Border Patrol agents arrest MS-13 gang member

A member of the violent Mara Salvatrucha street gang, who previously was arrested as a murder suspect, is back in custody after being arrested near Yuma by U.S. Border Patrol agents.

The unidentified gang member, a citizen of El Salvador, was arrested Monday night after he illegally entered the country, the patrol said.

Agent Ben Vik, a spokesman for the patrol's Yuma Sector, said the gang member has a record of arrests in California, Nevada and Arizona on suspicion of such offenses as murder, attempted murder, evading a police officer, fugitive from justice, robbery, numerous drug offenses, possession of stolen property and violation of a deportation order.

Vik said he did not know if he had been convicted of all those offenses, but said he served a two-year prison term for a cocaine conviction in early 1990s as well as prison terms for two separate robbery convictions in 1995 and 2002.

“Border Patrol agents encounter criminals on a routine basis,” Chief Patrol Agent Paul Beeson said in a news release. “This is a fine example of our agents safeguarding our borders from a dangerous felon.”

The Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13, is considered by law enforcement to be one of the most violent gangs in the nation. Notorious for its violent tactics, including murder, the gang is active in 33 states, including Arizona. It has been the subject of massive federal roundups and deportations this year in cities elsewhere, according to The Sun's archives.

Vik said Mara Salvatrucha originated in Los Angeles in the 1980s. It was established, he said, primarily to protect Salvadoran immigrants from other, more established gangs of Los Angeles.

Vik said as the members of the gang were deported, either because of their illegal status in the United States or for committing crimes as non-citizens, they started recruiting members in their home countries and the gang grew in popularity and took hold in many Central America countries.

A fingerprint check identified the alien arrested Monday night as an aggravated felon with a history of criminal activity dating back to 1993, mainly in the San Francisco area, Vik said.

"He is a member of the San Francisco Mara Salvatrucha clique. He had planned to return San Francisco," Vik said.

"Catching a Mara Salvatrucha gang member is not a common occurrence, but we have apprehended a few," Vik said. "But when you look at the percentage of criminal street gang members we apprehend each year, it is a relatively small number compared to the overall number of apprehensions.

"They have reputation as being an extremely violent, brutal and vicious street gang," Vik said.

He said Monday's arrest came after an agent patrolling near County 8th Street and the Colorado River about 8 p.m. heard noises coming from some brush located in the area.

As the agent approached the vegetation to investigate the noise, a group of about six individuals ran out of the brush and towards the river.

The agent was able to arrest three people in the group, while the others fled back into Mexico. One of those arrested was the gang member, who admitted his affiliation with Mara Salvatrucha, Vik said.

The gang member was previously prosecuted for re-entry after deportation, illegal entry, and was served with a reinstatement of prior deportation orders under Operation Streamline, Vik said.

Vik said the gang member had no other charges pending in the United States.

"The only thing he had current was his re-entry after deportation, which he is being charged with," Vik said. "The subject would potentially face a sentence ranging from one year to five years in prison for the offense."

According to The Sun's archives, the first arrest of a MS-13 gang member by Yuma agents was in November 2005.

The other two members in the group of aliens arrested Monday had no criminal history and had only met the subject a day prior to their entry. They were prosecuted for illegal entry under Operation Streamline.

------
James Gilbert can be reached at jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.