SAN ANTONIO -- The DEA and local authorities had a busy day Thursday. They were rounding up suspects and hauling them to federal court to face murder, racketeering and drug charges.
In all, 17 San Antonio members of the Texas Syndicate (TS) wereindictedon charges ofconspiring to violate the Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organization (RICO) statute.
The TS membersaccused in the RICO conspiracy include: 31-year-old Rolando Black Rabbit Muniz; 30-year-old Andrew Dirty Vidaurri; 38-year-old Timothy Kilo Jimenez; 46-year-old Ruben RC Carranza; 25-year-old Anselmo Elmo Nieto; 40-year-old Raymond Minor Ramirez; 52-year-old Roberto Rico Rodriguez; 30-year-old Jerry Pelon Donel; 50-year-old Leroy Caveman Maciel; 25year-old Nicolas Straps Blanco; 37-year-old Fernando Li l Fern Gonzalez; 25-year-old Ramiro Ram De La Rosa; 25-year-old Manuel Mancha; 25-year-old Mark Anthony Jax Jimenez; 32-year-old Francisco Pancho Arroyo; 28-year-old Adam Rookie Chavez; and, 30-year-old Alejandro Alex Kenwood Flores.
Thursday morning, federal, state and local authorities arrested 6 individuals: Raymond Minor Ramirez, Roberto Rico Rodriguez, Jerry Pelon Donel, Fernando Li l Fern Gonzalez, Manuel Mancha and Adam Rookie Chavez. The other defendants were already in custody on other charges.
The indictment alleges that the defendants were involved in organized criminal activity, including four murders, two attempted murders, conspiracy to commit murder, drug trafficking and other crimes in the name of the Texas Syndicate gang beginning in January 2008.
According to information release Thursday by the Department of Justice:
The conspiracy charge alleges responsibility for nine racketeering acts: 1) the murder of George Escobedo on October 25, 2008; 2) the murder of George Davenport on October 28, 2008; 3) conspiracy to murder members of the Tango Orejon/Orejones gang; 4) the attempt to murder Rodolfo Gonzalez on March 22, 2011; 5) the attempt to murder Miguel Ojeda on March 25, 2011; 6) the murder of Troy Lambirth on March 26, 2011; 7) the murder of Priscilla Ann Vidaurri on July 2, 2011; 8) conspiracy to murder and the attempted murder of Andrew Vidaurri on July 2, 2011; 9) conspiracy to murder Javier Fierro Penuelaz; and, 10) distribution of cocaine and heroin since January 2009.
Some of the defendants face additional charges.
Vidaurri has been charged with the shooting deaths of Escobedo, Davenport and Lambirth. Authorities claim Vidaurri committed the crimes in order to be admitted into the Texas Syndicate gang and, later, to rise in those ranks.
Muniz, Timothy Jimenez, Carranza, Nieto, Donel, Maciel, Gonzalez, Mancha, Mark Jimenez, Arroyo and Chavez are accused in the shooting death of Priscilla Ann Vidaurri on July 2, 2011, also as a means of entering or adding to their clout within the Texas Syndicate gang.
Muniz, Vidaurri, Nieto, Ramirez, Rodriguez, Blanco, DeLaRosa and Flores are accused of conspiring to murder members of a group known as Tango Blast or Orejones between September 30, 2009 and July 2, 2011.
Ramirez and Maciel face one count of conspiracy to murder Javier Fiero Penuelaz between February 24, 2011 and September 5, 2011.
The defendants face life in prison or death for each racketeering charge, and up to 10 years in prison for conspiracy to commit murder.
The arrestswere the result of an 18-month joint investigation of DEA TaskForce andthe U.S. Marshals Service, the Bexar County Sheriff's Office, the BexarCounty DA's office, SAPD,the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the IRS.
