Man charged in double slaying

Robbery of a suspected rival gang member was a motive in a recent Hammond double slaying, according to police.

Jorge “Pee Wee” Garza, Jr., 24, of Portage, Indiana, was charged Oct. 26 with two counts of murder. Charges were unsealed after he was arrested Wednesday. He is an alleged Latin Kings gang member, according to court documents.

He is being held without bond.

Hammond police were called at 3:35 a.m. Oct. 7 to the 700 block of Locust Street where a man shot in the head was slumped over in the passenger seat in a tan Honda Civic. The car had been shot up multiple times.

A second man was lying dead in the front yard shot multiple times in the chest and stomach, according to the affidavit. Witnesses said they heard 20-30 shots.

The man in the car was identified as Diandre Easter, 27, of Calumet City, while the man in the yard was Danniel Gamez, 26, of East Chicago, Indiana. Gamez had cash in his right hand.

Police believed Garza thought Gamez was an easy mark to rob for a gun, charges state. Both intended to rob each other, according to the affidavit.

Security video showed Gamez and Easter met with Garza and his friends earlier at a nearby bar. Gamez and Garza had messaged each other about a dozen times on Snapchat between 2:14 a.m. and 3:28 a.m.

Garza indicated Gamez was “2-6” from “Harborside,” referencing another gang and East Chicago’s Indiana Harbor section.

“I’m finna beat (him) and take his (stuff ) it’s a 26 in here trya sell me a gun,” Garza said.

Gamez left to get a gun, then returned to the bar. Eventually, Gamez and two unknown men walked from the bar around 3:30 a.m. down Locust Street where he and Easter were later found. After the shooting, Garza and two unidentified men were on video running back to a White Chrysler with stolen plates attached, parked near the bar, then fled.

A witness said Easter was supposed to be their ride from another bar, but didn’t show.

“Something ain’t right,” he texted at 3:32 a.m., minutes before the shooting.

The Chrysler — registered to Garza — was later recovered in Posen after a traffic stop.

Police tried to pull the car over, when the driver took off, then crashed. Everyone in the car ran off, according to charges. Police arrested a 17-year-old teen and recovered three guns and some cellphones.