Suspected gang member will be deported again after kids' pony ride pics on Facebook smoke him out




Dilbert E. Coreas, 22, of West Palm Beach pleaded guilty to a federal charge… (Sun Sentinel )

October 30, 2013|By Paula McMahon, Sun Sentinel

A suspected member of a ruthless criminal gang will be deported — again — after he snuck back into the U.S. and got caught because he posted photos of himself online running pony rides and bounce houses for South Florida kids' parties.

Investigators say Dilbert Coreas, 22, of West Palm Beach, is a suspected member of the notorious Central American gang Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13). He was deported to his native El Salvador in November after serving time in state prison for drug-related crimes.



Coreas, who has distinctive tattoos of a large cross and a tear drop on his face, caught the attention of detectives from the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office gang unit when they saw pictures that he posted on Facebook to promote his mother's party-planning business, It'z A Kidz World Party Planning & Rentals.

On Wednesday, Coreas apologized to a federal judge in West Palm Beach for sneaking back into the country just two weeks after he was deported to El Salvador.

Coreas has two sons, ages 4 and 6, from a prior relationship, and his girlfriend is expecting the couple's daughter to be born in early December. Coreas lived in the U.S. since he was 5 and only got to know his father for the first time during the brief period he recently spent in El Salvador, his lawyer said.

"The reason I came back really was because of my kids," Coreas told the judge. "I don't know my country, I don't really have any family there — just my dad and grandpa. That's really the reason I came back."

Coreas will be deported again, U.S. District Judge Donald Middlebrooks ordered, when he finishes serving a year and a day in federal prison for illegally re-entering the country after deportation.

"While it's no excuse for the violation, it's understandable … since he spent most of his life in the U.S.," the judge said.
Coreas pleaded guilty to the federal offense in August and faced up to 20 years in prison, though sentencing guidelines recommended a punishment of 18 months to two years in prison.

Prosecutors recommended a punishment of 18 months, but Assistant Federal Public Defender Lori Barrist said her client deserved a lesser punishment.

"Since he's been back, he's had absolutely no criminal problems," Barrist told the judge.

Coreas' family denied he had anything to do with MS-13 or any gang and said he and his family received death threats in El Salvador.

The MS-13 gang is known as a particularly violent criminal organization that is involved in drug trafficking, human trafficking, kidnaps and murders, according to federal authorities. It was started by immigrants from El Salvador in the Los Angeles area in the 1980s and claims about 30,000 members worldwide.


The judge complimented Coreas' girlfriend, Katia Morales, on a letter she wrote pleading for mercy and begging for a second chance for him. The judge said Coreas will be deported.

"I know everybody is responsible for their own actions and we are very aware of that, but his kids all need their father in their lives," Morales wrote.

Coreas is an excellent father and was determined to change his life, a goal he hoped to attain by working hard for his mother's business, she said. Records show the Miramar-based company went out of business for lack of profits.
"It's the way he looks because of his tattoos that make people assume he is a gang-related individual. He regrets his tattoos and already had plans to laser any visible tattoos off his face, neck and hands," Morales wrote.

Coreas was deported after serving state prison time for 2009 convictions for possession of cocaine with intent to sell, tampering with evidence and resisting arrest in Palm Beach County.

Barrist told the family that he has already served much of his federal prison sentence and will be deported in about five months — and would face a much harsher prison sentence if he is caught returning again.

pmcmahon@tribune.com, 954-356-4533 or Twitter @SentinelPaula

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