The first Texas prison guard ever to be tried for the murder of an inmate seemed eager to describe, to me and to the jurors, the pressures and temptations a correctional officer faces. In fact, his disciplinary record was almost spotless, and he enjoyed the privileged position of commissary clerk. The field for their activities, though fertile, was finite, thus making turf wars inevitable. [4][5], The Texas Syndicate was established at Folsom State Prison in California in 1978 in direct response to the other California prison gangs, notably the Aryan Brotherhood and Mexican Mafia, which were attempting to prey on native Texas inmates. Today, Sandoval says he mailed the letter and others like it with a kind heart but with bad judgment. And in an institution where judgment allowed some inmates to flaunt dangerous weapons while officials looked the other way, mailing the letter seemed like a minor transgression. A court granted the ACLU of Illinois and Black Lives Matter Chicago permission to intervene in the consent decree negotiations. . On the fourth day of the Sandoval trial, as if to punctuate the implicit warning in the testimony that gangs till thrived within the system, a member of the Mexican Mafia stabbed a Hermano de Pistolero to death at the Eastham Unit. Sandoval did not tell his mother why he was such a vulnerable candidate. To the newer guards, Sandovals stature among the inmates was something to behold. If you last six months in there, youll make it. By the spring of 1986, prison officials had examined every inmate for telltale tattoos, weeded out identifiable gang members, and ordered that they spend the rest of their sentences in administrative segregation, away from the general population. Sandoval did not know any warden, ranking officer, or CO at Ellis I who did not have at least one snitch. And in March 1991, McDonalds prosecution force indicted yet another Ellis I guard. Today, the Texas Syndicate is both a prison and a street gang. Youre telling us you saw nothing? Thereafter, inmates made their blades out of hard plastic or made do with whatever crude instrument was within reach, like the cast-iron weight an inmate found in the recreation yard and used, with one vicious swing, to lop off the ear of another inmate. Sandoval buckled. With what was left of his final J.C. Penney paycheck, Sandoval and his cousin drove to Las Vegas, a place Sandoval had always yearned to visit. It was not the most hospitable climate for trust, which was something Sandoval felt inclined to consider when Armando Garcia and Vicente held out a letter and asked Sandoval to mail it for them. Plucky twenty-year-old, Susan Evenbright pledges to make her last summer in Texas a big one. ChatGPT gathers . But the report made no mention of Armando Garcia and El Carpintero; nor did it offer any evidence that Sandoval had actually smuggled drugs into Ellis I. McCool opened the picket gate to allow Sandoval into the rest room. But things got more interesting when Internal Affairs investigator Dale Schaper walked into the room and handed Sandoval copies of his phone records, showing that 25 phone calls he had made on Vicentes behalf were to a high-ranking TS official named Felix Benavidez. And the rise of gang activity as evidenced by the rash of shootings we've seen in major metropolitan areas like Chicago and elsewhere is increasingly threatening the very safety and security of both law enforcement officers and the communities we serve, nationwide. All Garcia and his friend Vicente lacked was a reliable drug mule who could be counted on to transport drugs into the prison. Rank is taking care of them.. The gang cooperates with allied Mexican Drug Trafficking Organizations (DTO) or transports the illicit cargo themselves. The packages, he admitted, most likely contained drugs. [2] The Syndicate is the oldest Texan prison gang. On March 19, the name of Luis Sandoval was called three times in the Walker County courthouse, but the defendant did not respond. Chip Gaines Bought Larry McMurtrys Historic Texas Bookstore. (This inmates name has been changed as a condition of his interview.) Rodolfo "Rudy" Ortiz GONZALEZ, affiliated with the Texas Syndicate gang, was captured on September 6, 2019, in Lubbock, Texas.Working off tip information, members of the U.S. The Department of Public Safety has released its 2018 Texas Gang Threat Assessment, and all 14 of the state's highest-threat gangs have a presence in Bexar County, the report showed. West Texans Are Learning What It Means to Live in Bear Country, H-E-Bs True Texas BBQ Restaurant Is Slipping. France's plugin electric vehicle share reached 23.8% in February, up from 20.1% year on year. Prison Gangs - Texas Gang Investigators Association - tgia.net Extra guards to supervise the gathering had to come from some other post. But Ellis I officials, like so many other wardens in the post-Ruiz era, were playing a numbers game. Sandoval told me that he took the money, though he denied it in court. Feds Indict 14 Texas Syndicate Members For Murder - Dallas Observer To pay for his legal expenses, his mother sold the family home. The system snitches on one mule while protecting another. Throughout the Sandoval trial, guards on the witness stand were asked if they had ever stopped a gang member from murdering an inmate. Arredondo did take part in a different contract killing, but when all the conspirators except Arredondo were placed in administrative segregation, TS members concluded that Arredondo had snitched on the rest to save himself. Texas Chicano Brotherhood 11. You better get the hell out of here, Sandoval.. Sandoval took a step toward the crashgate but was held back by the more experienced guard. Chow time meant that vast numbers of inmates would be crowded together in one room. Sandoval did as he was asked. . The court transportation system is the first weak point. White Knights (Texas) White Prison Gangs. Yes, he had made the phone calls. Eventually the guard found himself engaging in polite conversation with the inmate. The Texas Syndicate is headed by a presi dent and vice president who are elected by the entire membership. Many of the Mexican cartel crimes in the illegal alien community go unreported. The other factor that has led guards to traffic in drugs is the peculiar morality of Ellis I, where rules are never universally applied and the use of drugs is so widespread that officials have to knowand acceptthat prison guards are involved in the supply chain. But the system will not change. Gangs. - 956 RGV Gangs On Sandovals shift alone, at least four or five guards had been busted for bringing drugs into prison, but there were others who hadnt been busted and probably never would be. Sandoval experienced the escalated violence in the summer of 1985 first hand as he initiated . It took the jury 33 minutes to decide that Sandoval was not guilty. Then he returned to Arredondo. We know who youre tied to. Reminded that our earlier on-the-record, on-tape conversation contradicted this, he said, I have my life to think about.I made my mistakes. His assistant wardens run the building. Indeed, Peterson said to me that his units drug problem isnt rampant, but he also acknowledged that much has escaped his attention over the years. But I was a good officer. Thus, the former good officer now wished to disavow everything he had told me earlier. The first major TDCJ gang, a Hispanic group known as the Texans, consisted of former residents who were doing time in California penal institutions in the mid-seventies. Prisons, crammed with thrill-seekers and outright junkies, provide the ultimate captive consumers. The caller advised Sandoval not to show up for his March 18, 1991, trial, and then hung up without identifying himself. Convicts made primitive ovens out of foil-lined cardboard boxes equipped with a light bulb, and cooked deer or rabbit killed by inmates working in the fields. The BA gang also imposes a street tax, or "cuota," on other criminal enterprises and businesses operating on turf where the Aztecas claim control. [2], Texas Syndicate members abide by a constitution requiring members to:[1], Additionally, gang leadership is determined by democratic elections, requiring a unanimous decision. The latter policy would be reversed in the 1980s. Each society sustains the other, but the economic cycle depends on a vital link, for the supply will not meet the demand unless the product reaches the consumer. To keep him at ease, the Texas Syndicate requested that the inmate return from his furlough with two hundred dollars worth of heroin and marijuana. The letter was not what one might expect from a former prison guard. Anytime they choseanytimethey could kill him. Sandoval described Ellis I warden Jerry Peterson as a good man but a figurehead. After the big lockdown, metal detectors were installed in every prison unit to discourage the carrying of shanks. Show More Show Less 20 of 32 7. ), The Sandoval trial was a rare public washing of the Texas penal systems bloodstained linen. Tango. One Ellis I officer reported that in 1986, between one hundred and two hundred gallons of chock was discovered on a weekly basis within the unit. school of professional studies acceptance rate duplexes for rent in lebanon, mo duplexes for rent in lebanon, mo Gang members have a direct working relationship with associates and/or members of the Gulf Cartel. Due to the fact that most recruiting happens in prison, law enforcement agencies always struggled with estimating the effective number of people belonging to the gang. After you sit there for twenty-four hours a day with nothing else to do, you discover all sorts of good hiding places. Added a current officer, The only time that we can find drugs is if an inmate snitches and tells us.. The Barrio Azteca was formedfrom these alienated inmates. SMU's Pony Ears is just one of many Texas college football hand signs. Arredondo took the two hundred dollars, went home, and blew the money. Today supervisors advise guards: We cannot stop a hit. He just got involved with the wrong people.. Every time law enforcement thought that they had knocked out or retired the Eme organization, they found that the Eme came back again. Joe Arredondo was taken to a hospital in Huntsville. Then he headed for the bathroom, a route that took him through a confined area guarded by CO II Nolan McCool. Armando, I cant jeopardize my life, man., Garcia took the story to the Texas Syndicate. The two inmate snitches who testified against Sandoval understated their criminal history, contradicted each other, and came off looking like dirtbags who would say anything for the right price. The two inmates snitched for Sandoval and herded him away from troublemakers, admonishing him, Boss, stay away from those guys.. The brutality of the murder, coupled with Sandovals complete inability to prevent it, made quite an impression on the young guard. The 1,577 gang members currently housed in administrative segregation represent only a fraction of those inmates who actually do the gangs bidding. Credit Solution Experts Incorporated offers quality business credit building services, which includes an easy step-by-step system designed for helping clients build their business credit effortlessly. Other gangs also sprang up: the Hermanos de Pistoleros, the Self-Defense Family, the Texas Mafia, the Nuestra Carnales. According to testimony, the man who drew the magic card, number one, was TS sergeant Carlos Rosas, a 31-year-old Dallas resident who was serving thirty years for aggravated robbery. This booklet contains historical synopses of all STGs recognized by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), as well as recognized tattoos and other related indicators most often used by STGs and various street gang members. After its formation in 1986, both the Texas Syndicate and Texas Mexican Mafia refused to recognize the Aztecas and declared war on the gang. As the organization continued growing, drug trafficking came to be one of their favorite activities and sources of income. As to everything he had told his investigatorsnone of that was true either, he said. His father died. Hispanics who were not TS members formed their own gang, the Mexican Mafia, which today outnumbers the TS two to one but is not considered as well organized by prison officials. The Texas Syndicate also operates in state and federal prisons across the United States, with significant activity being reported at FCI Oakdale in Louisiana and San Quentin State Prison in California, as well as some representation in the Florida Department of Corrections. But he stayed out of trouble, in large part because of two hall porters, Bubba Ray Smith and Johnny Abrams. The roles in the Arredondo hit were decided in either the chow hall or the chapel, where numbers were drawn from a cup. The Texas Syndicate, unlike the Mexican Mafia or Nuestra Familia, has been more associated or allied with Mexican immigrant prisoners. I just want to take care of my business, he would tell gang members who tried to recruit him. texas syndicate hand signs - creditsolutionexperts.com Its a society all its own. Whos on trial here, Louie? demanded the intense and steely-eyed chief prosecutor, Travis McDonald, during his two-hour grilling of Luis Sandoval on May 24, 1991. texas syndicate hand signs [4] [5] Overview [ edit] Summary ofGang Signs & Symbols: >> Houston GangsByTypeListed Alphabetically - This is not an all inclusive list. Intelligence & Counterterrorism Division . Even after Arredondos murder, when the Special Prison Prosecution Unit began to gather incriminating evidence against Sandoval, Peterson showed little interest in the details. To defend themselves against harassment and assault by California prison gangs, they formed their own protection group. The thought worked away at his nerves. Our prisons, far from turning out reformed citizens, have instead become incubators of a statewide crime wave. A week later another juror wrote Sandoval a four-page letter, expressing her chagrin that he had been put through all the agony. Nine things to know about the Texas Syndicate gang State public safety officials believe there are more than 100,000 gang members across Texas. A Guard in Gangland - Texas Monthly They use any means necessary in an attempt to control their . The question was when. For several days, Sandoval read the Bible and considered his options. The answer was always no said former Ellis I officer Nolan McCool, If the opportunity exists, theyre gonna make the hit. The attorney was advised that his client would never again wear gray in a state penal institution. A few days later, on April 12, 1991, FBI agents showed up at the apartment where Sandoval had been hiding and took him to the Los Angeles County jail. Full text of "Texas Gangs" 1 was here. Fifty-two prisoners were murdered in a 21-month period that became known as the " war years ." Over 50 different gangs were represented in our study. During August and September of 1985, a long-standing rivalry between the Mexican Mafia and the TS exploded into a free-for-all throughout the prison system, leaving eleven inmates dead. One juror phoned Sandovals brother that afternoon and told him that in her view the case against Sandoval was racially motivated. Most convicts who finish serving their sentence leave the gang life behind, with only a fraction continuing as street thugs. His refusal would prompt the reply, Then Ill tell your supervisor about when you lit my cigarette., At first the young guard spurned the inmates who pestered him, and threatened to write them up for disciplinary action.