Over 60 Gang Members Caught in N.C. Raids

The Associated Press ^ | 10/07/03 | Tim Whitmire

[gitmo]

Authorities take people into custody Tuesday morning at Windgate Place in Charlotte.


Posted on Wed, Oct. 08, 2003


Dozens arrested in gang sweep

Dozens of people were plucked from their homes Tuesday in an early morning raid that may signal a tougher approach to combating violent street gangs in Charlotte.

Sixty-two people were arrested, including 53 gang members or associates who now face deportation hearings, authorities said.

"The message we are sending gang members and would-be-gang members is simple," U.S. Attorney Bob Conrad said. "Not in our neighborhood."

As children waited at bus stops and curious neighbors watched, police and federal agents fanned out about 5:45 a.m., walking toward apartments and houses in east and southwest Charlotte.

Some of the 150 or so officers and agents were armed with assault rifles; others wore bulletproof vests.

In teams of six, they entered homes and questioned occupants. Those suspected of being illegal immigrants were then led toward white vans and squad cars, their hands bound in plastic flex cuffs.

The arrests were part of an initiative, called Operation Fed Up, that targeted members of Mara Salvatrucha 13, a traditionally Salvadoran gang tied to at least 11 killings in Charlotte since 2000 and five in the last six months.

Police have documented more than 200 MS-13 members in their gang database, but say there are likely many more.

Most of the gang members arrested Tuesday were members of MS-13, but they also included members of rival Latino gangs Sureno 13 and 42nd Street Little Criminals. Most of the people arrested were men. They're from Venezuela, Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador, authorities said.

Capt. David Graham, who heads the police department's criminal intelligence unit, said Tuesday's arrests were part of an ongoing initiative begun in April after a gang-related homicide at McDowell Park involving MS-13.

Around that time, members of the gang threatened to kill Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers, Graham said. He described the threats as credible, but wouldn't be more specific.

Carlos Moreno, 28, said police knocked on the door of his apartment before daylight Tuesday. The Honduras native said he and six others were taken away in handcuffs and brought to the immigration office.

He was eventually allowed to leave, but said his friends were still inside with about 50 others. He said he didn't know why police came for them.

"I no MS-13," he said. "I work. I sleep. I am no problem."

Six of those arrested were juveniles; they were released pending immigration hearings. And three gang members face federal charges involving illegal possession of firearms or ammunition and illegal re-entry into the United States after being deported.

The arrests were made by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the State Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Secret Service.

Mecklenburg County commissioner Dan Ramirez, who joined law enforcement officials at a news conference Tuesday, said that while the initiative focused on Latino gangs, the law enforcement actions should not be seen as an attack on that community.

"We have to do something to eradicate gang violence in this community," Ramirez said. "If this is one of the tools we have to use, so be it."

Said Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Darrel Stephens: "We have gangs of other ethnicities and they will not be ignored."

Police have documented about 800 gang members. Of those, 39 percent are Latino; 47 percent are black, 10 percent are Asian; 4 percent are white.

Police have created an intelligence unit to collect information on street gangs of all races and assigned two officers in each of the 12 districts to work on gang issues. They've begun reaching out to the faith community and making presentations about gang recognition to school principals.

Police in Charlotte-Mecklenburg loosely define gangs as three or more people who share common colors, insignia or tattoos and engage in criminal or delinquent behavior.

Authorities say the use of federal sanctions against gang members in Charlotte is not new.

In 1994, members of the Flowe Organization were sentenced to some of the heaviest sentences imposed in N.C. history. Two men were given a combined 16 life terms plus 205 years. The Charlotte crack dealers were convicted of three murders, kidnappings and assaults.

Conrad said Tuesday that authorities would use "every weapon in our state and federal arsenal to eradicate gang violence." That includes deportation, a tactic used nationwide against hundreds of MS-13s. Some experts say that can be only a temporary fix.

"Deportation is just one tool," said Wes McBride, president of the California Gang Investigators Association. "It's not going to solve the problem, because they don't seem to have a problem getting back in. It's really law enforcement's responsibility to make the gang lifestyle uncomfortable."

Conrad hopes the gang members arrested Tuesday won't return to Charlotte.

"We suspect that the mere fact we are focused in this community ... will deter people from coming back to this area."

Conrad warned: "We intend to make Charlotte off limits to gangs.

"Simply put, gang activity will not be tolerated. Membership and participation in a gang will come at a high cost."

[gitmo]

Link to Charlotte Observer article.

[Mjaye]

..."I want a job with the government where I get to come up with names for operations, weapons systems, and the such"...<<<<<

I worked gangs for a long time, and my favorite name for a gang sweep we did was "Operation Swoop and Scoop". Probably not too original, but it gave the day's events a nice focus in the not-quite-as-politically correct early 90's. I can also recall when we would team up with INS and send illegals who were criminals back home, imagine that!

[texastoo]

Thanks for the picture and article.

To look at these people, they don't look mean or criminal
but always remember looks can be deceiving.

Hopefully, law enforcement will eradicate these gangs in Charlotte. However, it is rather depressing when experts and law enforcement know that once deported the criminals will be back. In a way it is like they have given up and can solve only a temporary problem.

Hey, Bush, how about the military on the borders.

[Pelham]

Mara Salvatrucha 13

I think this is a gang from El Salvador.

[xzins]

Of course not. I am on FR. That makes me a CONSERVATIVE gang member.

We have investments and pay for our own time in jail.

We even pay for our own judges.

[Victoria Delsoul]

53 were being held on immigration charges and will have deportation hearings, Conrad said.

Something tells me that they will come back. Pronto.

[meyer]

I'm surprised that this is in Charlotte, NC. I really am - I guess I'm a little less than informed about things of this nature. I would have expected this in Detroit or LA, but not Charlotte.

[meyer]

Hopefully, law enforcement will eradicate these gangs in Charlotte. However, it is rather depressing when experts and law enforcement know that once deported the criminals will be back. In a way it is like they have given up and can solve only a temporary problem.

If they venture too far out of town and try getting agressive, the CCW gang will take care of the problem.

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

"53 were being held on immigration charges" ...worth repeating

Actually, ALL 61 were in the country illegally.

From the article:

Of those detained in "Operation Fed Up," 53 were being held on immigration charges...

Six suspects were arrested and released pending a hearing to determine their immigration status.

The other three were being held on federal criminal charges, including illegal possession of firearms and returning to the United States after being deported.

[texastoo]

I was surprised that the gangs are in Charlotte, NC also. I have heard that Dalton, Georgia has alot of illegal alien gangs also. It is sad what is happening to our country.

[texastoo]

Would it surprise you if the other 800 gang members are illegals also?

[Mad_Tom_Rackham]

No it would not. This is getting out of control fast. I would like to see a national referendum, with 50 million signatures delivered to GW Bush with the message: "Do something about our borders NOW or you will not receive our votes next year."

[texastoo]

I think that before this is all over with, illegal immigration is going to be the biggest issue in the 2004 election.

[Valin]

The shooting, police said, was part of a dispute between Salvadoran and Honduran members over leadership of the gang.

[JohnnyZ]

Mecklenburg County commissioner Dan Ramirez, who joined law enforcement officials at a news conference Tuesday, said that while the initiative focused on Latino gangs, the law enforcement actions should not be seen as an attack on that community.

"We have to do something to eradicate gang violence in this community," Ramirez said. "If this is one of the tools we have to use, so be it."

Dan Ramirez, conservative Republican, soft-spoken yet resolute. Hell yeah brother!

This is all going down in my back yard. Hell, could have been partly in my apt complex. And I KNOW I've been at a Chinese buffet with at least some of these guys . . .

[JohnnyZ]

So she probably doesn't even know this happened. Could one of the Giddy faithful please call your Senator and tell her about this?

*GRIN* Okay, bb, I'll give her a call . . . "Yo Liddy, ain't no need for no illegal tuition etc . . ."

[waxhaw]

I hope the Charlotte police have placed 24 hour protection on any prosecutors/judges who will be involved in this case. The Mara Salvatrucha gangs (13 and 18) are renowned for going after city/state authorities who tangle with them; they will also target police officers (there was one brief mention of this in the Charlotte Observor story). I've been aware of the MS since 1996 and have been sporadically following this gang's activities - the members are extremely vicious and will not think twice about attacking those people (as well as their wives/children) who enforce the law. Retribution is part of this gang's "code" and I strongly suspect we'll see revenge being taken against Charlotte's law enforcement community.

[JustPiper]

As we've said, how many are illegals 2nd generation?

[Kuksool]

North Carolina passed a law to grant driver's licenses to illegals 2 years before Gray Davis signed such a law for California. There has been not much outrage among Tarheels over the law. As a result, North Carolina has become a magnet for illegal immigration in the South. Yet most Tarheels are still oblivious to the problem of illegal immigration. Many Southerners think it is a California problem that will not spread into their beloved "Dixie". How ignorant they are. In 10 years, the South shall indeed rise again, only this time, the rebels will be whistling Aztlan instead of Dixie.