Federal Indictment Charges Reputed Chicago Gang Member With Illegally Possessing Firearms

CHICAGO - A reputed member of a violent Chicago street gang has been indicted on a federal firearm charge for allegedly unlawfully possessing two firearms.

ALEXANDER MARTINEZ-QUIROZ, 35, of Chicago, possessed a rifle and handgun from December 2025 to April 2026, according to an indictment returned Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Chicago. As a previously convicted felon, Martinez-Quiroz was legally prohibited from possessing a firearm.

A criminal complaint filed in the case alleges that Martinez-Quiroz fired three shots from the handgun while standing in front of a Chicago building on Dec. 18, 2025. While firing the shots, Martinez-Quiroz calls out that he is a member of the street gang, the complaint states. Martinez-Quiroz recorded himself firing the shots, and the government played the video at Martinez-Quiroz's detention hearing in federal court. The video can be viewed here. [Note: You may need to download the video to see it properly. The download button is on the bottom right of the video, next to the volume button.]

Martinez-Quiroz was arrested on April 9, 2026. A U.S. Magistrate judge initially ordered him released from custody on bond, but the U.S. Attorney's Office appealed to a U.S. District Court judge, who reversed the Magistrate judge's ruling and granted the government's motion for pre-trial detention. The defendant is now in federal custody pending trial.

The indictment was announced by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, and Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Field Office of the FBI. The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan L. Shih.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendant is presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.