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Monday, June 22, 2009
Suspect Linked To Violent Gang
By T.J. Wilham
Copyright © 2009 Albuquerque Journal
Journal Staff Writer
One of the suspects in Saturday's deadly siege at Denny's restaurant is a member of one of the most violent gangs in the world, the Journal has learned.The gang, MS-13, is made up of mostly El Salvadoran immigrants, and Saturday's holdup was one of the few times authorities have seen a member in New Mexico.
Ortiz
Pablo Ortiz, 32, had the El Salvador country code "503" shaved into the back of head when police arrested him in connection with the robbery. The country code is commonly worn by members of the gang.
When he was booked into jail, Ortiz told correctional officers he was from El Salvador.
APD spokesman Nadine Hamby said Sunday that police "will not confirm any gang involvement" in the Denny's robbery that left an employee dead. However, other law enforcement officials confirmed Sunday that Ortiz is a member of MS-13.
There is no indication that the second suspect, Marvin Lopez-Aguilar, 22, was a member of MS-13. However, he also said he was from El Salvador.
Nathan Lerner, a member of the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department gang unit and a local gang expert, wouldn't say Sunday whether Ortiz is connected to the gang.
"If there is a MS-13 connection, I hope it is a fluke," he said. "The propensity for violence with these guys is very high. Over the years, the media has portrayed them as one of the most dangerous gangs in the world."
Police are investigating whether there are other MS-13 members in New Mexico. Lerner said there have been two MS-13 gang members that New Mexico law enforcement has been in contact with in recent years.
One is serving a sentence in a New Mexico prison for armed robbery and forgery. The other was stopped at a DWI checkpoint six months ago by Albuquerque police. He was deported to Central America.
According to the FBI's 2009 National Gang Threat Assessment, there could be as many as 50,000 MS-13 members worldwide, with 10,000 members in the United States.
According to the FBI, MS-13 is one of the largest Hispanic street gangs in the United States, and its members are often heavily armed and well-trained in the use of weapons and assault tactics.
In 2005, the FBI formed an MS-13 task force.
MS-13 members are known to extort their victims to keep them from reporting to the police.
According to a FBI news release, MS-13 gang members robbed a Houston beauty salon at gunpoint and sexually assaulted an employee in January. One of the gang members took the owner's picture so he knew exactly who she was in case she thought about going to the police. The gang member told the owner she would be expected to pay $100 a week to the gang for "protection."
According to the FBI, MS-13 crimes are always violent and include drug distribution, murder, rape, prostitution, robbery, home invasions, immigration offenses, kidnapping, carjackings, auto thefts and vandalism.
The gang, also known as Mara Salvatrucha, started in the early 1980s in Los Angeles by a group of El Salvadoran immigrants who were being targeted by a rival gang. Many of the original members had fought in the El Salvadoran civil war and had military training.
Since then, they have branched out. Most members live in Los Angeles, Washington, D.C., or Canada.
In order for an MS-13 group to set up an operation in a new location, it must get approval from leaders in El Salvador.
Lerner said that, in the past, he has heard that New Mexico has been a "pass-through" state for members coming up through the Mexican border.
"If they are here, I strongly feel that both the APD and sheriff's office gang units working together could suppress them," he said.
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