prosecutors said. Robinson allegedly shot and killed Houston also to maintain his position in the Evans Mob.