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FBI charges 37 suspected gang members in connection with killings
BY AMES ALEXANDER/newsobserve:r: In a major roundup, federal authorities charged 37 suspected MS-13 gang members Wednesday with racketeering and other charges in connection with a series of killings.
Members of the gang were involved with murders, drug deals, assaults and robberies in the Charlotte area, the indictment says. They’re also accused of obstructing justice by threatening and intimidating witnesses they believed were cooperating with law enforcement.
“Today’s charges send a clear message to gangsters who think their gang affiliation puts them beyond the law’s reach,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Jill Rose. “Prosecutors and law enforcement officers will continue to work hand-in-hand to identify and prosecute gang offenders whose violent acts create mayhem in our streets and devastate communities.”
Law enforcement arrested 16 of the alleged gang members during the early morning sweep. Five remain at large, and 16 more are now in state custody on other charges.
The round-up was part of a coordinated law enforcement effort to eradicate gang violence in North Carolina, according to John Strong, who heads the FBI’s operations in North Carolina.
“Innocent families should not suffer because of the callous and violent actions of others,” Strong said. “The FBI will pursue those criminal offenders who impact the safety and stability of our neighborhoods, no matter their gang affiliation.”
The FBI, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department and U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) assisted in the arrests.
The operation got underway Wednesday morning at CMPD headquarters, where more than a dozen people were loaded into a transport unit. Homeland Security was also at the scene.
While all of the defendants were hit with racketeering charges, 22 of them have also been indicted on charges including murder, attempted murder, assault and firearms violations.
Authorities say several of the suspects were involved with the killings of:
▪ Rigoberto Castillo, who in April 2011 was killed in the parking lot of Modelo Bar and Grill in Rock Hill.
▪ Alejandro Sebastian Alvarez, who was shot to death in June 2013 by a rival gang member in Charlotte.
▪ Jose Orlando Ibarra, who was killed in Charlotte in December 2013. The man accused of shooting him, Miguel Zelaya, believed Ibarra belonged to a rival gang, the indictment says.
▪ Noel Navarro Hernandez, who was shot to death in Charlotte in June 2014.
Fighting over drug turf
MS-13 is composed mainly of immigrants or descendants of immigrants from El Salvador. The gang began in Los Angeles, where its members battled for control of drug distribution locations. Its members now operate throughout much of the country, including Mecklenburg and surrounding counties.
The indictment notes that the gang’s name comes from “Mara Salvatrucha,” a combination of several slang terms for gang, Salvadoran and “fear us.” Gang members often wear blue, black or white clothing bearing the number “13.”
MS-13 members are generally required to complete an initiation process – often called being “jumped in” or “beat in” to the gang, the indictment says. During the initiation, gang members beat the new member until someone in the group finishes counting aloud to 13.
The indictment paints a picture of a group with a highly organized system for raising money and enforcing compliance with gang rules. On June 8, 2014, gang members met to discuss collecting taxes from other drug dealers who operated in MS-13 clubs, the indictment says. Federal authorities say the gang members were often required to commit acts of violence to maintain their memberships, and that criminal acts helped members improve their status.
‘That’s crazy’
For more than two hours, authorities led the alleged gang members one-by-one into court, where U.S. Magistrate Judge David Cayer read the charges against them.
Rene Lopez, 32, wearing a white T-shirt, entered the courtroom at noon. As an interpreter helped read the charge against him – racketeering conspiracy – Lopez’s wife, Nichole Villagomez, whispered to herself, “That’s crazy.”
If found guilty, Lopez faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
Villagomez, 35, told an Observer reporter that Lopez left MS-13 years ago, partly because the couple had a baby. Now. she said, he lays ceramic tile and lives a “normal life” at the family’s home near W.T. Harris Boulevard.
“He saw what they (gang members) were about so he got out,” Villagomez said. “Some of them, yeah, they’re bad news. But I can only speak for my husband.”
After acknowledging the charge against him, Lopez walked out of the courtroom in shackles, touching his fingers to his lips as he looked at his wife.
Wednesday’s arrests come amidst a federal crackdown on gang activity.
In April, the FBI and other law enforcement groups arrested a dozen suspected members of the United Blood Nation, an East Coast criminal network with a history of violence and other crimes across the Charlotte region.
Six of the alleged UBN members were charged with the shooting deaths of Doug and Debbie London in their Lake Wylie, S.C., home.
According to that indictment, UBN members celebrated the fact that Doug London could no longer testify against the three gang members who tried to rob the couple’s South Boulevard mattress store last May.