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22 MORE SCOOPS: The Second Trump-Era Indictment Against MS-13 (called "Operation Foot Clan") Unsealed this Month INSIDE: The Monstrous "503" Faction of the Gang, 5 Brutal Murders, and How Facebook Addiction (?!?!) Helped Support the Case Against the Fulton Locos and "503" Cliques by Arturo Pimentel Asphalt Island Contributor Introduction and Brief History This month, the District Court of the Central District of California unsealed another RICO indictment against the Mara Salvatrucha 13 (MS-13) gang in Los Angeles, the second indictment against the gang executed under the Trump Administration. While the first indictment from May 2017 covered hundreds of overt acts committed by the Los Angeles chapter of the gang at-large over the course of a decade, this second indictment focusses specifically upon on MS-13 Los Angeles' Fulton Clique--the San Fernando Valley subset-- over the course of just a few years. A couple of incidents from May 2017 are even revisited in this newest indictment--most notably, the Little San Salvador murders. MS-13 originated in Pico-Union in the early 1980s as “Mara Salvatrucha Stoners.” A family friend, whose upbringing in Pico-Union during this time inspired him to become a cop and then a prison guard, tells me that the 7-11 on James M. Wood Boulevard and Westmoreland Avenue was where the first clique formed. Behind this 7-11, he says, they would hang out, listen to heavy metal, and do drugs. This would explain the etymology of the gang's "7-11" Clique. The pre-ABC v. Thornburgh exploitation of Central American immigrants, the popularity of methamphetamine, the rise of tough-on-crime policy, as well as harassment and ostricization by other immigrant groups bolstered the early members of MS-13. Deportations of Central American immigrants (including many gang members) under the Reagan administration, once thought to be a sure solution to the issues at hand, only frustratingly expanded the organization's reach. Below: A list of MS-13 cliques, which can be found in the indictment's preamble. MS-13 cliques sprung up all over Los Angeles throughout the 1980s and 1990s; a pretty thorough list of these cliques is included in the indictment's preamble. The Mexican Mafia assumed control of the gang in the early 1990s. According to the FBI's National Gang Threat Assessment Project, the gang is presently active in 10 states (with most activity occurring in California, Maryland, New York, Virginia, and Texas) and throughout Central America. There are 10,000 members inside United States, and close to 50,000 outside of the United States. CLICK "READ MORE" BELOW The Fulton Clique and the “503” Faction The most notable inclusion within the indictment concerns a fairly recent development within the gang. For the better part of a decade, the Salvadoran government has been engaging in “peace negotiations” with the gang—whatever THAT means. Out of this, two factions of the gang emerged in El Salvador: the faction interested in peace talks (who are regarded as “chavalas”), and the “503” faction, who by contrast are dedicated to continuing the reputation of brutality that the gang has gained in the United States and around the world for over 4 decades. Members of the “503” faction have even murdered numerous members of the other faction. ( “503,” if you’re wondering by now, is the international calling code of El Salvador. ) Since 2012, several members of the “503” faction have illegally entered the United States. When they settle in cities, they naturally gravitate toward neighborhoods with high percentages of Latino folks—and ones that are often more socio-economically vulnerable. In Los Angeles’ case, these include places like the Salvadoran Quarter, Pico-Union, South Central, and the Northern San Fernando Valley, which are all home to large numbers of Salvadoran, Mexican, and Guatemalan immigrants. The Northern San Fernando Valley is also where MS-13’s Fulton Clique is based. The indictment reveals, to an extent, the ways in which the Fulton Clique targets and claims this swath of the Valley—including Whitsett Park and “The Wash,” the gang's codename for the vicinity of the Tujunga Wash at Fulton Avenue and Vanowen Street. Below: The entrance to "The Wash." (Source: Google Street view. Because I wouldn't want to be caught taking pictures around here.) Highlights of the Indictment This “503” faction and their induction into the Fulton clique is the principal focus of the indictment—namely, the seven gruesome murders committed by the clique, all of which were committed as initiations into the gang, or to rise up within the gang’s ranks. Four of the deceased were gang members, and one was a homeless person ostensibly mistaken for one. The big picture here: the Los Angeles and 503 factions made a deal wherein the 503 members could affiliate with MS-13 Los Angeles...…if the 503 clique committed murders on behalf of the Los Angeles faction.
This is reminiscent of the 18th Street Indictment, which revealed that defendant Isaac Guillen was a member said gang while a practicing attorney and used attorney-client privilege to circumnavigate many procedures of law enforcement and the justice system. On the one hand, the involvement of former bangers in these programs is arguably important. They posses experiential knowledge and thus unique ways of empathizing with their pupils—without which the reformation process might be hard to take seriously. On the other hand, you don’t have to have fought in the French Revolution to talk about the French Revolution, nor to weigh its merits and failures. We don’t need bangers operating under veils of trust mentoring other bangers. We need professionals. Anyway, just as a wrote up some highlights from the May 2017 indictment, here are some highlights from this second indictment. Selected Overt Acts from the Indictment: Overt Act No. 1: The transport of $1,226,220 in drug proceeds in a semi-tractor. Overt Act No. 3: The murder of 20-year-old Brian Ramirez by defendant Velasquez and unindicted coconspirators.* Ramirez and his friends had merely been walking home and were not active gang members. (“Unindicted coconspirators” are those who are not named in a current indictment, but possibly in previous or future indictments. Alternately, "unindicted coconspirators" may refer to conspirators who are as-of-yet unaprehended.) Overt Acts 5 and 6: The implication of additional individuals in the death of Edis Maldonado Bustillos, whose murder at the Little San Salvador on Western Avenue was covered in the May 2017 indictment. As it previously stood, three Fulton members had been arrested for the crime, with several others remaining unapprehended. Overt Acts 24 through 38: The gruesome murder of “J.S.” in which the “503” members (Baquiax, Guzman, Garcia, Mendez, and Morales), kidnapped him off a street, took him to the Angeles National Forrest, dismembered him, carved his heart out, and scattered his remains in the forrest. Overt Acts 47 and 56 through 59: The equally gruesome murder and dismemberment of victim “G.B.” whom “503” members believed was working with law enforcement. To lure victim “G.B.” into the Angeles Forrest, the 503s created a catfishing Facebook account of a posing as a female juvenile MS-13 member. Afterwords, they kept “G.B.’s” Santa Muerte pendants as souvenirs, flashing them in Facebook posts and bragging about how they had taken them off a victim’s body. Yikes. Overt Act 53: Via Facebook, MS-13 members denounce the Trump Administration for their efforts to crack down upon the gang. This message was broadcast on April 19th, 2017, just before the final raid that lead to the completion of the first indictment. Of course, several of the Fulton and 503 clique’s members had been arrested in the years preceding. Overt Acts 66 through 68: The kidnap and murder of victim “E.H.” (Elvin Hernandez) in Angeles National Forrest by defendants Chavez, Garcia, Linares, and Revelo. The cause of death: 100-plus stab wounds. Overt Acts 94 and 95: The attempted murder of victim “B.C.” a high school student. Despite B.C.’s pleas and claims that he did not gang bang, the victim was chased down and stabbed repeatedly. As the MS-13 members descended upon B.C., he desperately tried to escape by climbing a chain-link fence that closed him in with the gang members. A month after the attempted murder of B.C., 16-year old Bryan Ardino, also a high school student, was murdered. Two of Ardino's female classmates, who were dating MS-13 members, lured him to Lake Balboa Park, where other MS-13 members were lying in wait, ready to kidnap him. In February 2018, ten suspects were arrested, seven of them Ardino’s classmates at Panorama High—including 17-year old defendant Steven Linares. Though LAUSD has tried to keep it on the down-low, there appears to be a problem with the gang’s presence within Panorama High School. Overt Acts 106 to 108: The murder of victim “J.H.C,” an MS-13 defector who was ostensibly supposed information about MS to rival gangs. Despite “J.H.C.’s” body being discarded near a retirement home, it remained undiscovered for the better part of a year, until the mid-2018 Southern California wildfires cleared out the folliage obscuring his body. Shortly thereafter, defendants Cruz and Gomez, who were among "J.H.C." ’s murderers, drove around for days with the bloodied knives in the back seat of their stolen 1995 Nissan. Ultimately, they were pulled over and caught with the knives. They didn't even bother to clean them off. Overt Acts 185 to 188: The murder of Bradley Hanaway, a father and homeless man who committed no “crime” except for sleeping in a park (Whitsett Park) that is claimed by MS-13's Fulton Clique. Afterwords, defendants Gonzalez and Martinez, who committed the murder, bragged about it on Facebook. Just…....absolutely unbelievable Overt Act 156: As everything was collapsing around them, three MS-13 members attended a court hearing concerning two of their homeboys, and somebody standing near defendant Vides (the at-risk youth counsellor) loudly announced his suspicion that “SOMEONE” was working with law enforcement. Overt Act 163: Discussion about uniting the governments of all the MS-13 cliques in the United States under a “mesa,” or council, something that ranking MS-13 member John "Pelon" Garcia mentioned in the latter portion of the May 2017 indictment. Overt Acts 167 and 168: The arrests of defendants Arias, Corado, Gomez, and Mendez while driving in the very vehicles that were involved in the murders committed by the respective defendants. Slick. Below: Bradley Hanaway, a father and homeless man who was murdered for the "crime" of sleeping in MS-13's proclaimed territory. Dex Elliott, a producer and musician whose hallmark is featuring everyday citizens in his music videos, selected Hanaway to star in the video for his song "Heard a Voice." (Source: Brown Rice Entertainment via YouTube) ____ BRB, FB... If there is any sort of wryness or irony to be derived from the indictment, it is this: the compulsive Facebook and Instagram habits of some MS-13 members produced in a copious amount of evidence that helped the prosecution’s case. Facebook is mentioned 74 times in the indictment—mostly in the form of the accused posting pictures on their timeline and communicating via Facebook Voice--and Instagram is mentioned 9 times. Below: Photos lifted from Facebook and Instagram by the prosecution. The photo in the bottom left reading "Noch[e] [de] Cas[a]ria" was taken shortly after the depicted defendants committed a brutal murder. The caption means "hunting night" in Spanish. IN CLOSING... As with my write-up on the May 2017 MS-13 indictment, I was motivated to write this one not only due to the truly horrific [alleged] crimes documented within the indictment, but also the astonishing lack of local or national press the indictment received. While they are some 40 years in the making, the MS-13 gang has received considerable political lip service over the past two decades. The American public first became hip to their name during the Bush Administration, and “MS-13” has been a political buzzword since then. In somewhat of a circular debate, the Right evokes the gang's to illustrate the ostensible dangers of unfettered immigration, while the Left simply takes this and cites it as an example of the alleged xenophobia of the Right, as an overblown moral panic. Even James Queally and Matthew Ormseth of the LA Times, who are usually caught writing some decent work, just had to sneak this into one of their recent articles: Below: A segment from a James Queally-Matthew Ormseth piece. Source: The Los Angeles Times It is not a particularly smooth inclusion in the article. Notice how isolated the sentence is, how it doesn’t resolve itself, and how it doesn’t pertain to the overall message of the article. You just know the editor asked Queally and Ormseth to throw in a Trump jab..... just because. It’s truly nuts. In these toxic political times, can we agree, with our political partisanship aside, that the apprehensions of these 22 ruthless criminals are positive developments? After all, the gang constantly and brutally victimizes people—mostly people of color! To all players in the game of politics, I must beg of you: can we all concede that the arrest of 22 vicious criminals is a good thing, instead of engaging this nonsensical pursuit of not wanting to hand a victory to our political opponents? __________________________________________________________________________________________ BIBLIOGRAPHY
"National Gang Threat Assessment". www.fbi.gov. National Gang Intelligence Center. PDF. Queally, James, and Matthew Ormseth. “An Ultra-Violent Ms-13 GANG Entered the U.S., Then Stalked L.A. with Blades and Bats.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 17 July 2019, www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-07-16/ms-13-murders-los-angeles-gang. United States of America v. Hernandez et al. (Central District of California, Los Angeles; CR No. 19-117(B)-ODW).
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