State Rests In Texas Mexican Mafia Trial - San Antonio News Story - KSAT San Antonio: "defendants are identified as Jacinto Navajar, 54, Mike Garcia and Jose Martinez, both 44 years old.
Steven Price, who represents Navajar, joined lawyers for the other men in labeling the government's witnesses as killers, thieves and liars.
People, Price said, 'who will kill without hesitancy.'
Assistant U.S. Attorney Joey Contreras said the witnesses were 'killers who terrorized South Texas.'
'Don't be afraid to do what is right and correct a whole series of wrongs,' he told the jury.
The defendants are accused in the killings of 24 people over a six-year period. They are among 32 people arrested following a lengthy FBI investigation. The others have already entered into plea deals to avoid trial."
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Showing posts with label Texas Mexican Mafia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Texas Mexican Mafia. Show all posts
Member of the Texas Mexican Mafia signed a plea deal admitting to his role in the racketeering enterprise in exchange for a 25-year prison sentence. Eugene “South Side Gene” Flores will plead guilty later this month to racketeering conspiracy, including the killing of Jesse “Pelon” Guevara, who was found Aug. 7, 2004, on Senior Road in southwestern Bexar County.
member of the Texas Mexican Mafia who admitted participating in two murders was moved from a federal jail for his own safety after a local television station erroneously reported that he was cooperating, authorities told a judge Wednesday.
Ray Carrasco was moved last month after KENS-TV posted a video report on mySA.com that talked about his plea deal but wrongly said he was cooperating with law officers, an FBI agent and a prosecutor said at Carrasco's plea hearing. “I can and will tell you he is not cooperating. Period,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Joey Contreras told U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia. Contreras' assertion was a rare disclosure of the behind-the-scenes activity in high-profile prosecutions. Contreras said he normally never discusses whether any defendant is cooperating.An FBI agent told the judge that the station pulled the report off the Web site after agents saw the streaming video and contacted KENS. Carrasco was then moved.“At no point did we say this guy cooperated,” KENS news director Kurt Davis said in an interview Wednesday, challenging the agents' statements. “For the record, we were made aware that this guy was not cooperating with law enforcement. We reported that he had worked out a deal but was not cooperating.”KENS-TV is a partner with the Express-News in mySA.com until Jan. 5. The newspaper posted its own story on the Web site about the plea deal that made no mention of cooperation.Carrasco pleaded guilty to conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity, which included the killings of two fellow gang members (one suspected of cooperating with law officers), extortion and trafficking of heroin and cocaine. He agreed to be sentenced later to 20 years in prison. His lawyer, Warren Wolf, said Carrasco never had any plans to testify against any of the other 34 members charged in January with racketeering and 22 killings between 2000 and 2005.“His sole intention was to enter a plea on his own case,” Wolf said. “If that (cooperation) were part of the plea offer, he would not have accepted.”Carrasco asked the judge to be returned to San Antonio, but sources said that might not be possible because of lingering security concerns.“We'll advise the court on any security issues, but we can't comment on why we move someone, when or where,” said Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Fernando Karl, whose office oversees pretrial jailing of federal inmates.
Ray Carrasco was moved last month after KENS-TV posted a video report on mySA.com that talked about his plea deal but wrongly said he was cooperating with law officers, an FBI agent and a prosecutor said at Carrasco's plea hearing. “I can and will tell you he is not cooperating. Period,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Joey Contreras told U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia. Contreras' assertion was a rare disclosure of the behind-the-scenes activity in high-profile prosecutions. Contreras said he normally never discusses whether any defendant is cooperating.An FBI agent told the judge that the station pulled the report off the Web site after agents saw the streaming video and contacted KENS. Carrasco was then moved.“At no point did we say this guy cooperated,” KENS news director Kurt Davis said in an interview Wednesday, challenging the agents' statements. “For the record, we were made aware that this guy was not cooperating with law enforcement. We reported that he had worked out a deal but was not cooperating.”KENS-TV is a partner with the Express-News in mySA.com until Jan. 5. The newspaper posted its own story on the Web site about the plea deal that made no mention of cooperation.Carrasco pleaded guilty to conspiracy to participate in racketeering activity, which included the killings of two fellow gang members (one suspected of cooperating with law officers), extortion and trafficking of heroin and cocaine. He agreed to be sentenced later to 20 years in prison. His lawyer, Warren Wolf, said Carrasco never had any plans to testify against any of the other 34 members charged in January with racketeering and 22 killings between 2000 and 2005.“His sole intention was to enter a plea on his own case,” Wolf said. “If that (cooperation) were part of the plea offer, he would not have accepted.”Carrasco asked the judge to be returned to San Antonio, but sources said that might not be possible because of lingering security concerns.“We'll advise the court on any security issues, but we can't comment on why we move someone, when or where,” said Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Fernando Karl, whose office oversees pretrial jailing of federal inmates.
"The Mexican Mafia is a violent criminal gang. They deal in intimidation. They deal in drugs — heroin and cocaine. They deal in violence, and in this case, they dealt in murder," he said.
The slayings go back to 2000 and occurred in San Antonio, Austin and Atascosa County, a rural county south of San Antonio. Most were unsolved before the racketeering charges, said Sutton.
The victims were mostly members of the Mexican Mafia or rival gangs. In some cases, they were suspected drug dealers indebted to the Mexican Mafia, which authorities say enforces a street tax on drug dealers who work on gang turf.
The defendants were not charged with murder, in part because tying them to a specific crime is harder than proving they ran an operation that committed murder and dealt drugs, Sutton said. Conviction under federal racketeering charges can bring a term of life in prison.
Most of the defendants were already in custody on lesser charges before the Tuesday grand jury indictment, which was first reported by the San Antonio Express-News. By Wednesday morning, 18 were in custody. Another five were still being sought.
None had attorneys listed in U.S. District Court filings.
The investigation that led to Tuesday's indictment included the use of informants and undercover officers over a three-year period, said Sutton, though he declined to release details of the investigation. Other indictments could still be coming, he said.
FBI Special Agent In Charge Ralph Diaz called the indictments, which included alleged generals and lieutenants in the gang, "a very significant hit to the organization."
The Texas Mexican Mafia, allegedly founded by San Antonio native Heriberto "Herb" Huerta in 1984, is the largest gang in the state prison system, but it's not directly related to a California gang of the same name. Huerta and other gang members were later convicted on drug charges.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice tracks the number of Mexican Mafia members in the prison system but doesn't release the numbers because of concerns that it will exacerbate problems with rival gangs in the system, said department spokesman Jason Clark.
Gangs like the Mexican Mafia recruit members inside the prison system as a way to ensure protection, but membership continues even when an inmate is released, said FBI spokesman Eric Vasys. Some members are also recruited among family or friends who not incarcerated.
Outside prison, the gang allegedly deals drugs and extorts people. Members also carry out retaliatory killings or other violence at the orders of bosses, many of whom are still in prison, Vasys said.
The federal racketeering law provides a way for prosecutors to go after gang members even if they didn't directly commit a violent crime.
"You don't have be there to get convicted," Vasys said.
While most of the victims in this week's indictment were gang members or drug dealers, authorities said the crimes affect neighborhoods and innocent family members.
Even if it's "bad guy killing bad guy, it still deteriorates the fabric of the community," said Vasys.
The slayings go back to 2000 and occurred in San Antonio, Austin and Atascosa County, a rural county south of San Antonio. Most were unsolved before the racketeering charges, said Sutton.
The victims were mostly members of the Mexican Mafia or rival gangs. In some cases, they were suspected drug dealers indebted to the Mexican Mafia, which authorities say enforces a street tax on drug dealers who work on gang turf.
The defendants were not charged with murder, in part because tying them to a specific crime is harder than proving they ran an operation that committed murder and dealt drugs, Sutton said. Conviction under federal racketeering charges can bring a term of life in prison.
Most of the defendants were already in custody on lesser charges before the Tuesday grand jury indictment, which was first reported by the San Antonio Express-News. By Wednesday morning, 18 were in custody. Another five were still being sought.
None had attorneys listed in U.S. District Court filings.
The investigation that led to Tuesday's indictment included the use of informants and undercover officers over a three-year period, said Sutton, though he declined to release details of the investigation. Other indictments could still be coming, he said.
FBI Special Agent In Charge Ralph Diaz called the indictments, which included alleged generals and lieutenants in the gang, "a very significant hit to the organization."
The Texas Mexican Mafia, allegedly founded by San Antonio native Heriberto "Herb" Huerta in 1984, is the largest gang in the state prison system, but it's not directly related to a California gang of the same name. Huerta and other gang members were later convicted on drug charges.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice tracks the number of Mexican Mafia members in the prison system but doesn't release the numbers because of concerns that it will exacerbate problems with rival gangs in the system, said department spokesman Jason Clark.
Gangs like the Mexican Mafia recruit members inside the prison system as a way to ensure protection, but membership continues even when an inmate is released, said FBI spokesman Eric Vasys. Some members are also recruited among family or friends who not incarcerated.
Outside prison, the gang allegedly deals drugs and extorts people. Members also carry out retaliatory killings or other violence at the orders of bosses, many of whom are still in prison, Vasys said.
The federal racketeering law provides a way for prosecutors to go after gang members even if they didn't directly commit a violent crime.
"You don't have be there to get convicted," Vasys said.
While most of the victims in this week's indictment were gang members or drug dealers, authorities said the crimes affect neighborhoods and innocent family members.
Even if it's "bad guy killing bad guy, it still deteriorates the fabric of the community," said Vasys.
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