Thread: MS-13 Gang Members Arrested in Hawaii

http://khon.com/khon/displayStory.cfm?storyID=12129

Posted: March 17, 2006 05:54 PM


Law enforcement officers arrest two gang members
Manolo Morales


Local law enforcement officers say they've arrested two members of one of the largest and most violent street gangs in the country.

The gang is known as MS 13, and there's concern that there are more members in Hawaii.

The arrests are part of a nationwide crackdown on gangs, led by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, also known as ICE. It's called Operation Community Shield, and it targets foreign nationals with ties to violent street gangs. MS 13 is known as being highly organized, and involved in just about every violent crime in the book.

"They are also known as cop killers. And this is what disturbs me most about these types of organizations," says Ed Kubo, United States Attorney.

The operation here in Hawaii resulted in nine arrests. The two MS 13 gang members, originally from El Salvador, were arrested on Maui for minor drug offenses and traffic violations. Law enforcers say they don't have evidence that the gang is recruiting members here. But MS 13 has a reputation as aggressive recruiters.

"If we don't start getting on top of this now, it's gonna get on top of us," says Kubo.

Law enforcers say MS 13's reputation might sound appealing to Hawaii youths, especially at a time when gangster life is glamorized in hip hop music.

"We're afraid of them seeing one of these guys coming in, and the so-called hard core gang members, and looking towards them and see them as God, frankly," says Detective Clyde Holokai, Maui Police Department.

So local police departments are teaming up with state and federal law enforcement agencies for an aggressive fight against gang activity.

"We want the message to get out to the immigration community, specifically the unlawful immigration community, that we're not gonna tolerate any of these gang members in our community," says Wayne Wills, Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

They also want the community's help. People are asked to be on the lookout for suspicious gang activity.

Anyone see that story months ago, saying the people of Hawaii were fed up with the Asian immigrants, as they were killing their pet dogs and eating them????

Eating their dogs? OMG, how sick!!!!!!!!!! My dog is my baby, I'd rather eat bugs and worms, than eat a dog

http://kgmb9.com/kgmb/display.cfm?storyID=7488

Posted: March 17, 2006 10:01 PM

Dangerous Gang Targeted On Maui
Jim Mendoza - jmendoza@kgmb9.com


It's known for its tattoos and its violence, but police say of all Hispanic street gangs, MS-13 is the most dangerous.

"They're involved in alien smuggling, assaults, drive-by shootings, homicides, ID theft, prostitution activities, robbery and weapons trafficking," said U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo.

In the past year, U.S. Immigration and Customs agents and local police arrested nine gang members in Hawaii. Seven arrests were on Maui. Two were MS-13 members.

One of the men arrested was from a rival gang called 18th Street. Javier Martinez-Aarellano was charged with illegally entering the United States. He's serving a 16-month sentence.

"The patrol officers noticed the '18s' all over his body and they recognized that to be gang related tattoos," said Maui detective Clyde Holokai.

Most of the other gang members were extradited to other states for deportation. Federal agents say MS-13 recruits in prisons and on the street. Now it's feared the gang is going after young people here.

"We're afraid of them seeing one of these so-called hardcore gang members as God," Holokai said.

Youth gangs have been around for decades but MS-13 does more than mark territory. It commits murder, often using machetes as their weapons of choice.

Cops say kids in Hawaii need to be warned.

"We need to grab them and to somehow change their lifestyle and their thinking," Kubo said.

MS-13 got its start in El Salvador. About 10,000 members are in the U.S. Local police don't know how many are here, but the arrests prove MS-13 has found its way to Hawaii.

http://starbulletin.com/2006/03/18/news/story08.html

2 gang members arrested on Maui
The men are part of a Hispanic gang known for violence
By Rod Antone
rantone@starbulletin.com
Two members of one of the largest and most violent Hispanic gangs in the country were identified and arrested on Maui earlier this year, local police and federal law enforcement officials said yesterday.

Adin Coca and Francisco Orlando Osegueda-Gochez were arrested in February for crimes on Maui and were identified by members of the Maui Police Department gang detail as having an affiliation with the Salvadoran gang Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13, officials said.

Though neither man was arrested for offenses directly involving gang activity, federal officials said they were worried about gang members' presence in Hawaii because of the violence to which MS-13 has been linked.

"MS-13 smuggles illicit drugs, primarily powdered cocaine and marijuana, into the United States and are known to transport and distribute the drugs throughout the country," said U.S. Attorney Ed Kubo. "They are also involved in alien smuggling, assault, drive-by shooting, homicides, ID theft, prostitution operations, robbery and weapons trafficking."

According to the FBI and other federal officials, members of MS-13 in other states have also been affiliated with hacking off the fingers of their rivals with machetes, murdering suspected informants -- one of them a 17-year-old pregnant girl -- and attacking and threatening law enforcement officers, including the execution of three federal agents. The organization reportedly has 30,000 to 50,000 members internationally, of which 8,000 to 10,000 are in the United States.

The two MS arrests on Maui were part of Operation Shield, a nationwide anti-gang initiative led by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Working with county police, FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office, Operation Shield arrested, and in most cases deported, a total of nine foreign gang members statewide.

"Street gangs pose a growing public safety threat to communities throughout the state of Hawaii," said Wayne Willis, special agent in charge for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Honolulu. "The violence, sophistication and scope of these organizations have reached intolerable levels in larger metropolitan areas."

Some, like Coca, were arrested for nongang-related offenses such as driving under the influence, domestic abuse and contempt of court warrants but were later identified as gang members through tattoos and other gang paraphernalia. Coca admitted being an MS-13 member, and he identified Osegueda-Gochez as another member, officials said.

Maui detective Clyde Holokai said Coca had been living on Maui for eight years and was working in the construction business but was still getting new MS-related tattoos.

"He had one with the demon with devil horns. ... That one was fresh," Holokai said. "He wasn't active but the affiliation was there."

Osegueda-Gochez was said to have an alias complete with a fake green card and fake Social Security card, which were used to get on a domestic flight to Hawaii and get employment on Maui. The other gang members who were deported by federal officials include:

» Cuong Ricky Hoang, member of the Vietnamese Black Crew, arrested April 5. Honolulu police officials said Hoang was involved in a home invasion robbery in Colorado and was considered armed and dangerous.

» Javier Martinez Arrellano, member of the Mexican 18th Street gang out of Los Angeles, arrested Aug. 23. Federal officials said he has illegally entered the United States three times and been deported three times and that prior convictions include carrying a concealed weapon and grand theft auto. When Maui police tried to arrest him for disorderly conduct in August, he was allegedly trying to run over one officer while yelling gang slogans in Spanish.

» Edgar Pacheco-Rojo, a 17-year-old member of the Mexican 13th Street gang out of California, arrested Nov. 29 on Maui for possession of burglary tools, auto theft and a drug offense.

» Tu Huang, member of the Vietnamese Black Crew, arrested Dec. 21 in Kahuku. Huang along with Hoang fled to Hawaii after being sought by Colorado police for a home invasion robbery there.

» Christian Alberto Apodaca-Flores, member of the Mexican Surenos gang, an umbrella organization in California that includes the 18th Street gang. Maui police arrested Apodaca-Flores on Feb. 11 for driving without a license.

» Alejandro Arroyo-Rivas, member of the Mexican Surenos gang, arrested Feb. 28 for possessing false identification.

» Gregory Yoo Baik Nagao of South Korea, member of the CIRCO Boys gang in Honolulu. He was arrested March 2, and prior convictions include first-degree robbery and possession of a sawed-off shotgun. Federal officials said he came to Hawaii as a child and was here legally in the United States but violated his green card by his felony convictions.

Kubo said with the war on terror, federal law enforcement agencies have had to put domestic problems such as gangs on the back burner, something they cannot afford to do any longer.

"We will aggressively investigate and prosecute any member of these vicious gangs who are a threat to the safety and welfare of our citizens in Hawaii," Kubo said. "If we don't get on top of this now, it's going to get on top of us."