Gangs

Cover of Darkness: S.F. Police Turned a Blind Eye to Some of the City's Most Dangerous Criminals — Who Were Also Some of Their Most Trusted Sources

Jacob Valdiviezo Identified as College Student Killed in Mission District Shooting

The San Francisco Medical Examiner's Office has identified the 19-year-old man who was gunned down while visiting his family over Easter weekend as Jacob Valdiviezo. According to police, Valdiviezo, was home visiting his family over Spring Break when he was shot to death in an apparent gang-relate ... More >>

MS-13 Becomes First American-Born Street Gang to Be Marked A "Transnational Criminal Organization" by the Feds

Last week, the U.S. Treasury Department officially labeled MS-13 a transnational criminal organization. No other American-born street gang has earned that distinction, which has previously been given to groups like the Yakuza in Japan and the Zetas in Mexico.The classification speaks to the gang's s ... More >>

How Marvin Medina's Perjury Charge Helped ID Wilfredo Reyes' Whereabouts

As described in this week's feature, "Hiding in Plain Sight," Bay Area MS-13 member Elgado Medrano's 2009 arrest for a car theft in South Carolina first hinted that Wilfredo Reyes had hidden away in that state.If Medrano, along with a couple of other guys, hadn't stolen a car, it's possibl ... More >>

Hiding in Plain Sight: A Homicide Suspect Spent Four Years on the Lam

Crip-less: S.F.'s Dislike of Franchises Extends to Street Gangs

Cop Shoots Man, Protesters Vandalize Mission Police Station

Protesters spontaneously rallied outside the Mission Police Station last night after a plainclothes officers shot a man who the cops recognized as a gang member.According to Sgt. Michael Andraychak, two plainclothes officers from the Gang Task Force were working with two probation officers at 14th a ... More >>

SF Weekly Letters

SFPD's Murky Arrest Stats Are Reminiscent of its Gang Stats

Today, the Bay Citizen reported that the San Francisco Police Department has been misclassifying arrest rates for Hispanic and Asians because of an outdated computer database -- installed in 1972 -- that lists only three racial categories: blacks, whites, and other. (Which seems primitive even for 1 ... More >>

How So-Called Gang Violence Starts in S.F .

This week's feature story, "Menace to Society," explores the way police and prosecutors classify crimes as "gang-related." A young man on one of the city's gang injunctions lists explained to SF Weekly that violence in his Visitacion Valley neighborhood often stems from personal beefs that escalate. ... More >>

Jacori Bender's Gang Validation Sheet

Jacori Bender -- the now-21-year-old subject in this week's feature story, "Menace to Society" -- became a validated gang member in spring 2011 when a jury convicted him of gun possession and active participation in a criminal street gang (the "gang enhancement").The bulk of evidence for the ga ... More >>

Menace to Society: Why Many Young Black Men are Accused of Being in Gangs

Bifurcated Trials Offer an Alternative in Gang Enhancement Cases

This week's feature, Menace to Society, explores the way police officers and prosecutors label teenagers "gang members" and classify their crimes as "gang related." As a result, these defendants -- such as the story's main subject, Jacori Bender -- face "gang enhancement" charges. Gang enhancements ... More >>

Victor Flores, "Little Creeper," Charged With Trying to Kill Federal Agents in Gang Sweep

A federal grand jury in San Francisco has again indicted 20-year-old Victor Flores, a documented gang member accused of shooting and wounding three federal agents in May. Flores, who is a member of the 500 Block/C Street Gang, is one of 13 suspected gang members arrested on May 3 in connection to a ... More >>

Wilfredo Reyes Appears in Court for Charges in Bologna Family Murder

Wilfredo Reyes stepped into a San Francisco courtroom today to face charges that he played a role in killing Tony Bologna and two of his sons in June 2008. He waived his arraignment, which means he does not have to appear at that hearing tomorrow. Reyes fled town soon after the drive-by shooting. ... More >>

Wilfredo Reyes Charged With Murder of Bologna Family

Update (4:55 p.m.): The District Attorney announced this afternoon that Wilfredo Reyes will be charged with three counts of murder, one count of attempted murder, one count of aiding and abetting in the discharge of a firearm, and one count of participating in a street gang. One count of conspiracy ... More >>

Wilfredo Reyes Will Be Extradited From North Carolina

Wilfredo Reyes, the possible second suspect in a 2008 triple homicide, will soon be in California to face murder charges. The sheriff's office in Rowan County, North Carolina, where Reyes was arrested last week, announced today that the alleged MS-13 gang member is not fighting the extradition, the ... More >>

Wilfredo Reyes Arrested in North Carolina in Connection With Bologna Family Murders

Authorities in North Carolina today arrested Wilfredo Reyes, the alleged MS-13 gang member who was in the car with Edwin Ramos the night Tony Bologna and two of his sons were murdered in June 2008.From the start, Ramos, who was convicted of first degree murder in May, claimed that Reyes pulled the t ... More >>

Edwin Ramos Sentenced to Life in Prison

Edwin Ramos, the 25-year-old convicted on three counts of first degree murder, will likely spend the rest of his life in prison. This morning, San Francisco Superior Court Judge Charles Haines sentenced him to three consecutive life terms, without the possibility of parole. This comes about a mont ... More >>

Christopher Bryan Ablett Off to Prison for Killing Mark Guardado, President of S.F. Hells Angels

Christopher Bryan Ablett, a member of the Modesto Mongol motorcycle gang, was hoping to elevate his position within the biker gang when he murdered San Francisco's president of the Hells Angels. But now, the aspiring Mongol will have to trade in his patches for prison scrubs. Earlier this year, Able ... More >>

Edwin Ramos Convicted of First Degree Murder in Bologna Family Killing

Edwin Ramos was convicted today of killing a San Francisco man and his two sons. The Superior Court jury, after a week of deliberation, found him guilty on three counts of first degree murder. The three month-long trial stemmed from the June 2008 shootings of Tony Bologna, 48, and his sons Michael, ... More >>

Feds Conduct Major Sweep of Violent Bay Area Street Gang, Three Shot

Federal authorities arrested dozens of local gang members today during a regional raid of two Peninsula-based street gangs, the 500 Block and the C Street Gang. As reported earlier this morning, three Homeland Security Agents were injured after being shot while making arrests in Petaluma related to ... More >>

Guillermo Herrera, MS-13 Gang Member, Gets Life in Prison

Life in prison probably won't do much to stop them ​Guillermo Herrera, better known as "Sparky," a San Francisco M-13 gang member, was sentenced today to life in prison for racketeering related charges. He is the last of six convicted MS-13 members to receive a life sentence. Herrera and his five ... More >>

Danilo "Triste" Velasquez, San Francisco MS-13 Gang Leader, Convicted In Federal Court

​An MS-13 gang member who rose to a leadership position and demanded others continue the violence even after a federal take-down drained the gang's San Francisco ranks was convicted in federal court of RICO conspiracy today.Danilo "Triste" Velasquez (triste is Spanish for "sad") now faces 10 years ... More >>

Even the French Are Afraid of the Hells Angels

As of late the Hells Angels have been making headlines for the streak violence that's left a few members dead in an intriguing feed among rival motorcycle gangs. Needless to say some Angels have not taken kindly to the recent press -- even we received some not-so-friendly notes from local Hells Ange ... More >>

Roberto Acosta, MS-13 Informant Convicted of Lying, Wants Out of Jail

The MS-13 snitch thinks the government is ungrateful for his help. ​Roberto "Bad Boy" Acosta, the MS-13 gang informant who for years gave federal agents details about San Francisco's branch of the gang, faces sentencing in federal court next week for lying to his handlers about how many people he' ... More >>

Feds Want Maximum Prison Time for Roberto Acosta, MS-13 Informant Who Lied

The government's snitch is about to get sentenced. ​Federal prosecutors are pushing for the maximum five-year sentence for the criminal informant who was shaping up to be their star witness in the case against San Francisco's MS-13 clique. But his future took a turn when Roberto Acosta was instead ... More >>

Ernesto Manuel Gonzalez Accused of Killing Hells Angels President

​UCSF police last night arrested an alleged motorcycle gang member on suspicion of shooting and killing the president of the San Jose Hells Angels while at a casino in Nevada last week. Ernesto Manuel Gonzalez, who is purportedly a member of the Vagos motorcycle gang, was taken into custody at abo ... More >>

Gaspar Puch-Tzek Update: Teen Accused of Killing Cook in Case of Mistaken Identity

​A 15-year-old boy was arrested this week and charged with the Aug. 30 murder of  Gaspar Puch-Tzek, a local cook who was shot while taking a smoke break after work. Police did not release the name of the suspect because he is a juvenile, however, they did confirm that he is a gang member.

San Francisco MS-13 Informant Found Guilty of Lying

The government won its case against its own informant. ​The inside informant who turned evidence for the feds about his own MS-13 gang in San Francisco was found guilty this week of lying to the government.According to the complaint, Roberto Acosta had told his handlers that he'd only been the mes ... More >>

AG's Office Warns of Gang-and-Drug Armageddon If State Budget Passes

Kamala Harris​As lawmakers prepare to finalize the state budget today, another government agency has joined the chorus of groups declaring that spending cuts in the plan will be disastrous: the office of California Attorney General Kamala Harris.Harris, who has been on the job in Sacramento for si ... More >>

Pink Saturday Shooting: Two Teens in Jail

Terrell Blay ​UPDATE: Police arrested Terrell Blay, 18, of San Francisco in connection with the Saturday night shooting. He has been charged with felony weapon and gang charges. Police also arrested a 16-year-old on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon and gang charges. Original story 7:45 a. ... More >>

Roberto Acosta, MS-13 Informant in San Francisco Gang Case, to Stand Trial for Lying

The government will soon see its rat in court. ​It's not every day that the government charges their own criminal informant with lying. That's exactly what happened with Roberto Acosta, an MS-13 gang leader who infiltrated the gang which had claimed turf near 20th Street in the Mission District. A ... More >>

SF Weekly Letters

SF Weekly Letters

East Bay Gang Bust: Cops Seize 135 Pounds of Meth

​Cops busted a gang in Contra Costa County, arresting 35 people and seizing 135 pounds of crystal meth, the office of Attorney General Kamala Harris announced today.So-called Operation Red Reach, which concluded today, was a coordinated effort by state and local law-enforcement authorities. Police ... More >>

MS-13 Members Indicted for Racketeering and Murder Charges

Three more members face conspiracy charges. ​A federal grand jury indicted three alleged MS-13 gang members on Wednesday for conspiracy to commit murder and racketeering. The indictment comes in addition to the 24 alleged MS-13 members already facing conspiracy charges after the three-year investi ... More >>

What Taqueria Is Tasty Enough for an MS-13 Member to Risk Getting Shot?

View Tacos on 24th Street in Norteño Territory in a larger mapSF Weekly reporter Lauren Smiley followed up on her (stunning) cover story, "A Rat's Life," with a blog post yesterday, "The Insider's Guide to the MS-13 Gang." In between tidbits like not using gang funds to buy broken-down Impalas and ... More >>

The Making of a MS-13 Gangster

How does this happen?​The youngest of the 24 accused Mara Salvatrucha gangsters operating in the Bay Area are barely 20 years old. They were still minors -- or had just turned 18 -- when they were arrested in 2008 during the Opeation Devil Horns gang take down. Since then, they have been indicted ... More >>

A Rat's Life: MS-13 Snitches Run Wild While Turning State's Evidence

The Insider's Guide to the MS-13 Gang

A look inside ​You may have thought you knew the basics about the Mara Salvatrucha, the lethal street gang of mostly Central American immigrants highlighted in this week's cover story. You jump in, kill rivals, sordid things like that. But during the first week of the trial of seven members of the ... More >>

San Francisco MS-13 Gang Wasn't Violent Enough for Edwin Ramos, Witness Says

Accused murderer of the Bologna family jumped into a more violent clique in Richmond, witness testifies. One attorney alleges Bologna murders could have been prevented had federal agents deported Ramos when they first knew about his crimes.Edwin Ramos wasn't indicted with the 24 alleged MS-13 gangst ... More >>

Hells Angels: Are They Lauryn Hill Fans?

Fans of Harleys...and Lauryn Hill?​The police told us a strange new twist in the caper of the Hells Angels attack on Market Street last night. The Angels and their soon-to-be victims had been at a show at the Warfield, says Sergeant Michael Andraychak. Well, Tuesday night's show was none other tha ... More >>

Are Gang Injunctions Working?

Is this what you'd call a "safety zone?"​A victim of a recent shooting in the Mission District was listed on a 2007 gang injunction against Norteno gang members. Yet the cops and the city attorney's office are still calling the injunction a success. Some might call that optimistic. Lt. Jim Miller, ... More >>

San Francisco Police Arrest Two in Connection with Mission Street Shooting

Gang members off to jail ​Police arrested two San Mateo County residents who allegedly shot a man on his way to work in the Mission District yesterday.David Salgado, 19, and Giovanni Sandoval, 19, were taken into custody shortly after officers responded to a shooting near 2114 Mission St. Monday m ... More >>

MS-13 Gang Members Plead Guilty to RICO Charges Before Upcoming Trial

Gang Busters​A Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) gang member involved in a drive-by shooting pled guilty this week to racketeering conspiracy and conspiracy to commit murder charges. Wilbert "Cypress" Castillo, 29, admitted Tuesday he's been an MS-13 member since 2004.  He confessed that he agreed wit ... More >>

Gang Injunction Includes Three Men Acquitted Murders This Year

Forty-one more men are now forbidden from flashing gang signs​Three men acquitted of first-degree murder charges earlier this year aren't out of the legal spotlight. Emon Brown, Joc Wilson, and Floyd Jackson are among the 41 alleged gang members listed in the gang injunction that City Attorney Den ... More >>

Police say new biker club in town is Hells Angels affiliate

Straight Outta Compton

Enter the Dragon Head

Raymond Chow says he's left his gangster days behind to help bring peace to Chinatown's streets. Is he for real?