James T. Jacks
Acting United States Attorney
Northern District of Texas

17 MEMBERS AND ASSOCIATES OF VIOLENT GANG INDICTED

Five Members Alleged to Have Committed Gang-Related Murders in Big Spring, Texas

LUBBOCK, Texas --- A federal grand jury in Lubbock has charged 17 members and associates of the violent gang known as the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation (ALKQN) with various charges related to their alleged narcotics and weapons trafficking and violent activities throughout Texas, announced James T. Jacks, acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas and Acting Assistant Attorney General Rita M. Glavin of the Criminal Division.

Four of the 17 defendants were arrested yesterday evening and today in Midland, Big Spring, and Mission, Texas, and Chicago. Eleven defendants are in federal or state custody on related and unrelated charges. Two defendants are fugitives. Those defendants arrested will make their initial appearance in Abilene, Texas, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Philip R. Lane, on Friday, February 27, 2009.

The 11-count indictment, returned earlier this month and unsealed today, charges each of the defendants with conspiracy to distribute and possession with intent to distribute cocaine and marijuana. Three defendants are also charged with conspiring to deal in firearms. The indictment also includes drug distribution charges and various firearms charges, including using and carrying a firearm to commit murder during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime.

Acting U.S. Attorney Jacks said, “Regardless of what dramatic name they attached to their group, criminal gangs are just that – criminals. Like most criminals, their illegal activities of drug dealing and engaging in violent crime are a cancer on our communities; communities comprised of honest, hard working people who are simply trying to earn a living, raise their families and live in peace. As evidenced by this action, law enforcement is committed to removing that cancer through determined investigative effort and the cooperation of local, state and federal law enforcement agencies as was done in this case. All of these agencies, with the help and support of the community, will continue to pursue these groups until they are no longer a part of our environment.”

James L. Capra, Special Agent in Charge of the Drug Enforcement Administration’s (DEA) Dallas Division, said, “DEA will not tolerate criminal gang members infiltrating our community in order to peddle their poison and intimidate our neighbors. The indictment and arrests made today will significantly impact and disrupt this dangerous organization. Today’s actions of determined federal, state and local agencies ensure that our communities will be safer. This investigation is a painful reminder of how vicious and ruthless the drug trade has become. The community and state will be a safer place with these criminals behind bars.”

“The indictments and arrests represent the continuation of our efforts to dismantle street gangs that are engaged in narcotics trafficking and violent crime in west Texas, said Robert E. Casey, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of Dallas FBI. Mr. Casey continued, “I wish to commend the police officers, sheriff’s deputies and Federal Agents who conducted this investigation. Their tireless efforts have helped to neutralize a vicious street gang whose activities terrorized a community. The charges announced today illustrate the effectiveness of combining federal resources with the expertise of local law enforcement.”

The defendants arrested yesterday and today are:

Jesus Martinez, a/k/a Solid, 28, of Midland, Texas
John Guzman, 30, of Big Spring, Texas
Hiluterio Chavez, a/k/a Zeus, 33, of Chicago, Illinois
Eliseo Perez, a/k/a Wicked, 28, of Mission, Texas

Defendants previously arrested include:

David Hellums, a/k/a CutThroat, 35, of Big Spring, Texas
Jose Robledo Nava, a/k/a Chino, 30, of Lubbock, Texas
Luis Nava, a/k/a Flaco, 25, of Midland, Texas
Reynaldo Nava, a/k/a Rat, 27, of Big Spring, Texas
Robert Allen Ramirez, a/k/a Nesyo, 27, of Big Spring, Texas
Marie Chavez, a/k/a Shorty, 28, of Lubbock, Texas
Carol Ann Rivas Nava, 20, of Big Spring, Texas
Cecily Dominique Juarez, 20, of Midland, Texas
James Johnathan Cole, a/k/a Blitz, 19, of Lamesa, Texas
Eduardo Daniel Mares, a/k/a Pitt, 21, of Seminole, Texas
Gabriel Lee Gonzales, 21, of Fort Stockton, Texas

Defendants Guerrero Olivas, a/k/a Screech, 26, of Big Spring, and Michael Conde, a/k/a Psycho, 21, of Lubbock, are fugitives.

The indictment alleges that from 2001 until December 13, 2008, when six defendants were arrested, the defendants, as members of the ALKQN, conspired to distribute multi-kilogram quantities of cocaine and marijuana, throughout Texas and elsewhere. They acquired, packaged, stored, and transported the cocaine and marijuana, and according to court documents filed in the case, imported the narcotics from Mexico into the South Texas region, and then on to Big Spring, Lubbock, and Midland for further distribution. In furtherance of their conspiracy, one or more of the defendants is alleged to have committed numerous acts of violence, including murder, aggravated assault and arson.

During part of the time of the above conspiracy, from 2004 through mid July 2005, defendants Jose Robledo Nava, Jesus Martinez, and Hiluterio Chavez are alleged to have conspired to deal in firearms. They allegedly acquired the firearms, stored and transported them, and traded them for cocaine. Court documents filed in the case indicate that the defendants illegally transported and trafficked the firearms throughout Texas and Chicago.

Jose Robledo Nava is allegedly the ALKQN leader in Texas. He, along with James Johnathan Cole, Robert Allen Ramirez, Gabriel Lee Gonzales and Eduardo Daniel Mares are charged in the indictment with the May 4, 2008, murders of Valerie Garcia and Michael Cardona, in Big Spring.

According to an affidavit filed in the case, on May 4, 2008, Jose Nava directed James Cole and Robert Ramirez to go in two vehicles to conduct a drive-by shooting on their rivals. Robert Ramirez was to be the passenger in the lead vehicle to confirm the targets, and James Johnathan Cole, armed with an AK-47, was to be the shooter in the following vehicle, which was to be driven by Gabriel Lee Gonzales.

With Ramirez and Eduardo Daniel Mares in the lead vehicle and Cole and Gonzales following in the second vehicle, after Ramirez and Mares passed the house of the rival gang members, Ramirez called Gonzales’ cell phone and conveyed Jose Nava’s previous order to him. The shooter fired into a crowd of people, striking six persons, including a pregnant woman and a three-year-old girl. Two of those persons, the pregnant woman and one of the three men shot, died from their gunshot wounds.

The affidavit states that Ramirez, Mares, Cole and Gonzales then drove the two vehicles to a body shop where Cole retrieved the spent AK-47 shell casings and discarded them. Cole, Ramirez and Mares then drove to a fellow ALKQN residence where Cole admitted shooting the AK-47 and killing at least one person at the residence where the narcotics trafficking rivals were located.

An indictment is merely an accusation by a federal grand jury and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. However, if convicted, defendants Nava, Cole, Ramirez, Gonzales and Mares each face a maximum statutory sentence of death or life in prison. The remaining defendants face a maximum statutory sentence of life in prison and a fine of up to $4 million.

While stating the investigation is ongoing, acting U.S. Attorney Jacks praised the excellent investigative efforts of the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force (OCDETF), Midland and El Paso U.S. Attorney’s Offices, DEA, FBI, ICE, ATF, U.S. Marshals Service, Texas Department of Public Safety, Lubbock Police Department, Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office, Midland Police Department, Houston Police Department, Big Spring Police Department, and the Howard County District Attorney’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Cody L. Skipper of the Lubbock, Texas, U.S. Attorney’s Office and Trial Attorney Joseph A. Cooley of the Department of Justice’s Criminal Division’s Gang Unit are prosecuting the case.

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