They talked about his location in a county jail, selected a hitman, and discussed how E.C needed to be hit on sight, according to a prosecution sentencing memo. The Nuestra Familia is known as the governing body of the Norteno gang, a predominantly Latino group formed in Northern California that identifies with the color red. and task-force experts aknowledge that the complete destruction By removing violent actors and crime drivers from the streets, we make our neighborhoods safer." According to the documents unsealed today, La Nuestra Familia - Spanish for "Our Family"- was a prison gang operating in the California state prison system. Level 3 soldiers, known as "hustlers," collect drugs "While the physical movement of this leadership was restricted by prison walls, the indictment alleges their power and influence were not so constrained. The charges pending against these defendants are as follows: The court also may order additional terms of supervised release, fines, and restitution. Chicano In March 2013, the inmate whom Andrew Cervantes believed had violated gang rules was assaulted and stabbed by two Nuestra Familia inmates in the prison dining facility and survived. Authorities have identified a motorist killed in an auto accident Friday morning as a man who recorded a rap album that helped finance a prison gang before he turned police informant. Level 2 includes negotiators, who act as messengers to other prison captains. Surenos, which operate out of Southern California. is based on a model of capitalist enterprise, and relies on regular in crippling certain operations of the Familia, most investigators In an intercepted prison message, Nuestra Familia leaders explained that Crystal Morado was killed because she was no longer "functioning," according to a specialist who has investigated the gang for federal and state agencies for 15 years. While members of the Norteos gang are considered to be affiliated with Nuestra Familia, being a member of Nuestra Familia itself does not signify association as a Norteo. The Limon Correctional Ukiah became a meeting place for gang leaders in March of 2000, prison population grew in the 1970s and 1980s, so too did the Familianos, In June 2021, Zarate was arrested and charged with murder for his alleged participation in a retaliatory shooting in San Jose. another gang, the Familia will usually order a contract hit. In securing the drug trade within prison, the Nuestra In prison, their gang members taught them order and strength in a military-like way, and they became a strong gang. 445). threats against correctional staff to maintain authority. Authorities say Zarate blamed the intended victim for the March 2021 killing of his son, 25-year-old Eric Zarate Jr., and orchestrated the shooting. Assistant U.S. Evidence presented at trial established that from approximately fall 2010 through March 2013, under the supervision of Henry Cervantes and Larez, members and associates of Nuestra Familia engaged in the trafficking of methamphetamine, cocaine, and heroin and committed robberies to raise money for themselves and the gang. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the FBI (San Francisco, Sacramento, and Phoenix Divisions), the DEA, the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, and the U.S. Cadena is stabbed 70 times before his body was hurled from the third tier to the main floor of the maximum security unit. Nate Gartrell covers crime and corruption in Contra Costa County. by SUR 14 May 19th, 2008, 11:21 pm, Unread post In January 2019, with a high-ranking Nuestra Familia member named Samuel Luna, the two allegedly conspired to murder a Norteo who is referred to as "E.C." in court records. Henry Cervantes, 52, aka Happy, of Lodi, Calif., was sentenced to 75 years in prison. The album generated revenue for the Nuestra Familia leadership and united Northern California Latino street gangs, which had been feuding. In the span of just over one year, Jaime Cervantes participated in three armed robberies on behalf of the gang, and stabbed a rival at the direction of his carnal Larez. 2 years to demonstrate one's character, potential, and righteousness. emphasis on the psychological and physical protection of its members . Thus, generally, Familiano leaders Padilla, Nuestra Familia launches a reprisal attack on the Mexican Mafia at 2:30 pm. "These seven individuals have for years led a violent and lucrative criminal organization from their prison cells," said Hinds. State Prison around 1968, constructed as a force that could "The arrests made yesterday, most significantly the arrests of the Nuestra Familia leadership, will severely cripple the ability of this criminal enterprise to continue to facilitate crimes in . -- Generation of United Nortenos -- which sold in many Northern California record stores, said Jared Lewis, a former Modesto police officer who now runs the website knowgangs.com. 2022 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. Zarate and Maldonado were indicted as part of a massive 2021 investigation targeting the Nuestra Familia and multiple Norteo subsets based in San Jose. Contrary to what past research has dictated, Koehler stresses that of the Nuestra Familia, the Family operates as a "mutual aid Evidence at Garcia's trial showed that from December 2012 through April 2014, Garcia was an active member of the Nuestra Familia prison gang and was incarcerated at the Monterey County Jail. IRS delays tax deadline for Bay Area, but California hasn't followed: What should you do? for sex. According to court documents, Huerta is the wife of a Nuestra Familia general Joseph "Pinky" Hernandez. revenue for the Familia on the outside. Officials say the council was overseeing a massive network of drug trafficking and violent crimes across California. Crime and Public Safety | First published on November 2, 2022 / 9:45 AM. The Nuestra Familia gang, which operates in and out of prisons, influences much of the criminal activity of thousands of Norteo gang members in Monterey and other California counties by. The gang is allies with the Bloods, Crips, and Black Guerrilla Family, while it is hostile towards the Mexican Mafia, Mexikanemi, MS-13, Texas Syndicate, Fresno Bulldogs, Nazi Lowriders,Aryan Brotherhood, Public Enemy No. Before Christmas, he contacted authorities and decided to work with them against Rubelcaba. According to court documents, Huerta is the wife of a Nuestra Familia general Joseph Pinky Hernandez. Nobody is safe in Salinas, California, where two Latino gangs, Nuestra Familia and the Mexican Mafia, are at war. If I fall, avenge me. Known as one of the most powerful prison gangs in California, Nuestra Familia has been plagued by infighting in recent years, starting in the early 2000s when a number of high-ranking members. Facility in Colorado, considered the most concentrated facility member of his own gang, top-ranking Salinas, California gang leader Michael hundreds of names and identifying characteristics of gang members offenders serving the longest sentences, served to concentrate the very serious offences, such as murder or armed robbery, are successfully Zarate and Maldonado admitted to two murder conspiracies in 2018 and 2019. Federal prosecutors joined with Bay Area law enforcement Thursday morning to announce sweeping action against prison gangs in Northern California, characterizing the bust as cutting off "the head . The defense attorney representing some of the Nuestra Familia defendants . The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory sentencing factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. respective responsibilities. manager, or "store" manager, is a level 1 member that Vincent Gerald Garcia, 55, of Salinas. One of these was Through exclusive interviews with NF members and law enforcement personnel, this program describes Nuestra Familia's formation by convicts inside the prisons of northern California, its military-like structure, its dismaying power throughout the region and the U.S., and Operation . Now hes under review. Their violence was turned against those from Southern California living in the north, Lewis said. 26, pleaded guilty Tuesday to racketeering conspiracy for their roles as associates of Norteo leadership, Nuestra Familia, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney . Nuestra Familia gang member Armando Frias noticed him in Cap's Saloon, but although he was on the hit list, he needed Casper's permission. They bring in millions of dollars through the drug trade, but prostitution, extortion, and identity theft are also major rings. investigation into prison gang activities in California's history. letter of the alphabet, as well as the Northern Star, and the 14 Ukiah became a meeting place for gang leaders in March of 2000, including the 3 "highest-ranking" Nuestra Familia leaders in the Bay Area. Gang Culture, History and Info, Other Area, International Street Gangs & Organized Crime, Mexico, Central America, South America & the Caribbean, LOS ANGELES: Gangs /Clubs, Street Culture, History and Info, Gang Questions & Info: Black Gangs / Clubs, Gang Questions & Info: Latino gangs, Sureos, clubs, crews and varrios, Gang Questions & Info: Asian & White gangs. All seven members of the NFs General Council led the NF organization while incarcerated in the California prison system. membership can also alleviate the psychological harm imposed by While the NF was composed of a relative few, it exercised control and wielded influence over thousands of subordinate gang members in counties and prisons throughout Northern California using such regiments. PIX Now -- Wednesday morning headlines from the KPIX newsroom. In contrast, the number The gangs targeted in this case are responsible for much of the illicit drug distribution and violent crime that has plagued areas throughout CA pic.twitter.com/cyLZ3Uls5c. This case is the product of an investigation by the FBIs Stockton Violent Crime Task Force, the San Joaquin County Metropolitan Narcotics Task Force (METRO), the Stockton Police Department, the Salinas Police Department, the Watsonville Police Department, the Monterey County Sheriffs Department, and the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation into the activities of the Nuestra Familia (NF), a violent Hispanic prison gang based within the California and federal prison systems whose members exert control over street-level Norteo gang members engaged in drug trafficking and violent crime. The Somos . Additionally, prosecutors describe Zarate as a high level heroin and cocaine trafficker who also collected thousands in dues for the gang. By disrupting gang leadership, we reduce violence on our streets. After months of investigation, at least 37 alleged gang members were arrested during the . In September, 2011, Henry Cervantes stabbed two people to death in an apartment in Oakland. Andrew Cervantes was the top-ranking leader, or so-called 'overseer', of the Nuestra Familia. He decided to go to the garage so that his wife and two sons were not killed in the house, and the message showed that even the leaders were able to be targeted. He will grade them as 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and so on according to their leadership abilities and their overall foresight. of the Familia is an impossibility, with the gang's tentacles spanning dress, as well as how to rob banks, armored cars, and private homes Some were forced to live in the Secure Housing Unit (the "Shoe"), where 12,000 inmates were held in a "prison within a prison" where the inmate was under constant surveillance. Since then the Familia has moved eastward across the This investigation revealed the wide-ranging influence of the gang that extends far beyond prison walls. segregation. 2019 - Catherine Arambula. "The indictment charges all seven of the members who make up the Nuestra Familia's ruling body: the General Council," said Acting U.S. Attorney Hinds. Nuestra Familia (Spanish for "our family") is a criminal organization of Mexican American (Chicano) prison gangs with origins in Northern California. Maldonados mother wrote to the court that he entered the prison system as an immature young man and has been affected by prison life. Larez recruited individuals, including Jaime Cervantes, to commit crimes on behalf of the gang and Henry Cervantes supervised the criminal activities of the gang in Oakland. 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