3 charged in murder of alleged gang leader

Authorities in Chicago have charged three men with first-degree murder in the fatal shooting of an alleged high-ranking member of a street gang.

Police say 32-year-old Reginald Royal, 20-year-old Lonnial Rountree and 29-year-old Terrance Hilson were all charged Saturday with the murder of 38-year-old Ray Washington, who was gunned down Thursday afternoon while standing outside a West Side residence he was having appraised.

Authorities say an appraiser who was with Washington at the time was also wounded, but was expected to live.

According to records and law enforcement sources, Washington had an arrest record that includes narcotics and weapons violations. His name also surfaced in major mortgage fraud investigations involving upper-level gang members.