Closing arguments today in gang trial: "Accused gang general Jacinto “Cache” Navajar, 54, and purported lieutenant Jose “Bam Bam” Martinez, 44, rested their cases Tuesday without calling a single witness, while alleged lieutenant Michael “Mikio” Garcia, 43, called four witnesses in an effort to poke holes in the prosecution’s case.
The three were among 34 defendants indicted in 2008 in a crackdown by the FBI, San Antonio police and other agencies. The indictment alleges several racketeering acts, including extortion, drug trafficking and 22 killings between 2000 and 2005. The three on trial are the only ones who did not plead guilty.
They are charged in connection with 12 slayings, and face up to life in prison without parole."
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Showing posts with label Mexican Mafia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mexican Mafia. Show all posts
reputed member of the Mexican mafia is behind bars Wednesday morning on kidnapping charges.22-year-old Able Guerrero was arrested Tuesday night during a routine traffic stop. Police say Guerrero is one of eight people involved in the January kidnapping of three construction workers on Buffalo Street.The men were being held for a $40,000 ransom. When two of them managed to escape, the third was later freed.All eight suspects are now being held on kidnapping charges.
David Garcia, 43, of San Diego, was arrested by federal and local authorities at Russ Boulevard and 24th Street about 3:30 p.m. Monday, FBI spokesman Darrell Foxworth said.
Garcia is suspected of selling methamphetamine.
Foxworth said Garcia was one of 36 defendants named in federal criminal complaints alleging racketeering, firearms and drug offenses involving the Mexican Mafia, local gangs and the Arellano-Felix drug cartel. More than a dozen gang members with alleged ties to the drug rings were arrested Friday. The FBI said Ernest Matthew Soqui, 32, Lance Agundez, 27, and Jorge Lerma-Duenas, 31, remain fugitives. The arrests have come after a year-long federal investigation dubbed “Operation Keys to the City.” The title was taken from a Mexican Mafia term for delegating authority: giving “the keys” to a person put in charge of certain criminal activities in prisons and on the streets, Foxworth said.
The detectives say they stumbled upon and thwarted the home invasion involving the "Mexican Mafia" on Wednesday while conducting a probationary search."They were in the right place at the right time," Polk County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Carrie Eleazer said of the detectives.The drug unit detectives initially searched the home at 2011 Gerber Dairy Road for weapons and narcotics. They found methamphetamines and drug paraphernalia, deputies say.As a result, detectives arrested three people who live at the home: Connie Jarvis, 39; Jessica Carden, 26; and Casey Nance, 24. They say they also arrested another person who happened to be at the home, sitting on a couch with a gun on his lap, 27-year-old David Valles of Winter Haven.While the investigation was ongoing, one of the detectives saw a vehicle pull into the home's driveway.The detective approached and saw Manuel Garza, 24, of Wauchula, and Catherine Hale, 22, of Lake Alfred. He determined Garza didn't have a valid driver's license. Hale was found in possession of phentaremine, a controlled substance, deputies say.Hale and Garza were arrested and taken inside the home.As detectives worked on affidavits for the six arrestees, one of the detectives saw a red Dodge Durango come to the home.The detective learned that the driver, 26-year-old Gonzalo Orozlo of Haines City, had a suspended driver's license.Orozlo refused a command to exit the vehicle, so the detective took a key from the ignition and called other detectives for help, according to the release. The four people inside the Dodge were searched, and each had a handgun. Detectives also found cocaine, methamphetamines and $4,230.Dodge passenger Gerardo Moralez, 23, of Haines City, said he and the others had come to the home to commit an armed robbery, detectives say."He further advised that someone who lives at the residence owed drug money to several 'Mexican Mafia' members with whom he is affiliated; that he and the other subjects collect money for the Mexican Mafia in the area; that he has been doing this for three months; that Gonzalo Orozlo is a 'hit man' for the Mexican Mafia; and that Orozlo has bragged about kidnapping and killing people who fail to pay off their drug debts to the Mexican Mafia," the release states. "Moralez had no specific information regarding the people Orozlo had supposedly killed."U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials placed a hold on Orozlo and Dodge passengers Agueda Maldonado and Miguel Flores-Hernandez. The special agent from ICE also agreed to seek federal indictments on all four Dodge passengers for federal firearms offenses, deputies say.Investigators later determined two of the guns found at the scene were reported stolen from Hillsborough County and Winter Haven. One of the guns was in Valles' possession, and the other was in Maldonado's, deputies say.
Members of Sureño street gangs are coming to the Salinas area in increasing numbers and are becoming better organized, the commander of the Monterey County Joint Gang Task Force said Wednesday.Cmdr. Dino Bardoni made the comment following a statewide summit of anti-gang law enforcement agents at Sherwood Hall in Salinas. The two-day gathering was the third such meeting sponsored by the county gang task force.
Bardoni said the Mexican Mafia, a well-established prison gang also known as "la Eme," is teaching more sophisticated criminal tactics to local Sureño street gangs.
Sureño gang members are regarded as mostly Mexican immigrants with ties to their native homeland. Their rivals are Norteño gangs comprised primarily of U.S.-born residents of Mexican descent.Salinas, long a stronghold for Norteño gangs, is seeing more Sureños coming into the area who are organizing in ways they haven't before, and that iscreating more violence in Monterey County, Bardoni said.Wednesday's summit drew about 360 law enforcement agents from 71 different state agencies. The workshops offer training in curbing gang violence. Some of the topics covered during the 16-hour conference included motorcycle gangs, building a good gang prosecution case, finding hidden car compartments where gang members hide guns and the role gang members play in the military."We need to share patterns of gang violence to help each other," Bardoni said. "We need to network and learn what is working in other jurisdictions."In Salinas, this year's gang violence has seen a sharp increase.The number of homicides has risen from 14 in 2007 to 19 so far in 2008. Shootings have gone up from 39 last year to 60 so far this year."We have seen the problem move for years," Bardoni said about the influx of Sureños. "We just need to network with other agencies, share the information, see what works and share resources."
Bardoni said the Mexican Mafia, a well-established prison gang also known as "la Eme," is teaching more sophisticated criminal tactics to local Sureño street gangs.
Sureño gang members are regarded as mostly Mexican immigrants with ties to their native homeland. Their rivals are Norteño gangs comprised primarily of U.S.-born residents of Mexican descent.Salinas, long a stronghold for Norteño gangs, is seeing more Sureños coming into the area who are organizing in ways they haven't before, and that iscreating more violence in Monterey County, Bardoni said.Wednesday's summit drew about 360 law enforcement agents from 71 different state agencies. The workshops offer training in curbing gang violence. Some of the topics covered during the 16-hour conference included motorcycle gangs, building a good gang prosecution case, finding hidden car compartments where gang members hide guns and the role gang members play in the military."We need to share patterns of gang violence to help each other," Bardoni said. "We need to network and learn what is working in other jurisdictions."In Salinas, this year's gang violence has seen a sharp increase.The number of homicides has risen from 14 in 2007 to 19 so far in 2008. Shootings have gone up from 39 last year to 60 so far this year."We have seen the problem move for years," Bardoni said about the influx of Sureños. "We just need to network with other agencies, share the information, see what works and share resources."
Salvador Orozco Hernandez, 43, identified in federal documents as a Mexican Mafia leader in the San Bernardino area, agreed to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted murder charge and conducting the crime to benefit a criminal street gang. Tribal member Stacy Cheyenne Barajas-Nunez, 25, also pleaded guilty to attempted murder charge and admitting criminal gang activity. She also pleaded guilty to charges of transporting methamphetamine and possessing illegal substances in a jail. Her brother, Erik Barajas, 35, pleaded guilty to one charge of assault with a firearm and admitted gang membership. Both tribal members will receive probation when they return for sentencing Aug. 7. Two others also charged in the case, Janette Amaya, 51, and Alfred Orozco Hernandez, 39, brother of Salvador Hernandez, also pleaded guilty. Amaya pleaded guilty to one charge of transporting methamphetamine and the sentencing enhancement of criminal gang activity. She pleaded no contest to a forgery charge in a separate case. She will be sentenced to probation. Alfred Hernandez pleaded guilty to an attempted murder charge as well as admitting criminal gang activity. He will be sentenced to nine years in prison in August. The Hernandez brothers and Barajas siblings were initially charged with conspiracy to commit murder in September 2006. According to court records, the plot was to kill the manager of The Brass Key, a Highland bar. The business is owned by Greg Duro, son of former tribal Chairman Henry Duro. The pleas emerged after five hours of back-and-forth plea negotiations in San Bernardino County Superior Court before Judge Michael Dest. Defense attorneys said the agreements were better than going to trial, where the accused risked significantly longer sentences. Deputy District Attorney Doug Poston said the case helped keep criminal gangs away from the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, which own a huge and profitable casino near Highland. "We don't want the tribe members bringing the criminal element onto Indian lands or into Indian businesses," Poston said outside the courtroom. "We've done everything we can in this case to rid that problem from Indian land and Indian business." Today's convictions resulted from Dec. 12, 2006, law enforcement raids lead by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The raids targeted the drug trade in the San Bernardino area. Authorities made 19 arrests and seized more than $1 million in methamphetamine and cash as well as 56 guns. Reservation homes were also raided, documents show. DEA records included in the case file show that Hernandez was collecting "taxes" from Inland Hispanic gangs and making a methamphetamine deal at the San Manuel Indian Bingo & Casino. Another DEA document said investigators fear the Mexican Mafia has infiltrated the reservation and is extorting money from tribal members, who receive $100,000 checks from casino profits each month.
Federal judge in San Diego sentenced seven members of a notorious state prison gang to life in prison Thursday.
The sentence by U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw capped an extensive prosecution into the Mexican Mafia that targeted upper echelon members of the gang on racketeering and conspiracy charges.
seven members of the gang sentenced yesterday were convicted by a jury after a month-long trial that ended Jan. 4. The defendants were charged with a variety of acts including two murders, attempted murder, drug sales and money laundering.
In October, two top members of the gang, Raul Leon and Salvador Perez, pleaded guilty to similar charges and will be sentenced in April.
Sentenced Thursday were Eduardo Gonzalez-Gallegos, George Fernandez, Thomas Durkin, Salvador Perez, Richard Valenzuela, Cesar Abarca, and Joshua Cruz. Several already are serving life sentences in state prison.
The sentence by U.S. District Judge Dana Sabraw capped an extensive prosecution into the Mexican Mafia that targeted upper echelon members of the gang on racketeering and conspiracy charges.
seven members of the gang sentenced yesterday were convicted by a jury after a month-long trial that ended Jan. 4. The defendants were charged with a variety of acts including two murders, attempted murder, drug sales and money laundering.
In October, two top members of the gang, Raul Leon and Salvador Perez, pleaded guilty to similar charges and will be sentenced in April.
Sentenced Thursday were Eduardo Gonzalez-Gallegos, George Fernandez, Thomas Durkin, Salvador Perez, Richard Valenzuela, Cesar Abarca, and Joshua Cruz. Several already are serving life sentences in state prison.
Ralph "Perico" Rocha and Rafael "Cisco" Gonzalez-Mu oz committed what is considered a mortal sin among the ranks of the dreaded Mexican Mafia prison gang: they encroached into the drug territory of a senior gang member.
Their transgression marked them for death according to county prosecutors, who in early December charged six individuals with trying to murder Rocha and Gonzalez-Mu oz on behalf of another "made" Mexican Mafia member, Jaques "Jocko" Padilla. The six, including Padilla's wife, La Puente resident Maria "Lola" Llantada, are in L.A. County Jail awaiting a March 7 court date.
Despite the arrests, Rocha and Gonzalez-Mu oz are likely still in mortal danger; sheriff's officials have confirmed that Rocha was shot last week in the Norwalk area. His injuries were minor, however, and he was treated from a local hospital and released.
Law enforcement investigators and gang associates say the Llantada case, along with a spate of other Mexican Mafia-related cases over the past year, illustrate the influence exerted across vast swaths of the San Gabriel Valley by the prison gang, also known as La Eme. The cases also show that the pilfering of "taxes" on drugs by rival gangs is behind many cases of Eme-related violence, which has plagued the area for decades.
Their transgression marked them for death according to county prosecutors, who in early December charged six individuals with trying to murder Rocha and Gonzalez-Mu oz on behalf of another "made" Mexican Mafia member, Jaques "Jocko" Padilla. The six, including Padilla's wife, La Puente resident Maria "Lola" Llantada, are in L.A. County Jail awaiting a March 7 court date.
Despite the arrests, Rocha and Gonzalez-Mu oz are likely still in mortal danger; sheriff's officials have confirmed that Rocha was shot last week in the Norwalk area. His injuries were minor, however, and he was treated from a local hospital and released.
Law enforcement investigators and gang associates say the Llantada case, along with a spate of other Mexican Mafia-related cases over the past year, illustrate the influence exerted across vast swaths of the San Gabriel Valley by the prison gang, also known as La Eme. The cases also show that the pilfering of "taxes" on drugs by rival gangs is behind many cases of Eme-related violence, which has plagued the area for decades.
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