Police Report: Sheriff's Office arrests prison gang leader

Monday, January 28, 2008


The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office Special Weapons and Tactics team arrested a high-ranking member of the New Mexican mafia in Humboldt on Jan. 25.

Detectives from the Sheriff's Office and the Phoenix Police Department Violent Crime Bureau arrested Juan Carlos Rios, 34 in connection with several crimes including witness tampering, hindering prosecution and other crimes related to his mafia connection.

A Maricopa County grand jury recently indicted Rios on charges of racketeering and issued a warrant for his arrest with a bond of $500,000.

Police also arrested and are detaining Joshua Moser, 29, and Delores Rachel Rios, 39, on pending gang-related criminal charges.

"Due to the inherent and documented violent nature of these gang members, the SWAT team was used to execute this warrant," said Yavapai County Sheriff Steve Waugh.

The Sheriff's Office Detention Division has imprisoned more than 80 gang members since July 2007, including the Mexican Mafia, the Aryan Brotherhood, the Hell's Angels, the Skinheads and numerous other criminal street gangs.

The creation of the Special Crimes Unit, the Intelligence Unit and the Jail Gang Investigator plays a major role in dealing with the gang and narcotics problem in Yavapai County. After Sheriff Waugh took office in 2005, he created his Six Point plan that includes these special units designed to fight crime in Yavapai County.

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