Introduction to the Case
A man accused in a murder-for-hire plot aimed at U.S. Border Patrol Cmdr. Gregory Bovino is set to face trial Tuesday at the Dirksen Federal Courthouse — for now. U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow handed down a damaging ruling Thursday that seemed to bar much of the evidence prosecutors planned to offer against Juan Espinoza Martinez. But the feds have shown no sign of backing down.
Background of the Case
So the first criminal trial tied to “Operation Midway Blitz” is still on track to begin with jury selection Tuesday inside a 17th-floor courtroom at the downtown courthouse. It’s a major test for U.S. Attorney Andrew Boutros’ office. Trump administration officials have argued repeatedly that drug cartels and street gangs have placed bounties on the heads of federal officials involved in immigration enforcement, including Bovino. But the administration’s credibility has taken a serious hit — even being questioned by federal judges. One found that Bovino lied about his deployment of tear gas in Little Village last October. And of 31 people charged in non-immigration cases tied to the campaign in Chicago, charges have been dropped against 14. No one has been convicted.
Key Questions
Espinoza Martinez’s trial is expected to be swift. He faces one murder-for-hire count, and prosecutors have signaled they’ll call just a few witnesses. Bovino is not among them. Lefkow, 82, is set to preside over the trial. President Bill Clinton appointed her to the bench in 2000. A litigant murdered Lefkow’s mother and husband in 2005, prompting her to become an advocate for judicial security. She also handled the 2010 trial of notorious Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge.
Senior U.S. District Judge Joan Lefkow, poses Monday, July 27, 2020, for a portrait in her Chicago home. In 2005, Lefkow returned from work to find her husband and mother shot dead in the basement of her Chicago home. Lefkow is now presiding over the first trial tied to Operation Midway Blitz.
The Defense
Espinoza Martinez’s lawyers, Jonathan Bedi and Dena Singer, have described their client as a “working man with deep roots” in the community and an “unblemished record.” They say he worked at his brother’s construction company for a decade, took his children to soccer games, and has never been convicted of a crime. Now he’s been in federal custody since Oct. 6. The case is being prosecuted by First Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Yonan, the second-highest ranking federal prosecutor in the Chicago region, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Minje Shin. They’ve said the key question will be whether messages about Bovino sent by Espinoza Martinez to an unnamed recipient “were real” to Espinoza Martinez, and whether he was taking a murder-for-hire plot “seriously.”
Crucial Evidence Barred
But Thursday, a little more than a week after Shin made that comment, Lefkow barred from the trial any testimony tying Espinoza Martinez to a gang, even through his “affinity” for one. That ruling prompted an emergency hearing three hours later. Yonan told the judge “you cannot remove the Latin Kings from this case and simply present the jury with a message that this defendant sent to the source, without giving them some sort of context.”
Hundreds rally and march through Little Village demanding justice for Renee Nicole Good who was shot and killed by Federal Law Enforcement agents early in the day in Minneapolis, Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2026. | Tyler Pasciak LaRiviere/Sun-Time
Jury Selection
Before prosecutors even begin presenting evidence, Lefkow and the lawyers will have to pick a jury. They last discussed the process Jan. 7, a little more than an hour after U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer Jonathan Ross fatally shot Renee Macklin Good in Minneapolis. News of the shooting had barely begun to break. But Lefkow predicted jury selection could be “pretty dicey” because Bovino had only recently left Chicago. Now, lawyers will have to pick a jury for Espinoza Martinez 13 days after Good’s death, which has sparked outrage and deepened divisions over the Trump administration’s aggressive deportation campaign.
Allegations Against Espinoza Martinez
The allegations against Espinoza Martinez are straightforward. A criminal complaint cites an anonymous “source of information,” who accused Espinoza Martinez of being a “ranking member of the Latin Kings.” Prosecutors say Espinoza Martinez sent that person a picture of Bovino by Snapchat in early October. A message allegedly followed that said, “2K on info cuando lo agarren,” “10k if u take him down,” and “LK … on him.”
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