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Murder suspect admits to belonging to violent gang
( Air Date: 2/20/2007 )
A murder suspect admits to being in Saint Joseph illegally and to belonging to a violent gang.

Francisco Ramos is charged with murdering an unidentified Hispanic man in St. Joseph`s mid-town area.

Police found a Triumph Foods I.D. on Ramos and he admits he`s from Guatemala and came here illegally. He`s been working at Triumph under an alias. Ramos told police he`s a member of MS13, one of the toughest, most violent gangs in the nation.

Mara Salvatucha, better known as MS13, is a criminal gang with roots in El Salvador but its branches extend into Central America, The United States and even right into Missouri.

A man accused of murder in midtown St. Joseph admits to being a member.

"He had a large tattoo across his back `the criminals` and then there are certain tattoo markings that indicate that he belongs to that affiliation," St. Joseph Police Commander, Charles Robinson, said.

St. Joseph Police investigators said MS13 members commonly cover themselves in tattoos. They`ve learned to keep an eye out for the unusual.

"We have investigators who are trained in this to understand what markings to look for, what they look like, and also things they might do in a commission of a crime," Robinson said.

Police do not believe the midtown murder is gang-related but say MS13 is making its mark on St. Joseph.
"We`ve noticed the graffiti around, and some of that is definitely MS affiliated," Robinson said.

At least one member, Francisco Ramos, came to the U.S. illegally. Police found a Triumph Foods I.D. card on Ramos the night of the murder. Ramos was using the fake name, Edguardo Matos and a fake I.D. Triumph Foods confirms "Edguardo" is an employee.

"He was here illegally and had been approximately for a year and a half," Robinson said.

Company Representative Patt Lily said it`s just too difficult to spot good fakes. The pork-processing plant uses a national database to match social security numbers to names. Lily said there`s no way to tell how many people are using the same information.

Police said Ramos was an imitation. Immigration and customs enforcement, or "ICE," now has a detainer on him.

"If for whatever reason he`s released from custody, if he bonds out or if charges are dropped, he`ll come into ICE custody," Carl Rusnok, ICE information, said.

Lily said Triumph catches quite a few people with illegal documents trying to get a job but he said they`re turned away.

Police are still working to identify the victim. They aren`t saying what started the fight but said the men lived and worked together.

Ramos is being held at the Buchanan County jail on a $100,000 bond.