Posted on 04/21/2005 11:16:05 AM PDT by SwinneySwitch
Federal prosecutors said the government had its boot on the neck of the Texas Mexican Mafia.
A jury on Wednesday helped them cut off the head.
After deliberating for a little more than a day, the five-woman, seven-man panel found four members of the gang guilty on various charges, including the most serious one — participating in the Mexican Mafia's conspiracy to distribute large quantities of heroin and cocaine.
That charge carries a punishment of 10 years to life in prison, but because the jury also ruled on special circumstances, their sentences could start at 25 years, and at least two may face penalties closer to life.
The special circumstances included findings that some defendants participated in home invasions while others led or organized the conspiracy.
All four also were convicted of conspiracy to launder money.
Each of the four also was found guilty of related charges, including drug possession or distribution, and various firearms counts.
The jury ruled that purported gang general Jimmy "Panson" Zavala, 35, and alleged lieutenant Johnny "Gira" Garcia-Esparza, 45, were leaders or organizers of the conspiracy — which prosecutors said had different leaders between 1999 and 2004 — but jurors determined Sammy "Spiderman" Garcia, 37, was not a leader or organizer. That question was not put to jurors for Juan Victor "Smiley" Valles, 30.
Jurors also determined Zavala did not "knowingly and intentionally kill" fellow gang member Jose Luis "Arte" Moreno, whose remains were unearthed in October 2003 in Southwest Bexar County.
Moreno had been killed in July 2002, according to testimony. The indictment had alleged that Zavala had killed Moreno, but jurors ruled that he did not, which spared Zavala an even stiffer penalty.
The four absorbed the verdicts with no noticeable emotion, while relatives sobbed as U.S. District Judge Orlando Garcia announced the successive "guilty" verdicts.
Sentencing was to be scheduled later this year, and all are expected to appeal, according to their lawyers.
The unanimous verdicts mean all 28 of the defendants rounded up during a crackdown on the gang last August have now been convicted — 24 of them pleaded guilty. And that brings the total number of Mexican Mafia members and associates convicted since the investigation began in 2003 to more than 60, prosecutors said.
In closing arguments Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Joey Contreras said the government "has its boot on the neck of the Texas Mexican Mafia" and told jurors it was up to them whether it stayed there.
"We think we completely decapitated the previous hierarchy," Contreras, who prosecuted the case with Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Sepeda, said after the verdicts Wednesday.
"The message is there is a high price to be paid for selling heroin and cocaine and dealing in violence," U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton said. "If you're a member of a criminal street gang and you're committing these crimes, there's a very good chance you may be spending a long, long time in prison, and it's not worth it."
The 21/2-week trial featured testimony about home invasions, police chases, undercover drug deals, killings and other violent acts, and the evidence gathered by a multiagency effort led by the Bexar County Sheriff's Department and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration helped prosecutors secure the verdicts.
One of the defense lawyers said that even from the first day of trial, the government put on a case that made jurors form a negative opinion about the gang even before they heard any of the evidence.
And all argued that much of the testimony against their clients came from other Mexican Mafia members, whom the lawyers called criminals, murderers, cons, liars and thieves.
"There was a lot of evidence against the Texas Mexican Mafia and anyone associated with it," said Ed Camara Jr., who defended Garcia-Esparza. "I think the Texas Mexican Mafia was on trial, not these particular defendants."
"I was disappointed, but you always have to respect what the jury has to say," said Edward Bravenec, who defended Valles.
Terry McDonald, who defended Zavala, and Chris Weixel, who represented Garcia, found some light at the end of the tunnel.
"On Sammy Garcia, the jury found that he was not a leader," Weixel said. "He was a follower."
"They found my client not guilty of the murder," McDonald said. "That's the good news."
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gcontreras@express-news.net
El Presidente Fox will not like having his loyal employees badly treated in the US just because they are Mexicans!
Texas Mexican Mafia Ping!
Please let me know if you want on or off this South Texas/Mexico ping list.
Who, besides gang members, has a positive opinion about gangs?
Damn, the system finally worked!
Hey, thanks for maintaining this ping list. Learning how bad the gangs are around the border has been very educational.
I would just take them out and shoot them, like tyhey do with drug dealers in Malaysia. Course they onlt do that about once a year........because drug dealers don't go to Malaysia, because they don't wanna be shot.
Only 99 7/8ths percent to go.
Yes, I also want the United States to emulate Malaysia. If it doesn't act quickly enough, I may just move there. /sarcasm
We've seen how that works out: a new hierarchy quickly moves in (shooting some innocents along the way).
"If you're a member of a criminal street gang and you're committing these crimes, there's a very good chance you may be spending a long, long time in prison, and it's not worth it."
So he thinks 28 is a substantial fraction of all criminal street gang members? LOL!
From the Malaysia Star:
"The National Drug Agency (ADK) has, through its efforts, registered more than 300,000 addicts in its drug fight. However, just like the iceberg, the numbers are only what is seen above the surface. Some local studies have suggested there are an estimated three to four addicts who are not registered with the ADK for every one that is."
thestar.com.my/health/story.asp?file=/2005/4/17/health/10678978&sec=health
"There were an estimated 980000 hardcore heroin addicts in the United States in 1999, 50 percent more than the estimated 630000 hardcore addicts in 1992."
--www.usdoj.gov/ndic/pubs07/794/heroin.htm
Using population figures of 280,000,000 for the US and 22,000,000 for Malaysia, the heroin addiction rate in Malaysia was about 4x higher than in the US. [latest numbers I could find for both countries]
We must embrace cultural diversity.
El Presidente fox probably likes the outcome. Afterall, not a one of the criminals got the death penalty.
Anyone want to put money on el Presidente Fox calling his loyal vassal GWB to issue a pardon all in the name of "good relations between the US and Mexico"?
I'm trying to stay positive. sarcasm
So much for the "success" of the police state.
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