Notorious MS-13 gang surfaces in Hillsborough County (Tampa, Fla.)
THE TAMPA TRIBUNE
TAMPA — A ruthless street gang with a reputation for cutting off rivals’ fingers and carving up snitches with machetes appears to have a foothold here.
They are the Mara Salvatruchas, or MS-13, and a week ago, Hillsborough County deputies arrested three members in a northwest county neighborhood after they tried to persuade a Honduran man to “join us or die,” Sgt. Scott Wellinger said.
Fortunately for the man, a deputy was driving by and saw him gesture for help. Recognizing what appeared to be gang tattoos on the suspects, he called for backup.
The victim, a 38-year-old illegal immigrant, told the MS-13 that he was too old to join their gang and wasn’t interested, Wellinger said. One man shoved him, and when he shoved back, the rebuff angered the MS-13 enough for one to raise his shirt to expose the handle of what turned out to be a pellet gun.
For weeks, deputies heard from tipsters that the gang was making its presence known on the streets through intimidation and threats, but the July 30 arrests became the first official record of an MS-13 presence in the county.
And where there are three, there are likely to be more, Wellinger said. It’s going to take time to find out how many. It’s unlikely an MS-13 problem would keep to the north end with plenty of Hispanic migrants for the gang to target in eastern and southern portions, he said.
Detectives suspect each of the men arrested are in the country illegally. Court records show they were all born in Central American countries.
Frank Dasaro, assistant special agent in charge of Tampa’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement office, said his agency is committed to targeting MS-13 members in the country illegally.
“They are the next big problem as far as gangs,” he said. “When you remember California, there were the Crips and Bloods. They’re pansies compared to these guys.”
Yep.
Gang bangers.