United States Drug Enforcement Administration

CHICAGO - A federal grand jury in Chicago has indicted a Morris man on attempted murder charges for allegedly trying to kill two DEA Task Force officers during an undercover drug sting in Joliet, IL.

Adan Godinez, 31, of Morris, tried to kill the officers during an undercover operation in a parking lot of the Louis Joliet Mall on Aug. 30, 2016, according to the indictment. In addition to the attempted murder charge, the indictment charges him with one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute a controlled substance, one count of possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of brandishing and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence.

A co-defendant, Fernando Godinez, 44, of Cicero, was also at the scene of the undercover operation. He is charged in the indictment with one count of conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute a controlled substance, one count of possession with the intent to distribute a controlled substance, one count of possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and one count of being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm.

Arraignments are scheduled for Oct. 27, 2016, at 11:30 a.m., before U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan E. Cox.
The indictment was announced by Dennis A. Wichern, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Division of the Drug Enforcement Administration, and Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois. The Joliet Police Department provided valuable assistance.

The sting operation was arranged after Adan Godinez agreed to sell cocaine to an individual who, unbeknownst to Godinez, was an undercover Task Force officer for the DEA, according to a criminal complaint previously filed in the case. The defendants drove together to meet the undercover officer, at which point Adan Godinez got out of their car and entered the undercover officer’s vehicle, the complaint states. After Adan Godinez provided the cocaine to the undercover officer, other law enforcement personnel approached to arrest him, according to the complaint. Adan Godinez saw law enforcement personnel approaching, got out of the officer’s vehicle, pulled out a firearm and shot at the officers, the complaint states. An exchange of gunfire ensued.

Adan Godinez was wounded but survived. No officers were injured. Both defendants were arrested in the mall parking lot, and they have remained in custody without bond.

The public is reminded that an indictment is not evidence of guilt. The defendants are presumed innocent and entitled to a fair trial at which the government has the burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
If convicted, the Court must impose a reasonable sentence under federal statutes and the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines. The charges against Adan Godinez carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 35 years in prison, and a maximum sentence of life in prison. The charges against Fernando Godinez are punishable by a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years, and a maximum of life in prison.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian S. Wallach and Richard M. Rothblatt.