U.S. MARSHALS SERVICE ANNOUNCES ARREST OF MURDER SUSPECT WHO STOLE VICTIM'S CAR

FROM:  U.S. MARSHALS SERVICE 

March 24, 2016

U.S. Marshals Task Force Arrests Ft. Worth Murder Suspect

 JETFTF LogoTyler, TX - Jonnie Warren, Jr., 36, was arrested in Kilgore on Wednesday March 23rd for a homicide and aggravated robbery warrant out of Tarrant County. Warren allegedly shot a woman in Ft. Worth and stole her vehicle on Tuesday, March 22nd.

The initial investigation in Ft. Worth developed information indicating Warren maybe in the East Texas area driving a silver 2010 Chevy Impala. Warren was suspected of having two weapons with him and may also be disguised as a woman, since he stole some female clothing. A request for assistance was sent from the U.S. Marshals in Ft. Worth to the U.S. Marshals Joint East Texas Fugitive Task Force (JETFT) in Tyler.

After a comprehensive investigation, the vehicle was located in Longview, TX. A traffic stop was attempted, but the vehicle led law enforcement in a pursuit until it was finally stopped on Birch Lane in Kilgore, TX. The driver of the vehicle fled the scene, but the passenger, Johnnie Warren, Jr., was arrested without further incident.

The driver of the vehicle was apprehended down the street from where he abandoned the vehicle. He was identified as Phillip Redwine of Kilgore, TX and was a charged with evading arrest and unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. Both individuals were booked into the Gregg County Jail.

The law enforcement agencies that participated in the capture of Warren include the Texas DPS, Gregg County Sheriff’s Office, Longview PD, Kilgore PD, Smith County Constable Precinct 4, and the JETFT.

TWO TEXAS CAMPAIGN WORKERS PLEAD GUILTY TO BUYING VOTES WITH CASH AND COCAINE

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT 

Friday, September 26, 2014

Two Campaign Workers Admit to Buying Votes in Hidalgo County, Texas, Elections

Two campaign workers pleaded guilty this week in the Southern District of Texas for paying voters to vote in two 2012 elections in Hidalgo County, Texas, announced Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of the Southern District of Texas.

Veronica Saldivar, 42, of Donna, Texas, pleaded guilty today to one count of vote-buying before U.S. District Judge Randy Crane of the Southern District of Texas and is scheduled for sentencing on Dec. 8, 2014.  Belinda Solis, 39, also of Donna, pleaded guilty on Sept. 25, 2014, to one count of vote-buying before U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez of the Southern District of Texas and is scheduled for sentencing on Dec. 11, 2014.

According to Saldivar’s plea agreement, a primary election was held on May 29, 2012, in Donna for the presidential election, and various state, county, and local offices, including the office of a county commissioner for Hidalgo County.  Saldivar assisted in the campaign to elect a candidate to the office of county commissioner.  In the course of that work, she paid voters with cash and cocaine for voting in this primary election and for voting for a specific candidate for a county commissioner position.

According to Solis’s plea agreement, a general election was held on Nov. 6, 2012, in Donna, for the presidential election and various state, county, and local offices, including the Donna School Board.  Solis assisted in the campaign to elect a slate of four candidates to the Donna School Board.  In the course of that work, she paid voters cash for voting in the election and for voting for specific Donna School Board candidates.

This case was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Monique Abrishami and Jennifer Blackwell of the Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Leo J. Leo of the Southern District of Texas.

TEXAS FUGITIVE ARRESTED IN OHIO

FROM:  U.S. MARSHALS SERVICE 
Fugitive from Jacksonville, TX Arrested in Ohio

Tyler, TX – Kevin Ray Morris, 49, of Jacksonville, Texas was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Task Force in Cleveland, Ohio. Morris has been wanted since October 2013 on sexual offense warrants out of Jacksonville.

The Tyler division of the U.S. Marshals Joint East Texas Fugitive Task Force adopted this fugitive investigation last week. Deputy Marshals from East Texas developed information indicating Morris left the East Texas area and was living in Orwell, Ohio. The U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) Task Force in Ohio was contacted and they developed a plan to arrest Morris at his residence.

Morris attempted to evade arrest by riding an ATV into a heavily wooded area, but was quickly apprehended. Morris is now waiting to be extradited back to East Texas to face his charges.

The agencies of the U.S. Marshals Joint East Texas Fugitive Task Force (Tyler Division) that assisted in this investigation include the Tyler Police Department, Texas Department of Criminal Justice - Office of the Inspector General, Smith County District Attorney’s Office, and the USMS.

The primary mission of the Task Force is to arrest violent offenders and sexual predators. In 2013, the Joint East Texas Fugitive Task Force cleared 2,441 cases throughout the Eastern District of Texas.

Additional information about the U.S. Marshals Service can be found at http://www.usmarshals.gov.

TEXAS MAN CHARGED FOR ALLEGED ASSAULT BASED ON VICTIM'S SEXUAL ORIENTATION

FROM:  U.S. JUSTICE DEPARTMENT
Thursday, February 20, 2014
Texas Man Charged with Hate Crime for Assault Based on Victim’s Sexual Orientation

Brice Johnson, 19, of Springtown, Texas, has been charged with willfully causing bodily injury to a person because of the actual or perceived sexual orientation of that person in a federal criminal complaint, the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas and the FBI Dallas Division announced.  The complaint was filed on Feb. 12, 2014, in the U.S. District Court in Fort Worth, Texas.

Johnson has been in state custody since his arrest on Sept. 10, 2013, and he made his initial appearance in federal court today.

According to the affidavit filed with the criminal complaint, in the early morning hours of Sept. 2, 2013, the adult male victim, identified as A.K., connected with Johnson through the cell phone application for MeetMe.com.  A.K.’s MeetMe.com page indicated he was a gay man, while Johnson’s page indicated he was not gay.  During their communications, Johnson said that he was interested in engaging in sexual activity with A.K.  He invited A.K. to his home, gave A.K. his cell phone number and address and they exchanged text messages planning their sexual activity.

After A.K. showed up at the house, Johnson severely beat him, then put him into the trunk of A.K.’s car and drove him to a friend’s home.  Based on ligature marks on A.K.’s wrists, it appears that he was bound with an electrical cord while he was in the trunk of the car.  Individuals at the home told Johnson to take A.K. to the hospital or they would call the police, and Johnson eventually drove the victim to an Emergency Medical Services station in Springtown.  

A.K. was hospitalized for 10 days in Fort Worth, and he was diagnosed and treated for multiple skull and facial fractures.  The investigation revealed that on the night of the incident, Johnson saved A.K.’s cell phone number using a gay slur as a contact name and Johnson later stated that he was playing a prank on the victim because of his sexual orientation, again using a gay slur when referring to A.K.  According to the affidavit, A.K. said that he had no physical contact with Johnson prior to the attack.  

A federal complaint is a written statement of the essential facts of the offenses being charged and must be made under oath before a magistrate judge.  The defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty.  However, the statutory maximum penalty upon conviction for the offense as charged is 10 years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine.  The U.S. Attorney’s office has 30 days to present the matter to a grand jury for indictment, and an indictment could include other charges that increase the maximum penalty.

The investigation is being conducted by the FBI, the Springtown Police Department and the Parker County Sheriff’s Office.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cara Foos Pierce and Trial Attorney Saeed Mody of the Civil Rights Division.

FOREIGN MURDER SUSPECTS ARRESTED IN EDINBURG, TEXAS

FROM:  U.S. MARSHALS SERVICE 
October 09, 2013
DUSM Martin Gomez
Southern District of Texas
 Fugitive Task Force Arrest Murder Suspects in Edinburg, TX

McAllen, Texas – The United States Marshals Service-multi agency led Gulf Coast Violent Offenders Fugitive Task Force (GCVOFTF) announce the arrests of two fugitives wanted in Mexico.

Humberto Villasenor-Soto and Osvaldo De La Paz-Soto are wanted by Mexican Authorities of the Procuraduria General De Justicia Del EDO for Homicide. On January 2013, Villasenor-Soto and his cousin De La Paz-Soto allegedly shot and killed a young male in Morelia, Michoacán, Mexico, as he attempted to help and protect his mother from Villasenor-Soto and De La Paz-Soto. It is alleged that Villasenor-Soto and De La Paz-Soto held a gun to the victim’s mother as they carjacked her vehicle from the front driveway of her residence. The teenage boy victim was fatally shot as Villasenor-Soto and De La Paz-Soto drove away with the stolen vehicle. Mexican Authorities from the Procuraduria General De Justicia Del EDO contacted the United States Marshals Service when they learned that the assailants fled into the United States to avoid apprehension. The GCVOFTF in McAllen, Texas, were requested to assist in the apprehension of the two foreign fugitives.

On October 8, 2013, members of the GCVOFTF developed information that Villasenor-Soto and De La Paz-Soto were hiding in an apartment complex in Edinburg, Texas. Members of the GCVOFTF approached and made entry into the apartment after observing De La Paz-Soto walk into the apartment. Members of the GCVOFTF arrested Villasenor-Soto and De La Paz Soto after finding them inside a bedroom. Villasenor-Soto and De La Paz-Soto were turned over to Mexican Authorities at the Hidalgo Port of Entry with the assistance of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The GCVOFTF is a team comprised of law enforcement officers from the Bureau of Alcohol
Tobacco & Firearms, Hidalgo County Sheriff’s Department, Homeland Security Investigations,
McAllen P.D., Mission P.D., San Juan P.D., Starr County Sheriff’s Department, TDCJ Office of
Inspector General, Texas Department of Public Safety, U.S. Marshals Service and Weslaco
P.D.

DRUG CARTEL LEADER GETS LIFE, ADMITS LINKS TO OVER 1,500 MURDERS

FROM DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Juarez Drug Cartel Leader Pleads Guilty to Charges Related to U.S. Consulate Murders and Is Sentenced to Life in Prison Defendant Admits to Directing or Participating in More Than 1,500 Murders since 2008

WASHINGTON – The Juarez Drug Cartel’s leader in Juarez and Chihuahua, Mexico, pleaded guilty today in El Paso, Texas, and was sentenced to life in prison for his participation in drug-trafficking and numerous acts of violence in connection with the Barrio Azteca gang, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Robert Pitman for the Western District of Texas, FBI Special Agent in Charge Mark Morgan of the FBI’s El Paso Office and Administrator Michele M. Leonhart of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Jose Antonio Acosta-Hernandez, 34, aka “Diego,” “Dienton,” “Diez” and “Bablazo,” of Chihuahua, was extradited to the United States from Mexico on March 16, 2012.  Today, he pleaded guilty to four counts of racketeering, narcotics trafficking and money laundering.  Acosta-Hernandez also pleaded guilty to seven counts of murder and weapons charges, which specifically related to the March 13, 2010, triple homicide in Juarez of U.S. Consulate employee Leslie Enriquez, her husband Arthur Redelfs and Jorge Salcido Ceniceros, the husband of another U.S. Consulate employee.  Immediately after the guilty plea hearing, Acosta-Hernandez was sentenced to seven concurrent life terms, three additional consecutive life terms and 20 years in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Kathleen Cardone of the Western District of Texas, El Paso Division.

Today’s action is the result of close coordination between U.S. law enforcement and the government of Mexico in the investigation and prosecution of this case.  The cooperation and assistance of the government of Mexico was essential to achieving the successful extradition, plea and sentencing of Acosta-Hernandez.  

“As the leader of La Linea’s enforcement wing, Mr. Acosta-Hernandez directed a reign of terror,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer.  “Today’s guilty plea and sentence are a significant step in our effort to bring to justice those responsible for the consulate murders, and it would not have been possible without the extraordinary assistance of our law enforcement partners in Mexico, including Attorney General Marisela Morales Ibáñez.  We are determined to hold accountable those individuals who committed the consulate murders, and to dismantle the dangerous criminal enterprise that fueled these and many other tragic and senseless acts of violence.  Gangs and other criminal organizations that threaten public safety on both sides of the border are on notice that we are working more closely than ever with our Mexican counterparts to shut them down.”

“This plea represents the culmination of a virtual textbook example of cooperation among law enforcement agencies, both in the United States and in Mexico, to hold accountable those at the highest level of the drug trafficking trade,” said U.S. Attorney Pitman.  “We will continue to work together with our counterparts in Mexico to target those responsible for the heinous crimes associated with cartel activity.”

“This investigation exemplifies the FBI’s commitment and that of our federal, state, local and international partners to investigate and prosecute individuals and organized criminal organizations who commit violent acts and other crimes impacting the U.S. and our border area with the Republic of Mexico,” said Special Agent in Charge Morgan.  “The joint effort included the participation of USM Service, CBP, DEA, HSI, DOS, Texas DPS, El Paso Police, El Paso County Sheriff’s office and our Mexican partners.”
“Acosta-Hernandez is a cold blooded murderer with no respect for human life or the rule of law,” said DEA Administrator Leonhart.  “His violent and deadly actions were put to a stop due to the combined efforts of U.S. law enforcement, and the will of the Mexican government. Together, we will relentlessly continue our pressure on the Mexican cartels and gangs that carry out violence on both sides of the border.”

The third superseding indictment, returned on March 2, 2011, alleged that Acosta-Hernandez was an associate of the Barrio Azteca (BA), a violent street and prison gang that began in the late 1980s and expanded into a transnational criminal organization.  According to information presented in court, the BA formed an alliance with “La Linea,” which is part of the Juarez Drug Cartel and is also known as the Vincente Carrillo Fuentes Drug Cartel or “VCF.”  The purpose of the BA-La Linea alliance was to battle the Chapo Guzman Cartel and its allies for control of the drug trafficking routes through Juarez and Chihuahua.  The drug routes through Juarez, known as the Juarez Plaza, are important to drug trafficking organizations because they are a principal illicit drug trafficking conduit into the United States.  

Acosta-Hernandez admitted that in approximately 2008, he became the leader of La Linea’s armed enforcement wing and acted as the VCF’s plaza boss in Chihuahua and Juarez.  In this role, Acosta-Hernandez, in coordination with the BA, led violent attacks against their common enemies.  Acosta-Hernandez admitted that he directed or participated in more than 1,500 murders since 2008.

For example, Acosta-Hernandez admitted that on Jan. 30, 2010, he ordered hit-men in his organization to kill members of the opposition that were sighted at a daytime birthday party at a home in Juarez.  As part of this incident, 16 individuals were killed and 10 individuals were wounded at three different residences in Juarez.  On July 15, 2010, Acosta-Hernandez directed a car bombing in Juarez that ultimately killed four people.
       
Acosta-Hernandez admitted that his purpose for engaging in these violent attacks was, in part, to protect and enhance the La Linea-BA alliance’s importation of heroin, cocaine and marijuana into the Western District of Texas and elsewhere, and ultimately to make possible the distribution of those drugs in the United States.  Acosta-Hernandez admitted that he knew that the La Linea-BA alliance earned millions of dollars in drug trafficking profits each year.  He also knew that these profits were reinvested into the organization to purchase additional drugs to import into the United States and/or to purchase weapons, ammunition or supplies to continue fighting enemies of La Linea and the BA.

During the guilty plea hearing, Acosta-Hernandez also pleaded guilty to charges relating to the triple homicide of Enriquez, Redelfs and Salcido, based on his leadership position within La Linea and association with the BA.  According to information presented in court, on March 13, 2010, Enriquez, her husband Redelfs, and Salcido, the Mexican national husband of a second U.S. Consulate employee, were shot and killed by other BA members in Juarez in separate but related incidents.  According to information presented in court, on March 13, employees of the U.S. Consulate hosted a child’s birthday party in Juarez.  Salcido was shot and killed in his vehicle as he left the party.  His three children also were in the car and sustained minor injuries.  His wife, a Mexican national employee at the U.S. Consulate, was following Salcido in a separate vehicle and was unharmed in the attack.

At approximately the same time, U.S. citizens Enriquez and Redelfs left the same party and were shot and killed in their vehicle.  Enriquez was four months pregnant at the time of the shooting.  Enriquez’s and Redelfs’ nine-month-old daughter also was in the vehicle but was unharmed.
 
During the hearing, Acosta-Hernandez acknowledged that Salcido, Enriquez and Redelfs were murdered by members and associates of the BA to further the gang’s racketeering activities.  Acosta-Hernandez admitted that at the time, under his leadership as VCF’s plaza boss and coordinator of enforcement actions with the BA in Juarez, La Linea and the BA had agreed to unite and commit murders to further their criminal enterprise.
A total of 35 defendants were charged in the third superseding indictment and are alleged to have committed various criminal acts, including racketeering, narcotics distribution and importation, retaliation against persons providing information to U.S. law enforcement, extortion, money laundering, obstruction of justice and murder, including the 2010 Juarez consulate murders.  Of the 35 defendants charged, 32 have been apprehended; 23 of those defendants have pleaded guilty, while seven others are pending extradition from Mexico.  U.S. and Mexican law enforcement are actively seeking to apprehend the three remaining fugitives in this case, including Eduardo Ravelo, an FBI Top Ten Most Wanted Fugitive.  Trial against Ramon Renteria, aka “Spooky,” is scheduled to begin in El Paso on May 18, 2012.

The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorney Joseph A. Cooley of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section, Trial Attorney Brian Skaret of the Criminal Division’s Human Rights and Special Prosecutions Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney George Leal of the Western District of Texas - El Paso Division.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico provided significant assistance in this case, including by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Davenport.  Valuable assistance was provided by the Criminal Division’s Offices of International Affairs and Enforcement Operations.

The case was investigated by the FBI’s El Paso Field Office, Albuquerque Field Office (Las Cruces Resident Agency), DEA Juarez and DEA El Paso.  Special assistance was provided by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; the U.S. Marshals Service; U.S. Customs and Border Protection; Federal Bureau of Prisons; U.S. Diplomatic Security Service; the Texas Department of Public Safety; the Texas Department of Criminal Justice; El Paso Police Department; El Paso County Sheriff’s Office; El Paso Independent School District Police Department; Texas Alcohol and Beverage Commission; New Mexico State Police; Dona Ana County, N.M., Sheriff’s Office; Las Cruces, N.M., Police Department; Southern New Mexico Correctional Facility; and Otero County Prison Facility New Mexico.

ARYAN BROTHERHOOD MEMBER GETS 20 YEARS FOR ROLE IN SHOOTHING

The following excerpt is from the Department of Justice website: 
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Aryan Brotherhood of Texas Member Sentenced to 20 Years in Prison for Role in 2009 Shooting

WASHINGTON – A member of the Aryan Brotherhood of Texas (ABT) was sentenced today to 20 years in prison for his role in the 2009 shooting of a man in Jefferson County, Texas, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney John M. Bales of the Eastern District of Texas.

Joshua Mark Bodine, 32, aka “Desperado,” of Vidor, Texas, also was ordered by U.S. District Court Judge Marcia A. Crone to serve three years of supervised release following his prison term.  Bodine pleaded guilty on Oct. 11, 2011, to assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering activity.

Co-defendant John Oliver Manning, 52, aka “Fish,” of Pasadena, Texas, was convicted on Dec. 1, 2011, of racketeering and firearms charges.  Bodine has been in custody since his arrest on Feb. 24, 2011, and Manning has been in custody since his arrest on Sept. 9, 2009.  A sentencing date for Manning has not yet been set by the court.

According to the indictment, the ABT is a race-based, state-wide organization that operates inside and outside of state and federal prisons throughout the United States.  The ABT was established in the early 1980s within the Texas prison system.  It modeled itself after and adopted many of the teachings and writings of the Aryan Brotherhood, a California-based prison gang that was formed in the California prison system during the 1960s.  According to the indictment, the ABT was primarily concerned with the protection of white inmates and white supremacy/separatism.  Over time, the ABT expanded its criminal enterprise to include illegal activities for profit.

The evidence presented at Manning’s trial also showed that the ABT enforces its rules and promotes discipline among its members, prospects and associates through murder, attempted murder, conspiracy to murder, assault, robbery and threats against those who violate the rules or pose a threat to the enterprise.  Members, and oftentimes associates, are required to follow the orders of higher-ranking members.

The evidence at trial established that on Sept. 7, 2009, Manning shot and wounded ABT associate Matthew Fails in Nederland, Texas, on the orders of Bodine.  Specifically, Manning approached Fails with a firearm and a pair of handcuffs in an attempt to collect a debt on Bodine’s behalf and ultimately shot Fails.  Fails was declared brain-dead, but later regained consciousness after emergency surgery.  A surgeon testified that the wound Fails received caused “agonizing pain” and that Fails “would not ever be the same.”
The case was investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosive; the Nederland Police Department; Orange County, Texas, Constable’s Office, Precinct 2; Jefferson County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Williamson County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Chambers County, Texas, Sheriff’s Office; Alvin, Texas, Police Department; Mont Belvieu, Texas, Police Department; and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.  The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Baylor Wortham of the Eastern District of Texas and Trial Attorney Cody L. Skipper of the Criminal Division’s Organized Crime and Gang Section.