18TH STREET GANG MEMBER SENTENCED TO OVER 24 YEARS IN PRISON FOR A RACKETEERING CONSPIRACY RELATED TO GANG ACTIVITIES

Greenbelt, Maryland – U.S. District Judge Roger W. Titus sentenced Silvia Martinez, a/k/a "Crazy," age 23, of Washington, D.C., to 293 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release for conspiracy to participate in a racketeering enterprise in connection with her activities as a member of the 18th Street gang.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Acting Special Agent in Charge Marino F. Vidoli of the ATF - Baltimore Field Division; Chief Mark P. Sroka of the Gaithersburg Police Department; Chief Mark A. Magaw of the Prince George's County Police Department; Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department; Chief Cathy Lanier of the Metropolitan Police Department; Chief Larry Brownlee of the Maryland National Capital Park Police - Prince George's County Division; Montgomery County Sheriff Darren Popkin; Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; Montgomery County State's Attorney John McCarthy; and Prince George's County State's Attorney Angela D. Alsobrooks.

According to her plea agreement, from 2007 through March 2010, Martinez, a native of El Salvador, was a member of the 18th Street gang. The gang originated in the Los Angeles, California area and operates in Central America and across the United States, including Maryland. The gang is divided into subsets called cliques, and operates according to rules which the gang enforces by punishment for their violation, including beating the violating gang member. For serious transgressions, the gang will "green light" or order the murder of a gang member.

On January 18, 2009, Martinez and other gang members, including Joel Ventura Quintanilla and Ysaud Flores, participated in the kidnapping and murder of 15 year old Dennys Alfredo Guzman-Saenz, who was thought to be a rival gang member. Ventura Quintanilla and another gang member forced Guzman-Saenz into a car in Langley Park, Maryland, then took him to Gaithersburg, Maryland, where Martinez and other gang members became involved. Martinez and other gang members took Guzman-Saenz to a park in Gaithersburg where he was stabbed and beaten by several gang members, including Martinez, causing his death. Guzman-Saenz's body was found in a creek in the park the next morning.

On February 8, 2009, Martinez and other gang members were at a residence in Gaithersburg discussing the killing of rival gang members. Martinez rode in a car with other gang members into the District of Columbia in search of rival gang members. Ventura Quintanilla and another gang member in the car were both armed with guns. After the car stopped near a restaurant, Ventura Quintanilla and the other gang member approached two men who were standing in front of the restaurant. Ventura Quintanilla shot two men, killing one of the victims, Manuel Garcia-Fuentes, age 24.

Judge Titus previously sentenced gang members Joel Ventura Quintanilla, aka "Clon," age 25, and Ysaud Flores, a/k/a "Snyder," age 33, both of Germantown, Maryland, to life in prison and 22 years in prison, respectively. Martinez, Ventura Quintanilla and Flores were also convicted on related state charges in Montgomery County Circuit Court, where Ventura Quintanilla was sentenced to life in prison, and Flores was sentenced to life in prison, with all but 75 years suspended. Martinez is awaiting sentencing in the state case.

A total of seven 18th Street gang members, including Martinez, Ventura Quintanilla and Flores, have been convicted in federal court on charges related to their gang activities and sentenced to between 94 months and life in prison.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the members of ATF-led RAGE Task Force, including the Gaithersburg Police Department, the Prince George's County Police Department, Montgomery County Police Department, Montgomery County Sheriff's Office, and the Maryland National Capital Park Police - Prince George's County Division, as well as the Metropolitan Police Department, the FBI and the Montgomery County and Prince George's County State's Attorneys' offices for their work in this investigation and prosecution. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Assistant United States Attorneys William Moomau and Jonathan Lenzner, who prosecuted the case.

Montgomery Bloods Convicted in Violent Crime Conspiracy

Montgomery, Alabama — United States Attorney George L. Beck, Jr. announced today that five individuals that were either members of or associated themselves with the Bloods street gang in Montgomery, Alabama have been convicted for their involvement in a series of violent crimes that occurred in 2009. Reco Mareese Daniels, age 30, Courtney Djaris Wilson, age 28, Willie George Tallie, age 26, Anthony Darrell Tallie, age 32, and Damien Michael Pierce, age 27, were indicted in August of 2011 by a federal grand jury on conspiracy, carjacking, robbery, and firearms charges related to a series of violent crimes committed in Prattville, Pike Road, and Montgomery over a four–month period in 2009.

After the return of the Indictment, Anthony Darrell Tallie and Willie George Tallie enpleas of guilty to the crimes with which they were charged. Anthony Tallie pled guilty to attempted carjacking and brandishing a firearm during the course of that crime. Willie Talllie pled guilty to robbing a convenience store at gunpoint and brandishing a firearm during the robbery. Last Friday, a jury returned guilty verdicts against Daniels, Wilson and Pierce after a week–long trial in federal court in Montgomery.

The jury found Daniels, Wilson, and Pierce guilty of conspiring to use and carry firearms during multiple violent crimes. The jury found Daniels and Wilson guilty of an attempted carjacking that occurred in Prattville, a home invasion and carjacking in Pike Road, and the robbery of a convenience store in Montgomery. Pierce was convicted of participating in the Pike Road home invasion and carjacking with Daniels and Wilson. Daniels, Wilson, and Pierce were also each found guilty of discharging a firearm during that offense.

The evidence at trial showed that the attempted carjacking in Prattville occurred on July 302009, when Daniels and Wilson followed the victim of that offense to an apartment complex. When the victim got out of his car, he was approached by Wilson and Anthony Tallie, both of whom were in possession of handguns. The evidence at trial further showed that the gun carried by Tallie was provided by Daniels. Wilson attacked the victim and struck him in the head with his gun before taking his car keys and cell phone. Wilson then attempted to drive away in the victim’s vehicle, but was unsuccessful due to the vehicle’s anti–theft features. After the failed carjacking, Wilson and Tallie fled from the scene in a van driven by Daniels.

The home invasion and carjacking in Pike Road occurred on August 1, 2009, when Daniels, Wilson and Pierce forcefully entered the home of a family in the Bridlebrook suin Pike Road and robbed the occupants at gunpoint. After the defendants made entry into the home, they restrained the occupants–to include a four–month old child–and pistol whipped one of the residents before putting him in handcuffs and placing him in the trunk of a car taken from thresidence. Fortunately, the victim was able to escape from the car as Daniels, Wilson, and Piercedrove away from the residence.

On October 23, 2009, Daniels, Wilson and Willie Tallie robbed the Kwik Shop convenience store located at 565 N. Eastern Boulevard in Montgomery. In preparation for that robbery, the defendants stole a pick–up truck that Wilson and Tallie drove to the store. The surveillance video at the Kwik Shop captured Wilson and Tallie entering the store and Tallie pointing a handgun directly at the store clerk while he and Wilson emptied the cash register and stole the clerk’s personal items, to include her purse. The evidence at trial showed that Daniels provided Tallie with the gun used during the robbery and that Daniels assisted Wilson and Tallie in fleeing from the scene in the aftermath of the robbery.

During the course of the trial, a substantial amount of evidence was introduced to demonstrate the defendants’ links to the Bloods street gang. That evidence showed that all of the defendants, with the exception of Anthony Tallie, were members of the gang at the time that thcrimes were committed. That evidence included photographs of Daniels’ gang tattoos, photographs of the defendants making gang hand signs, and recorded phone calls between Dand Wilson in which they discussed the activities of the gang. Furthermore, the evidencedemonstrated that, during the course of the Pike Road home invasion and carjacking, Pierceclothing to indicate his affiliation with the Bloods and that Daniels repeatedly yelled out the of the particular set of the Bloods with which the defendants were affiliated.

The defendants face varying degrees of punishment for their crimes and are expected to be sentenced later this summer. Daniels and Wilson face a mandatory minimum sentence of 57 years in federal prison with a maximum of life. Pierce faces a maximum punishment of 25 years for the Pike Road home invasion and carjacking, and a mandatory minimum of ten years with a maximum term of life in prison for discharging a firearm during that offense. Any sentence for the firearm charges must be served consecutively to any sentence that any defendant receives for the conspiracy, carjacking, or robbery. There is no parole from federal prison.

The case was investigated as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Neighborhoods and the Middle District of Alabama’s “Alabama ICE” programs, aimed at preventing violent crime and the illegal possession of firearms. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Alabama has recently placed a particular emphasis on targeting violent street gangs for prosecution. United States Attorney George L. Beck stated, “After years of living with the memories, the verdict in this case brings much needed justice and peace to the victims and their families. My office is dedicated to helping to make sure the citizens of this district feel safe in their homes and neighborhoods.”

The investigation of this case was spearheaded by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (“ATF”) with the assistance of the United States Marshals Service,Montgomery County Sherriff’s Office, the Prattville Police Department, the Montgomery Police Department, and the Auburn Police Department. ATF Special Agent in Charge Glenn Anderson commented, “Crimes like car jackings, home invasions and armed robbery will always be a priority of ATF and the law enforcement partners in this investigation. This type of violence jeopardizes innocent life in a matter of seconds.” Anderson further stated, “Our investigativework aims at preventing individuals from becoming victims in the future. People should be abto drive their cars, spend time at home with their families, and go about their daily routines at workwithout fear of becoming the victim of a violent crime.”

This case is being prosecuted by the Assistant United States Attorneys Brandon K. Essig and Monica A. Stump.

Bank Robber Gets 25 Years in Federal Prison

HOUSTON—Gabriel Cabello, 40, has been sentenced to 25 years in federal prison following his convictions for aggravated bank robbery and for brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today.

Although Cabello lived in the Dallas, Texas, area he traveled to The Woodlands, Texas, and to Austin, Texas, to commit the robberies from Sept. 15, 2010, until his arrest on Feb. 2, 2011.

Cabello was arrested in Conroe, Texas, within minutes after robbing a BBVA Compass Bank in The Woodlands. An eyewitness had observed him put on a mask before going into the bank and called 911, which ultimately led to his capture. Among the items recovered from the black Pontiac Grand Am he was driving were a latex mask, proceeds from the BBVA Compass Bank, and two firearms used in the bank robberies.

During the course of the robberies Cabello committed, he displayed two guns and demanded that the tellers give him the money. Cabello pointed the firearms at the employees and threatened to kill them if they did not comply. Cabello was disguised in a George W. Bush mask and several layers of clothing.

On Sept. 28, 2011, Cabello pleaded guilty before United District Court Judge Lee Rosenthal to four counts of Aggravated Bank Robbery (two in The Woodlands and Two in Austin) and one count of brandishing a firearm during a crime of violence. He will now serve 25 years in federal prison. Cabello has been in custody since his arrest where he will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The case was investigated by the FBI with assistance from the Montgomery County Sherriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Jennie Basile is prosecuting the case.