The organization, also known as Los Barrios, derives some of its strength through alliances with Mexican drug cartels. The real picture presents gloomy evidence of who really is in charge at TDCJnot the state, not the guards, but the convicts themselves. For all of Sandovals claims that the system was making a sacrificial lamb out of him, the system came to his rescue in the end. Sandoval, in the meantime, worked at J.C. Penney in Plano. Snow flakes glide gently from the sky.The Farm Hand. Prisoners join gangs, thereby becoming strong, and prey upon the weak. In 1850, the population of New York City had soared to well over one-half million residents. They are affiliated with local prison gangs and often stock their ranks with young children, some in their early teens (not an uncommon practice for gangs in general). Then, the new recruit is expected to participate in the kill. The power of the Texas Syndicate is utilized to create fear and intimidation that shields members, ensures the timely payment of drug debts, and prevents the theft of members drugs or money. Back in late 2014, police estimated their numbers to be over 500, but there is no telling how much that number has grown by now. Then hed have to do something for us. Such communication is often through letters and telephone calls. By the mid-1800s, there were street gangs in _____. Give me your shirt, he ordered an inmate and with it applied pressure to the wound. After the trial, Sandovals attorney, Steve Fischer, contacted TDCJ officials and asked them to let bygones be bygones. In 1978, in California, making the Texas Syndicate the oldest prison gang in Texas' history. Texas chain with San Antonio bakeries files for bankruptcy, Report: San Antonio Rep. 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The order to kill has been given to men as young as 14, with one kid missing his target and then getting killed by police. Prisons, crammed with thrill-seekers and outright junkies, provide the ultimate captive consumers. 10 facts about the Barrio Azteca, one of the most dangerous gangs in Texas, Mark Lambie/AP Photo/El Paso Times, Mark Lambie. 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. Initiation into the group comes from other members, and members are required to make a life-long commitment. (Officials also say the Texas Syndicate is far more selective and does not, for example, recruit homosexuals.) Eventually, Sandoval agreed to bring drugs into Ellis I. The 1,577 gang members currently housed in administrative segregation represent only a fraction of those inmates who actually do the gangs bidding. Virtually everyone saw it coming. (For that matter, Garcia testified during the trial, outside the presence of the jury, that Sandoval muled drugs countless times.) Sandoval was never searched, he told me, and came to learn that the only way they bust you is if theyre told by a snitch, This guys coming in today., While Sandoval said there were other guardsand even supervisorsinvolved in drug activity, the Texas Syndicate preferred that Garcia deal directly with Sandoval, a fellow Hispanic. Sometimes, that person is allowed to chose between taking out a prison guard or a rival gang member, but other times, the decision is made by the member in a position of leadership. Jos R. Ralat is Texas Monthlys taco editor, writing about tacos and Mexican food. Prison gangs typically have rules on how to gain admission to the gang. I was a damn good officer, he told both me and them. Sandoval described Ellis I warden Jerry Peterson as a good man but a figurehead. One day Sandoval received a phone call at work. Theyd say, Dont mess with him., The new boot thereby became a feared boss among bosses. He was pronounced dead at seven that evening, a victim of twenty stab wounds. Armando Garcia had seen this coming. The purpose of the enterprise include the following: a) Enriching the members and associates of the enterprise through, among other things, distribution of narcotics, extortion and robbery; b) Preserving and protecting the power, territory and profits of the enterprise through the use of intimidation, violence, threats of violence, assaults and murder; c) Promoting and enhancing the enterprise and its members and associates activities; d) Maintaining a powerful organization that can protect members and provide financial opportunities through criminal activity; e) Keeping victims in fear of the enterprise and in fear of its members and associates through threats of violence and violence. All of above. It was a blind spot, and unit officials hoped the inmates wouldnt notice. To get drugs out of the free world and into prison cells, there must be a courier. And in March 1991, McDonalds prosecution force indicted yet another Ellis I guard. Several of them testified vigorously that Ellis I was understaffed and overcrowded, and that the unit was riddled with blind spots. Garcia, of course, could snitch to the Ellis I authorities. Members of the Texas Syndicate maintain regular communication with members who have been imprisoned. Then he returned to Arredondo. Upon graduating from Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas at Austin in 2014, Joshua joined the Express-News in 2014 as a breaking news reporter. Our nation-wide commitment to reducing gun crime in America, Report Waste, Fraud, Abuse or Misconduct to the Inspector General, Find Help and Information for Crime Victims, Register, Apply for Permits, or Request Records. That afternoon, Ellis I warden Jerry Peterson called Sandoval into his office to congratulate him on a fine job. However, DPS downgraded the threat posed by the Barrio Azteca gang in 2015 after considering it among the state's most violent Texas-based gangs since 2010. Arturo Gallegos Castrellon, pictured, is serving a life sentence in U.S. federal prison for leading the assassins. [3] Syndicate members have been known to carry out contract killings for Los Zetas, the paramilitary wing of the Gulf Cartel. Any violation of the rules may result in harsh penalties, including death. Louie would love nothing more than to be a guard again, Fischer told them. house for rent waldport oregon; is thanos a villain or anti hero Sandoval is one of more than sixty TDCJ guards who have been indicted by McDonalds Special Prison Prosecution Unit over the past six years for felony offenses. The question was when. They were founded in Nigeria over a decade ago, but now operate in several African countries. TS membership is comprised predominantly of Texas-born Mexican-American males and operates under a formal paramilitary organizational structure with a constitution and strict established rules. The federal agency is offering up to $100,000 for information leading to his capture. Members consider it to be an offense against the organization for a nonmember to have a TS tattoo or assert membership in the Texas Syndicate prior to becoming a full member. [1] Gang members smuggle multikilogram-quantities of powdered cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine, and multiton-quantities of marijuana from Mexico into the U.S. for distribution inside and outside prison. I remember when he yelled fight. Bring on the Shiplap? To the public, the saga of Luis Sandoval will be a shocking revelation of how Texas prisons have spawned an organized crime wave that afflicts the entire state. They have more than one ritual to get into the gang, but two of the most common are taking a brutal beating (getting jumped in) and in other cases, recruits are told to murder someone. Once out of prison, many TS members continue to commit violent offenses, narcotics-related offenses, and other illegal activities in the area of the country where the members are living and associating with each other. Texas Syndicate members frequently refer to each other as carnal (brother) and maintain a distinct identity by establishing and enforcing specific TS rules, holding meetings, utilizing TS gang signs (horns), and by maintaining a close relationship with fellow gang members and their associates throughout the state. Ellis I officials caught wind of the deal through a snitch. And, their numbers total in the thousands on both sides of the U.S.-Mexico border. I wasn't a BeyHive member. Plain and simple, many young people trying to get into this group are instructed to kill a member of a rival gang. Carnales make sure that the rules are known. Members and prospects are made aware that the affiliation with the TS requires their assistance with the criminal activity of the enterprise when called upon to do so and is an important step toward obtaining higher status in the organization. The group control certain parts of major cities in Kenya and generally recruit youths from poor neighborhoods. No member is permitted to break away from the group. West Texas Syndicate Energy is an energy company with practical and futuristic goals, continuing to push environmental-friendly and pioneering technologies in more traditional energy endeavors. On Monday, at eight in the morning, Sandoval reported for duty at the Ellis I training academy in Huntsville. But the report was not a signed confession. Here are fifteen of the most troubling and horrifying gang initiation rituals around the world. by chloe calories quinoa taco salad. Members of the TS are bound by a set of strict rules which ensure loyalty to and participation in the enterprises criminal activities. Yell fight, he said, but the two officers seemed paralyzed. Mike Hall writes about criminals, musicians, the law, and barbecue. Click Expand to view. But, he insisted, that didnt make him a murderer. 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. When Sandoval told me that, he was sitting in the interrogation room of the Walker County jail in Huntsville, wearing prison whites. The murder would take place in a corridor abutting the B-wing: the maximum-security area where Luis Sandoval often worked. This allows members to function with less oversight, especially within the prison system. The motorcycle gang has roots going back to the 1960s, but only debuted on the DPS's Texas Gang Threat Assessment in 2015 after a deadly clash with the Bandidos Motorcycle Club in Waco on May 17 that left nine people dead. And all you see is white shirts. The gang murders that once took place inside prisons now take place on the streets. Then he headed for the bathroom, a route that took him through a confined area guarded by CO II Nolan McCool. Gangs still terrorize the prisons. Sandoval took the advice three years after Garcia gave it. Again, we're listing a terrorist group among gangs, as their activities and methods are similar, but they just operate on a somewhat grander scale. It is understood that members and prospects of the TS may receive a telephone call and instructions to commit a crime including homicide for the Texas Syndicate at any time. All Garcia and his friend Vicente lacked was a reliable drug mule who could be counted on to transport drugs into the prison. Aside from drug-related operations, the cartel has numerous other interests, including smuggling organs. Homosexuality was prohibited, yet punks strutted about in their cells, wearing womens panties and makeup. Detention hearings are expected to occur over the next two weeks in U.S. Magistrate Court in Austin for all defendants except May. Between full members and associates both within and outside of the prison system, the group has an estimated membership of around 10,000, and as the name implies, it is a white gang. One day Garcia told Sandoval to expect a call at home that evening. It is important to note that an indictment is merely a charge and should not be considered as evidence of guilt. Leave them on the floor! said Sandoval. To the newer guards, Sandovals stature among the inmates was something to behold. One juror phoned Sandovals brother that afternoon and told him that in her view the case against Sandoval was racially motivated. At about five-thirty that afternoon, Sandoval approached CO II Cade Crippin, who was inside a cellblock, observing the inmates. But that was if they caught him. TDCJ intelligence files indicate that by the close of the eighties, the TS, the Mexican Mafia, and other prison gangs had developed active memberships in every major Texas city, as well as in several small towns. RELATED:Feds: Fugitive Texas elementary teacher tied to hit men, drug running and kidnapping. TS members will also assist a fellow member in this pending criminal case. Change), You are commenting using your Facebook account. We in the free world classify inmates according to motivation: those who do not wish to live a life of crime and those who know no other life; those who wish only to do their time and get out and those who function best in a kill-or-be-killed environment. This gang is one of the most notorious out there and has even been mentioned directly by Donald Trump, who has pledged to eradicate them in particular. That afternoon in the interrogation room, Special Prison Prosecution Unit investigator Royce Smithey bore down on Sandoval. The guard made the call, apparently unaware that such messages, and the letters, might contain coded instructions from a prison drug-runner to a high-ranking member of the Texas Syndicate. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has initiated a process, which provides a method for inmates who have been assigned to restrictive housing as a member of a security threat group on a previous incarceration, to renounce their membership with the security threat group (STG). The DPS projects Bandidos members will attempt to change their public perception by adding new members with clean criminal backgrounds and organizing charity events. 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