10 accused in Texas Syndicate killing of Serrano

By JASON BUCH, LAREDO MORNING TIMES
06/26/2008

Ten people have been indicted in connection with a killing prosecutors allege was a botched kidnapping attempt carried out by members and associates of the Texas Syndicate prison gang on behalf of the Zetas. Juan Manuel "Pugs" Marquez Rodriguez, 27, is charged in the indictment with murder in the Dec. 21, 2006, death of Julio A. Serrano.

He and nine others were indicted last week in state district court. Only Marquez is charged with murder. All 10 face charges of criminal conspiracy and engaging in organized criminal activity involving the attempted kidnapping of Serrano, which resulted in Serrano's death.

The nine co-defendants are: Jose Luis Romero Navarro, 25; Sergio "Pelon" Oslan Rivera, 27; Raul Javier Muñoz, 41; Jesus Alejandro Campos, 29; Jose Manuel "Whiskey" Nuñez Sanchez, 23; Tomas "Tom Cat" Barrera, 38; Sixto Salinas, age unavailable; Rodolfo "Rudy" Moreno Jr., age available; and Diego Pequeño, 23.

If convicted on the conspiracy count, they each face up to 20 years in prison.

Members of the Gulf Cartel's Zetas faction hired Barrera, who investigators said is a top-ranking member in Laredo of the Syndicate prison gang, to have Serrano, a Sinaloa Cartel hit man, kidnapped and brought to Mexico, according to a criminal complaint filed by Laredo police.

The kidnapping went awry, and Marquez shot and killed Serrano, the complaint alleges.

Most of the defendants were arrested in a November sweep by Laredo police.

Salinas, Nuñez and Oslan were in federal custody at the time of the arrest.

Salinas was arrested last October in Laredo on racketeering charges out of a federal court in Dallas. He pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy to conduct the affairs of a racketeering enterprise and admitted to being a Syndicate member and to shooting and killing Juan Silva Barrera on Sept. 25, 2004, in Dallas. He's scheduled to be sentenced in the Barrera case in August.

Oslan is serving more than seven years in prison and Nuñez is serving 10 years on a federal weapons conviction. The convictions stem from a case where Oslan and Nuñez broke into the house of a federal witness who owned maquinitas and shot at him in November 2006.

(Jason Buch may be reached at 728-2547 or by e-mail at jbuch@lmtonline.com)

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?news ... 9392&rfi=6