Friday, 25 January 2008
Fugitive on ICE's 10 "Most Wanted" list captured in Los Angeles
MS-13 gang member sought for questioning by LAPD in several homicides

LOS ANGELES - A Mexican national street gang member featured on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) list of 10 "Most Wanted" fugitives was captured yesterday in Los Angeles, ending a four-year manhunt.

David Rivera, 33, is expected to make his initial appearance in federal court here this morning on felony charges of re-entering the United States following a formal deportation, a violation that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The MS-13 member, whose criminal history includes prior arrests on narcotics and sexual assault charges and a conviction for firearms possession, is also wanted for questioning in connection with several gang and drug-related murders.

Rivera was taken into custody by ICE agents yesterday afternoon at an apartment complex in the Rampart section of Los Angeles. When Rivera realized officers were closing in, he attempted to flee out the back of the property. In addition to capturing Rivera, ICE agents arrested two other suspected gang associates on administrative immigration violations. Officers and detectives from the Los Angeles Police Department's Rampart Division assisted with the arrests.

"This arrest is the pay off for perseverance, great police work, and partnership with local law enforcement," said Jennifer Silliman, deputy special agent in charge of the ICE office of investigations in Los Angeles. "We will continue to work closely with our law enforcement counterparts in Los Angeles to target gang members like this man who put our communities and neighborhoods at risk."

Rivera's arrest is part of Operation Community Shield, an ongoing national initiative in which ICE is partnering with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to address the public safety threat posed by transnational gangs. Since Operation Community Shield was launched in February 2005, ICE agents nationwide have arrested more than 7,000 gang members and associates from more than 700 different street gangs. Those taken into custody include approximately 2,600 individuals arrested on criminal charges and more than 5,400 subjects arrested on administrative immigration violations.
http://www.borderfirereport.net/latest/ ... geles.html