Texas Mexican Mafia bust nets cocaine, cash and firearms

Texas Mexican Mafia bust nets cocaine, cash and firearms

By Claire Ricke and Lauren Lanmon
Published: April 15, 2016, 8:08 am Updated: April 15, 2016, 7:16 pm


SEGUIN, Texas (KXAN) — One-hundred and fifty police officers served dozens of arrest warrants Friday morning in an effort to put the Texas Mexican Mafia behind bars.

From federal to state law enforcement, various agencies showed up to assist the Seguin Police Department with the arrest targeting an operation trafficking heroin and cocaine in Seguin and New Braunfels. The effort to arrest the gang-members has been in the works for the past 18 months. An indictment unsealed Friday charges the defendants with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute a controlled substance. Authorities believe the defendants are responsible for distributing heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine in the Seguin and New Braunfels areas since 2010.

Police showed up at multiple homes for the bust.

Officials described the gang members as “treacherous” and “violent.” The alleged leader of the Mafia, “Lieutenant,” is among the eight people arrested. Federal agencies are searching for three men: Adrian Francisco Barbosa (aka “Lil A”), 29; John Gary Ortiz (aka “Big John”), 30,; and Christopher James Davila (aka “Luck”), 32.

Police say the gang supplies drugs from Austin to Houston and they are believed to have ties inside the Texas prison system. Drugs, cars and money are just a small example of what the Seguin police department took off the streets Friday morning.

“When you take kilos off of these folks, it makes a significant dent and when you take cash off of these guys it makes a significant dent as well,” said Seguin Police Department Deputy Chief Bruce Ure.

Fifteen arrests were made with many of those considered to be the leaders of the Mexican Mafia.

“The Mexican mafia is a national organization quite frankly. They are one of the most ruthless and vicious organizations that you can come across. These folks are the ones selling drugs to our kids, and we wanted that to stop,” said Ure.

Seguin police said this was a joint effort that has put a big dent into the Texas Mexican Mafia’s operation in the area, but will not stop here with their efforts.

“We’re realistic enough to know that in a week or so there are people willing to take their spot, but we are going to be there waiting on them,” said Ure.

Seven locations across Guadalupe County were combed for evidence. During this investigation, authorities seized approximately three pounds of heroin, approximately 13 pounds of powder cocaine, one pound of “crystal” methamphetamine, one pound of marijuana, approximately $60,000 in U.S. Currency and six firearms.

Police in Seguin say this is the largest coordinated effort in a criminal investigation the city has ever lead.

Those arrested include:

• Joey Mertz Gonzales (aka “Wheel Chair”), age 47, of Seguin;
• Jeffrey Ozell Sarabia (aka “Guero”), age 43, of Seguin;
• Eddie Flores (aka “Lil E”), age 29, of Seguin;
• Carlos Rios, age 45, of Live Oak, TX;
• David Phillip Urdiales (aka “Termite”), age 37, of New Braunfels;
• Cruz Carlos Acosta, age 36, of New Braunfels;
• Noel Arce, age 44, of Mario, TX; and,
• Mario Albert Leal, Jr. (aka “Lil Man”), age 34, of Seguin.
• Mario Leal, age 34, of Seguin
• Nathan Gamez, age 34, of Seguin
• Bryan Pelcastre, age 28, of Seguin
• Jerry Sarabia, age 32, of Seguin
• Damien Clack, age 30, of Seguin
• Sam Flores, age 33, of Seguin
• Jose Saenz, age 41, of Seguin

If convicted, the suspects face up to 20 years in federal prison.

Previous Texas Mexican Mafia bust

In 2011, 17 members of the Texas Mexican Mafia were arrested and sentenced to a combined total of 309 years in prison. Cocaine, heroin, marijuana, crack and methamphetamines were discovered in the Mafia’s possession.

“They have a history of robbery, aggravated assault on a police officer. There were suspects that had convictions for murder, arson, injury to a child, burglary, and other narcotics, and weapons violations,” said Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo in 2011.

Four of those 17 mafia members arrested in 2011 also faced charges for the August 2010 murder of a Hays County man found in a truck wrapped in plastic.

http://kxan.com/2016/04/15/more-than...in-mafia-bust/

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In 2011, 17 members of the Texas Mexican Mafia were arrested and sentenced to a combined total of 309 years in prison. Cocaine, heroin, marijuana, crack and methamphetamines were discovered in the Mafia’s possession.

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Aren't these the type of people O is letting out early? Article does not mention citizenship or illegal alien status.

Mexican Mafia - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mexican_Mafia
Wikipedia
The Mexican Mafia (Spanish: Mafia Mexicana), also known as La Eme (Spanish for "the M"), is a highly organized Mexican American criminal organization in the United States. Despite its name, the Mexican Mafia did not originate in Mexico and is entirely a U.S. criminal prison organization...

According to Numbers USA......

Quote:

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President Obama and some Members of Congress are pushing the Sentencing Reform Act of 2015, legislation that would roll-back criminal laws that ensure punishment for serious violent drug and gun offenses.

The problem is that non-citizens account for 25% of all drug trafficking convictions and 77% of all federal possession conviction, while only comprising 14% of the population. If these non-citizen criminals are released, it is very unlikely that they will be deported as the Obama administration has shown a reluctance to deport even the most violent criminals.

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Please call Republican U.S. Representatives who are part of the Republican House leadership and urge them to oppose this legislation as it is currently written.

Call Speaker Paul Ryan 202) 225-0600 , Reps. Kevin McCarthy (202) 225-4000, Steve Scalise (202) 225-3015, Cathy McMorris Rodgers (202) 225-5107, and Luke Messer (202) 225-3021 and urge them to oppose the Sentencing Reform Act. [/QUOTE]

talking points listed:
Please oppose the Sentencing Reform Act of 2015 as it is currently written. This legislation would release thousands of dangerous non-citizen offenders at a time when the Obama administration has shown a refusal to deport even the most violent criminal aliens.

Talking point: The Sentencing Reform Act of 2015 would release thousands of criminal aliens onto our streets because we can't trust the Obama administration to deport them.

Talking point: 25% of all federal trafficking convictions and 77% of all drug possession convictions are handed down to non-citizens, with many of these being members of violent gangs such as MS-13. There is no guarantee that the Obama administration would deport these non-citizen criminals.

Talking point: Countless Americans have been maimed and murdered by criminal illegal aliens. Kate Steinle by murdered by an illegal alien who the San Fransisco Police Department refused to hand over to ICE. Countless other Americans, including law enforcement officers, are victims of the administration's refusal to enforce the law.

Talking point: Please do not support the Sentencing Reform Act of 2015 in its current form. The Senate Republican leadership must oppose this legislation if it means non-citizen criminals are released onto our streets.

Talking point: The Sentencing Reform Act could potentially release thousands of criminal aliens convicted of drug or gun offenses at a time when the Obama Administration has essentially dismantled all interior enforcement of our immigration laws. This would put our local communities at risk. Please oppose the Sentencing Reform Act.

Talking point: The illegal-alien killers of Kate Steinle and Detective Michael Davis, Jr. and Deputy Sheriff Danny Oliver were convicted of federal drug offenses before being released from prison. The Sentencing Reform Act could release thousands of more criminal illegal aliens who could pose a serious threat to public safety. Please oppose this legislation.

Talking point: 85% of federal drug possession charges in FY2015 occurred in districts along the Southwest border. The Sentencing Reform Act could release a disproportionate number of non-citizens primarily along the U.S.-Mexico border. Please oppose this potentially dangerous outcome by opposing the Sentencing Reform Act.


Sentencing Reform Legislation Would Disproportionately Favor Non-Citizens.

Tue, Apr 12^th 2016 @ 4:59 pm EDT by Eric Ruark

U.S. prisoner data clearly shows two things. One, the majority of low-level drug offenders are serving their sentences in state, not federal prisons. Two, most of those incarcerated in federal prison for drug charges are non-citizens. While it may be worthwhile to pursue reform at the federal level, it will do very little to address the problems identified by proponents of sentencing reform, and it would do almost nothing to reduce sentences for U.S. citizen drug offenders.

Table 1 shows the percentage breakdown in several categories of the estimated 1.35 million prisoners serving terms in state criminal institutions throughout the United States. Note that 3.6 percent of all prisoners, or 48,600, under state jurisdiction are serving time for drug possession. The remaining drug offenders were convicted for trafficking and other related offenses, such as facilitating the illicit drug trade. The distribution of drug prisoners in state prisons is fairly evenly divided among Whites, Blacks, and Hispanics. A higher proportion of females (24%) than males (15%) are incarcerated for drugs in state prisons.


https://www.numbersusa.com/sites/def...n_Table1v2.png
<sub>Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics, September 2015
* “Includes trafficking and other drug offenses,” (p. 16).</sub>
https://www.numbersusa.com/sites/def...ActFigure1.png
As of April 7, 2016, there were 196,285 prisoners in the custody of the Federal Bureau of Prisons, with 46.5 percent of these prisoners, (91,270) sentenced for drug offenses. The percentage of prisoners incarcerated for drugs is just over two and half times greater than the state prison population. However, overall, there are fewer prisoners serving time in federal prison for drug charges than in state prisons (212,000).
https://www.numbersusa.com/sites/def...onTable2v2.png

_{Source: Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, last updated 3/27/2016
*Federal offenses have been consolidated to correspond with the state classifications in Table 1.}
The Federal government collects data differently for state and federal prisoners. In order to get the breakdown of offenses for federal drug prisoners, data from the U.S Sentencing Commission is available. Looking at sentencing statistics from FY2007 to FY2015, a clear distinction between federal and state prison populations is that the proportion of federal prisoners serving time for drug possession is much higher than for state prisoners, and Hispanics are disproportionately represented among federal drug inmates.
https://www.numbersusa.com/sites/def...ion_Table3.png
_{Source: United States Sentencing Commission}
There is a higher ratio of Hispanics serving drug sentences for both trafficking and possession convictions in federal prisons. As Daniel Horowitz pointed out, this is because many of the drug offenders in federal prison are serving sentences for drug convictions related to the illicit drug trade on the U.S.-Mexico border.

In response to a congressional request regarding sentencing data for federal drug offenses, the U.S. Sentencing Commission sent data showing that 95% of the 305 individuals serving time in federal prison for simple drug offenses are non-citizens and 95.7 % were sentenced in southwest border districts – virtually all of them in Arizona. Furthermore, 95.7 % of the simple possession drug crimes for which offenders are incarcerated involved marijuana and the median weight of the drug involved in cases from border districts was 22,000 grams (approximately 48 pounds). Only 13 simple possession cases were tried in non-border districts in FY 2014.

Figure 2:
https://www.numbersusa.com/sites/def...n%20Chart2.png
_{Source: Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Prisons, last updated Saturday, February 27, 2016}
NumbersUSA has also noted that:

In a letter sent to Sen. Jeff Sessions last fall, the Federal Bureau of Prisons reported that 77% of individuals convicted of federal drug possession charges and more than 25% of individuals convicted of federal drug trafficking charges in FY2015 were non-citizen.

The profile for federal drug prisoners is different than at the state level, and this is why Congress needs to recognize and address these differences when crafting legislation that will effect this population. Federal drug and immigration enforcement are for now inextricably tied together, and Mexican drug cartels are a serious threat to public safety. A serious debate over how to best address the War on Drugs and its effects on American communities can not ignore the immigration component.

Sentencing reform bills reducing penalties for some federal prisoners (S. 2123 and H.R. 3713) are being portrayed by their supporters as a long overdue corrective to harsh sentencing laws for individuals who violate federal drug laws, which they argue create racial disparities in the nation’s prison population.
Reforming drug sentencing laws is one thing. Releasing criminal aliens back into U.S. interior,

is quite another. The Obama Administration has already shown its willingness to do the latter, including those who were deemed to be criminal threats to the public. Without a bill with strong, clear language and, most importantly, a Congress willing to extend oversight over the executive branch, it is plain that the sentencing reform legislation likely to soon come before Congress will accomplish little more than to provide an early release for dangerous criminal aliens, while still failing to hold President Obama to account for his failure to enforce U.S. immigration law.

ERIC RUARK is the Director of Research for NumbersUSA
https://www.numbersusa.com/blog/sent...r-non-citizens




NumbersUSA's blogs are copyrighted and may be republished or reposted only if they are copied in their entirety, including this paragraph, and provide proper credit to NumbersUSA. NumbersUSA bears no responsibility for where our blogs may be republished or reposted. The views expressed in blogs do not necessarily reflect the official position of NumbersUSA.

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