June 1, 2020 – The Illinois State Supreme Court has declined to overturn a 2010 Lake County jury verdict of first-degree murder against Four Corner Hustlers gang member Donnell (D-Light) Green on the grounds of conflict of interest related to his defense. Green’s attorney, Robert Ritacca, had once served as legal counsel to Green’s intended target in the murder he was convicted of and sentenced to 35 years in prison for. The high court’s ruling was issued last week in an order written by Illinois Supreme Court Judge Michael J. Burke. Green’s trial took place 10 years ago this month. Green was in a car with three other Four Corner Hustlers on October 18, 2007, in Waukegan, Illinois, when they spotted Black P-Stone Nation gang members, Jimmy (Bernie Mac) Lewis and Danny (Keeko) Williams, driving in a Cadillac SUV and opened fire. Lewis, who was in the passenger seat, died in the shooting. Williams, who was driving the vehicle, survived the attack. A group of Four Corner Hustlers in Waukegan had gotten into a physical altercation with Williams weeks earlier. Ritacca had once defended Keeko Williams in a drug case. Waukegan is located 35 miles north of Chicago, where the Four Corner Hustlers and Black P-Stone Nation are both based and fight for territory. The Four Corner Hustlers is a subset of the Vice Lords, one the city’s most notorious street gangs along with the “P-Stones” and the Gangster Disciples. The Illinois State Appellate Court affirmed the trial court’s decision in 2012. Green was defended by Lucas Walker in his appeal. Several high-ranking Four Corner Hustlers pleaded guilty to drug and racketeering counts in 2019. Forty-year old LaBar (Bro Man) Spann, the reputed boss of the Four Corner Hustlers, will go to trial later this year on drug and murder charges. Spann is accused of being responsible for six gang-related slayings.
