Thread: 2 MS-13-Linked Gangsters Sought in Death of Honor Student

2 With MS-13 Links Sought in Bus Death


By Dan Morse
Washington Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, November 11, 2008; B02


Montgomery County police announced yesterday that they were searching for two suspects in the fatal shooting of a 14-year-old honor student on a county transit bus in Silver Spring, and a judge ordered a third suspect be held without bond.

Prosecutors said Hector M. Hernandez's status as an alleged gang member and illegal immigrant made him a flight risk. "MS-13 is known to have international and national ties and [is] known to sequester individuals who flee from justice," Assistant State's Attorney Jeffrey Wennar said at a bond hearing, referring to the gang Mara Salvatrucha.

Wennar also said Hernandez, 20, was arrested last month on a weapons charge. In that case, the Takoma Park resident, the alleged gunman in the Nov. 1 bus slaying, was released without anyone realizing he was in the country illegally.

The killing a month later was the first in the Maryland suburbs in more than a year that police have publicly linked to MS-13. The two suspects being sought -- Gilmar Leonardo Romero, 20, and Mario Ernesto Milan-Canales, 30 -- also are affiliated with the gang, police said.

Police said Romero will be charged with first-degree murder and Milan-Canales with accessory after the fact for first-degree murder. A police spokesman yesterday did not know their immigration status.

Police have said Hernandez boarded a Ride On bus in Silver Spring with a group of friends. Hernandez's group exchanged words with a larger group, none of them known to be gang members, police said. Investigators say the group that included Hernandez got off the bus near Piney Branch Road and Arliss Street.

As they got off, witnesses said, one member of the group held a rear door open, and Hernandez fired several shots into the bus, killing Tai Lam and striking two other teenagers inside.

Hernandez is charged with first-degree murder. Neither Wennar nor the charging documents suggested a specific motive for the shooting.

An attorney from the public defender's office did not address the specifics of the charges and indicated that Hernandez would be retaining a private attorney.

Early in October, Hernandez was arrested after police found him with a knife in his pocket, according to a charging document. Authorities ran a standard warrant search, which would have picked up if he was wanted by immigration officials, said Arthur Wallestein, director of the county's Department of Correction and Rehabilitation. At the time, he was not.

As a matter of policy, unlike in neighboring Frederick County, Montgomery jail officials do not routinely go beyond a warrant check to investigate whether suspects are in the country legally.

In Frederick, under an agreement with federal immigration officials, detainees at the jail are asked where they were born and whether they are citizens, which can trigger a series of immigration-related questions, Sheriff Chuck Jenkins said.

Those suspected of being illegal immigrants are held in the jail while federal officials are notified, he said. Since April, about 9 percent have proven to be illegal immigrants, he said.

Jenkins said Montgomery's policies have made it "a sanctuary county."

Frederick's strategy has drawn criticism from Hispanic and civil rights groups, who say it has spread alarm across the local immigrant population.

In Montgomery, officials have taken the position that cracking down on immigration in that way could backfire. Immigrants who witness crime or are victims of it might retreat into the shadows, Montgomery law enforcement authorities say.

County Executive Isiah Leggett (D) said the county attempts to assist immigration officials without conducting what he said are potentially discriminatory inquiries. He called Jenkins's characterization of the county "over the top" and said, "I think he doesn't fully understand what we're doing."

Montgomery police often run warrant checks on people they arrest. If a suspect is wanted by immigration officials, police policy is to take him or her into custody and notify immigration authorities.

Since the bus shooting, federal authorities have placed an immigration detainer on Hernandez.

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Police Arrest One In Bus Shooting

November 12, 2008

By Joe Slaninka


Police say the man responsible for killing a Montgomery Blair High School honors student in an unprovoked shooting on a crowded bus is not only a member of a notorious street gang, but an illegal alien as well.

On Monday, Montgomery County police said they arrested a 20-year-old man and obtained warrants for two other suspects in connection with the murder of 14-year-old Tai Lam on Nov. 1.

Police arrested Hector Mauricio Hernandez, of Takoma Park, on Friday, Nov. 7 and charged him with first-degree murder, after he allegedly shot a handgun into a crowded bus after exiting, striking and killing Lam, 14, and injuring two other teenagers.

Hernandez, along with three to four other individuals, reportedly got into a verbal altercation with a large group of teenagers, before leaving the bus, according to police.

Cao Lam, Tai's 16-year-old brother, was on the bus at the time of the shooting and says there was no dispute and that the gunman was unprovoked. "It was like he was ready to shoot anybody," Cao said.

The three teens were transported to area hospitals where Lam eventually died from his injuries. The other two victims have been released and are expected to fully recover, police said.

Montgomery County Police Chief Thomas Manger said Hernandez is an illegal immigrant and a member of Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, an international gang from Central America that has a very strong presence in the D.C. region.

"As far as the activities and membership of MS-13, it is one of the most prolific gangs in the area," said Captain Don Johnson, commander of District 3, where the murder occurred.

Police, along with several county officials, including County Executive Isiah Leggett and Councilmember Valerie Ervin, held a community meeting Monday, and discussed how to prevent these crimes from happening.

After a video was played containing Montgomery Blair students' stories of Lam and their farewells to him, and a statement made by Lam's sister, Quy Lam, thanking the community for their support of her and her family, police announced at the meeting that they obtained arrest warrants for two other suspects in the shooting.

Police said they are searching for Gilmar Leonardo Romero and Mario Ernesto Milan-Canales, who they said accompanied Hernandez at the time of the shooting. Romero will be charged with first-degree murder and Milan-Canales will be charged with accessory after the fact for first-degree murder, police said.

According to police, they believe that Romero and Milan-Canales are members of MS-13 as well. They are both described as Hispanic males, ages 20 and 30, respectively. Romero is 5-feet-1-inch tall, weighing 120 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair. Milan-Canales is 5-feet-3-inches tall, weighing 140 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair.

According to police, Hernandez was previously arrested on Oct. 3 and charged with carrying a concealed weapon, a switch blade knife. "He was taken before the commissioner's office, and the commissioner released him on personal recognizance," Manger said.

According to Manger, there was no detainer put on Hernandez while he was in custody.


Brad Botwin, director of Help Save Maryland, said he is "blaming" Leggett for the murder because of his refusal to train police officers in accordance with Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act. "Ike Leggett has blood on his hands as a result from the latest murder, and will only serve one term for his lawless ways," Botwin said.

Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act "authorizes the secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to enter into agreements with state and local law enforcement agencies, permitting designated officers to perform immigration law enforcement functions ... provided that the local law enforcement officers receive appropriate training and function under the supervision of sworn U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers."

The Montgomery Blair students raised $5,000 last week to help pay for Lam's funeral and a scholarship fund, in honor of him, was proposed at the meeting as well, Monday night.

Sybil Brown, the president of the Student Government Association at Blair, said they plan to sell T-shirts with Lam's picture in memory of him. The proceeds will help fund a memorial that will be placed somewhere in the school, she said.

http://www.thesentinel.com/293080690591590.php

Article from the front page of this newspaper where the above article was found:

You're not a hyphen

By Brian J. Karem

As I read the story about the young gang member who shot up a local bus and killed an honor student at Blair High School I was not only moved by the apparent lack of humanity in the shooter, but by everyone else commenting on it - I don't think anybody gets the point.

It isn't about Mexican-Americans, or Latino-Americans. It isn't about undocumented workers or illegal aliens.

Gang violence is a manifestation of the destruction of family life.

No father in the home = gang member. Not always. But the causative effect is there often enough.

Boys join gangs to seek approval, friendship and family. As twisted and as "Lord of the Flies" it sounds, it is true.

That these associations become dangerous is not too hard to understand. Without a father figure kicking some butt in a household with teenage boys, anything is possible.

That's all there is to it. Stronger families = fewer gang members. Not always, but often enough.

That we resort to crying about how it's unfair being a "hyphenated" American is not only missing the point, but for me a very angering experience.

As a young boy I asked my grandfather, who fled Lebanon because of religious persecution (long story for another time) why he no longer spoke Arabic.

I mean all I ever learned of it were a few nursery rhymes, the names of forks and knives and a healthy vocabulary of cuss words.

My grandfather explained that once our family came to this country that we were "Americans," and had to learn the language. He wouldn't allow Arabic to be spoken - well unless he wanted to curse in a language few others could understand.

That's how I was raised. One country. One voice. One language.

We're Americans. We live in the United States of America and we speak English.

Now we find ourselves in a time where it's almost heresy to think that way.

Angelica Salas of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles spoke out after the recent general election saying that she wants to halt work-site immigration raids and says that since her group of voters cast "millions" of votes for President-Elect Barack Obama, she is "going to demand progress in the millions."

Her progress sounds like regression.

There are no Illegal-Americans, just Americans. If you're here illegally, then you're not an American. And if you live here for more than a dozen years then there's no reason why you can't speak English. My grandfather learned it. We didn't lose our heritage in the process.

I can still make the best Lebanese dishes around. I enjoy watching my distant cousins belly-dance and I'm prejudiced enough to believe that Lebanon is a great place to visit, but I live in the United States. I was born an American.

I don't believe in my country, love it or leave it.

I believe it is our country with one voice, one language.

A house divided against itself cannot stand, Abraham Lincoln told us.

Never has that been truer than today.

We cannot survive trying to serve two masters.

Immigrants, legal and otherwise came to this country for the opportunity that brought our ancestors here. I have nothing against that. I encourage it. I relish it. I support it.

But those MS-13 gang-bangers who shot the honor student at Blair weren't fresh off the boat. They lived here. They were Americans.

The millions of Latino voters who voted for Obama were not Latino-Americans. The millions of Black voters who helped elect Obama weren't African-Americans any more than the millions of white voters who voted for him were White-Americans.

My grandfather was right. If you come here, then you join us all in the great melting pot that is the United States of America.

You're not a hyphen. You're an American.

And so am I.

http://www.thesentinel.com/318932221252480.php

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Readers' letters to "Gazette.Net" (Maryland):

Wednesday, Nov. 19, 2008

Readers observe: Shooting suspect was illegal, armed

The Nov. 12 article, reporting that bail was denied to the man suspected of killing a teenage boy on a county bus, lays out the facts but resists drawing a key conclusion.

Less than a month before Tai Lam, 14, was shot to death, police had arrested Hector Mauricio Hernandez, who was charged in the boy's shooting, on concealed weapons charges. Rather than detain Hernandez, police released the man — an undocumented immigrant — on his own recognizance.

The Gazette reported that Hernandez had no prior criminal charges. However, Tai Lam would be alive today if the police did not look the other way on immigration violations. Now the police should have to look Tai's mother in the eyes and explain that to her.

I have enormous sympathy for hardworking immigrants. But the county's policy on this issue is irrational.

Tony Ieronimo, Rockville


In light of the recent alleged murder by an illegal immigrant on Nov. 1 in Silver Spring, I propose that when an arrest is made for a violent crime (both misdemeanors and felonies), the suspect is subjected to an immigration status check. If they are found to be here illegally, then they should be detained and deported.

If everyone is checked, then there can be no charge of racial profiling. If there is an objection to this by groups like Casa of Maryland, then it is tacit consent for violent criminal behavior.

There are instant checks for firearms. Why can't we do the same for immigration status?

Andrew Magno, Derwood


I was disappointed that the Nov. 12 article and many official discussions of the tragic shooting of Blair High School student Tai Lam failed to address the easily concealed handgun used to kill an innocent victim on public transportation.

As a community addressing gangs or any other type of violence, we will not make real progress until we first decide that our kids, our families and our safety are more important than easy access to guns. Long-term efforts on curbing gangs is fine, but our priority should be to address reasonable restrictions on guns and especially handguns, which will also greatly help to curb the alarming rate of domestic violence.

We can no longer shrug off deaths like Lam's without looking in the mirror and asking: "Why was that gun there, and how could we have prevented it?" The media owe it to us all to ask and report in detail about guns used in every violent crime so we can start thinking of practical solutions. Lessen the impact of gun violence by focusing on the weapon first. Fix gangs and criminals in society later.

Gun owners and enthusiasts who bristle at this simple plan should ask themselves how they can justify a hobby or the illusion of self-protection as more important than Lam's life or any life.

Bonnie Beavers, Chevy Chase


Open letter to County Executive Isiah Leggett:

I find it interesting that you find "that the immigration issue is a thorny one on many fronts." If you were going to be honest, you would recognize I am talking about illegal immigration, not "immigration," as you put it.

The recent murder of a 14-year-old student from Blair High School by an illegal immigrant from El Salvador is something you will have to live with for the rest of your life. The illegal immigrant was picked up more than a month ago by county police. He was carrying an illegal weapon but was released by the police department.

You have created a "sanctuary" county in Montgomery County. The quality of life has diminished over the last 10 to 15 years ( I have lived here since 1974). My family has decided to move out of the county rather than arm ourselves to feel protected.

Les Francis, Rockville

http://www.gazette.net/stories/11192008 ... 2475.shtml

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Gang member sentenced to 50 years in prison for teen's death
Man convicted of killing Montgomery Blair freshman after altercation on Ride On bus
by Jason Tomassini | Staff Writer

A 21-year-old gang member from Takoma Park was sentenced to 50 years in prison Thursday nearly a year after shooting and killing a high school freshman on a Montgomery County bus.

Hector Mauricio Hernandez, of the 8600 block of Flower Avenue in Takoma Park, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for first-degree murder and 10 years each for two counts of first-degree assault in Montgomery County Circuit Court Thursday. On Nov. 1, 2008, Hernandez shot and killed 14-year-old Montgomery Blair High School freshman Tai Lam after an altercation on a Ride On bus near the intersection of Flower Avenue and Piney Branch Road. Hernandez also shot and wounded two teens riding with Lam.

Hernandez pleaded guilty to those charges, and one count of use of a handgun in the commission of a crime of violence, in May. He received five years in prison for the handgun charge, which will run concurrently to the other sentences. He will be eligible for parole in 25 years.

"You took a young boy's life," said Circuit Court Judge Michael D. Mason before sentencing Hernandez to a harsher sentence than the 15 to 45 years the sentencing guidelines recommended. "He was 14 years of age and nothing would suggest he did anything to contribute to or bring upon his own death."

In an emotional sentencing, families of both Hernandez and Lam met for the first time, both pleading for their respective loved ones to be judged appropriately.

Hernandez's family and lawyers portrayed a young man with a troubled childhood, gaining only a first-grade education before being forced to work to support his family as a 7-year-old in El Salvador, after his father committed suicide. He came to the United States in 2004 to support his mother and three sisters and he has since had a daughter, his family and friends said.

"Everybody deserves a second chance, when you get to know him you'll know he is a good person," Sonia Hernandez, a family friend, said in court.

Prosecutors and Lam's family focused not on the childhood Hernandez didn't have, but the childhood he took from Lam, a popular honors student whose death sparked a wave of activism from teenagers in the Silver Spring area.

"He was my only friend," said his brother Lam Cao, 17, when he slowly and softly addressed Mason, asking for a sentence of 100 years as his mother Ngoc Lam wept nearby. Cao and Hernandez did not make eye contact during the sentencing.

But when he spoke briefly Thursday, Hernandez did apologize to the Lam family before asking Mason for mercy.

"I'd like to prove that somebody who is a gang member can make a change to their life," Hernandez, wearing a green prison jumpsuit with a long-sleeve white t-shirt underneath, said through an interpreter.

Prior to Hernandez's testimony, his public defender Audrey Creighton reiterated that her client was not yet an official member of the violent street gang MS-13, but had contact with them that he was trying to break off. But prosecutors and Mason didn't buy the claims.

In an incident on Oct. 3, 2008, Hernandez was arrested while in possession of a pocket knife after reports that he harassed a student at Northwood High School in Silver Spring. In an interview with the arresting officer and Montgomery County Police Third District gang coordinator, Detective Scott Webster, Hernandez said he "jumped into" MS-13 at age 14 while in El Salvador, Webster testified Thursday. "Jumping into" a gang is a form of induction into MS-13, Webster said, where members of the gang surround the prospective member and beat him for 13 seconds for him to gain admittance.

Webster also found a digital camera on Hernandez with recent photos of him in MS-13 apparel and flashing gang signs. Hernandez has an MS-13 tattoo on his arm. Webster testified that Hernandez told him he was in the MS-13 faction "Normandy Locos Salvatrucha," which is based in the Piney Branch Road and University Boulevard area of Silver Spring.

"A person who wants to leave the gang life is not going to continue to represent that gang," said Jeffrey Wennar, an Assistant State's Attorney for Montgomery County who prosecuted the case.

Months prior to the shooting, Hernandez was attacked twice by rival gangs and had to be admitted to the hospital, said Creighton. He began carrying a gun for protection, she said.

As Lam, his brother Cao and their friends were traveling home from downtown Silver Spring Nov. 1, someone was tripped and it started an altercation between Hernandez's group and Lam's group, Creighton said. Insults were shouted and Lam's group began throwing things and spitting at Hernandez's group, Creighton said.

When Hernandez's group left the bus Hernandez took out his gun and shot back into it, killing Lam and injuring two others.

Gilmar Leonardo Romero, 20, was with Hernandez on the night of the shooting and pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact for second-degree murder. He is facing deportation. Mario Ernesto Milan-Canales, 30, pleaded guilty to hindrance and obstruction of a police officer.

In past court hearings, Hernandez has been identified as an undocumented immigrant and the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency has filed a detainer for Hernandez since his arrest. A detainer was filed for Romero as well. A detainer flags suspected illegal immigrants who are in the custody of other law enforcement agencies if ICE believes an immigration law has been violated and holds them for possible federal charges and deportation proceedings after they serve their sentence.

www.gazette.net

Another Anchor Baby for United States Taxpayers to Support!

Noting Hernandez has a daughter, Judge Michael Mason said, "His daughter will never know her father except from behind bars."

Man gets 50 years in fatal shooting of boy on bus
October 8, 2009 - 6:53pm

Kate Ryan, WTOP.com

ROCKVILLE, Md. - A 21-year-old Silver Spring man has been sentenced to 50 years for killing one teenager and shooting two others.

At his sentencing, Hector Hernandez, who admitted to being a member of MS-13, was told by the judge he will "spend more time in jail than you have alive on this earth."

Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Michael Mason cited the fact that although Hernandez had a difficult childhood, his actions on November 1, 2008 resulted in the death of 14-year-old Tai Lam, a high school freshman.

Mason said Hernandez' actions also "devastated, if not destroyed" the lives of two other teens who were shot in the same incident.

Hernandez entered a guilty plea to the shootings, which took place on a Ride-On bus in Silver Spring. Hernandez had some sort of altercation with a group on the bus. When Hernandez got off, he took out a gun, and fired into the bus, killing Lam, a Montgomery Blair High school student, and injuring two others.

During the sentencing hearing, Hernandez' sobbing mother told the judge she didn't think her son was bad, saying that "He was my help. He would go and sell tamales on the street," in order to help support the family.

Tai Lam's older brother Lam Cao, addressed the court to on how the family had been affected. In a barely audible voice, Cao said his mother would break down, anytime, anywhere, still grieving over the loss. He also pointed out how painful it was that the incident happened so close to home, and that the family lost their sense of security.

When he was called on to speak before sentencing, Hernandez apologized to both the victim's families and to his own, saying "I failed them."

Noting Hernandez has a daughter, Judge Michael Mason said, "His daughter will never know her father except from behind bars."

Prosecutors say Hernandez was a member of the MS-13 gang.

(Copyright 2009 by WTOP. All rights reserved.)


Kate Ryan, WTOP.com

ROCKVILLE, Md. - A 21-year-old Silver Spring man has been sentenced to 50 years for killing one teenager and shooting two others.

At his sentencing, Hector Hernandez, who admitted to being a member of MS-13, was told by the judge he will "spend more time in jail than you have alive on this earth."

Montgomery County Circuit Court Judge Michael Mason cited the fact that although Hernandez had a difficult childhood, his actions on November 1, 2008 resulted in the death of 14-year-old Tai Lam, a high school freshman.

Mason said Hernandez' actions also "devastated, if not destroyed" the lives of two other teens who were shot in the same incident.

Hernandez entered a guilty plea to the shootings, which took place on a Ride-On bus in Silver Spring. Hernandez had some sort of altercation with a group on the bus. When Hernandez got off, he took out a gun, and fired into the bus, killing Lam, a Montgomery Blair High school student, and injuring two others.

During the sentencing hearing, Hernandez' sobbing mother told the judge she didn't think her son was bad, saying that "He was my help. He would go and sell tamales on the street," in order to help support the family.

Tai Lam's older brother Lam Cao, addressed the court to on how the family had been affected. In a barely audible voice, Cao said his mother would break down, anytime, anywhere, still grieving over the loss. He also pointed out how painful it was that the incident happened so close to home, and that the family lost their sense of security.

When he was called on to speak before sentencing, Hernandez apologized to both the victim's families and to his own, saying "I failed them."

Noting Hernandez has a daughter, Judge Michael Mason said, "His daughter will never know her father except from behind bars."

Prosecutors say Hernandez was a member of the MS-13 gang.

(Copyright 2009 by WTOP. All rights reserved.)

http://wtop.com/?nid=598&sid=1781545

n an incident on Oct. 3, 2008, Hernandez was arrested while in possession of a pocket knife after reports that he harassed a student at Northwood High School in Silver Spring. In an interview with the arresting officer and Montgomery County Police Third District gang coordinator, Detective Scott Webster, Hernandez said he "jumped into" MS-13 at age 14 while in El Salvador, Webster testified Thursday.

If this POS had been turned over to ICE then and deported this tragedy wouldn't have happened!