Gangs fight to control city turf By VICTOR MORALES, Staff Writer
Monday, June 2, 2008 9:40 PM PDT
TODD KRAININ PHOTO
Residential homes on First Street in Calexico parallel the border fence with Mexico.
CALEXICO Two street gangs vying for control of a human-smuggling operation here has resulted in two shootings in a dense neighborhood near the border fence, police said.
A man is recovering from a bullet wound after being shot by masked gunmen. Two other men are in Imperial County jail for their suspected involvement of an attempt to murder a rival.
“We be-lieve it involves illegal alien smuggling and their attempts to cut into each other’s area and operations,” Calexico police Sgt. Gonzalo Gerardo said.
Human smuggling in Calexico is lucrative: smugglers could receive as much as $1,500 per head five to 10 times per day, Gerardo said.
“In smuggling stuff, not just illegal aliens, there is a lot of money to be made out there,” he said.
The fight for control is escalating into violence that is spilling into the streets of the border town’s lower east side, where the 15-foot border fence is an omnipresent fixture.
On the night of May 23, Daniel Fernandez, a 23-year-old Calexico gang member who police said was a known human smuggler was shot with a .38-caliber revolver while in his car in the 200 block of G. Anaya Avenue. Witnesses reported seeing several gunmen with bandanas over their faces flee the scene. Fernandez suffered a shot to the left upper back and was transported to Yuma Regional Medical Center from where he was released, police said.
Fernandez was not cooperative in the investigation and no arrests have been made in that shooting.
But police said Fernandez may have been chasing a rival gang member, also an alleged human smuggler, two days earlier on the streets of Calexico. The confrontation led to the rival’s car being smashed with baseball bats by several men, Gerardo said.
On May 26, two days after Fernandez’s shooting another chase ensued on E. Rivera Avenue that resulted in two shots aimed for Fernandez’s alleged rival gang member and smuggler, Ramon Landeros of Calexico. He escaped injury.
Landeros’ passenger implicated a rival gang member, who police subsequently arrested. The man, 19-year-old Osbaldo Verduzco, was booked for suspicion of attempted murder and is being held in Imperial County jail. His bail is set at $500,000, Gerardo said. Another man, 27-year old Carlos Cortez, sits in jail for suspected involvement in the shooting, Gerardo said.
Calexico police said the investigation is ongoing and they are waiting for more information or witnesses to come forward.
Gerardo said the human-smuggling operation in Calexico consists of smugglers scouting for Border Patrol units along the fence between downtown Mexicali and a Calexico neighborhood. The smugglers radio in to illegal aliens signaling them to scale the fence and then escort them to stash houses where a ride to their destinations is arranged, Gerardo said.
The U.S. Border Patrol’s El Centro Sector is aware of the gang’s alleged activities through their coordination with the Calexico Police Department, Supervisory Border Patrol Agent Quinn Palmer said.
“It would not be the first time a gang entered into smuggling activities especially in the urban areas that are located on the immediate border,” Palmer said.
Alien smuggling, he said, is a “multi-billion dollar industry” that attracts criminal elements.
" I AM DANIEL FERNANDEZ AND I KNOW THE COPS SEND SOMEONE TO KILL ME BUT IT DIDN'T HAPPEN THEY COULDN'T FINISH THE JOB.BUT ITS OKAY EVERYONE PAYS IN THIS LIFETIME FOR WHAT THEY HAVE DONE.THE COPS ARE SO BROKE WHEN I WAS DYING ON THE FLOOR THEY WERE GOING THRU MY WALLET AND STOLE 1,000 DOLLARS AND BROKE MY IN DASH TV BUT ITS OKAY ALL THOSE ARE MATERIALISTIC THINGS.THEY SHOULD HAVE KILLED ME WHEN THEY HAD A CHANCE NOW THEY FEAR ME THINKING WHEN IM GONNA COME FOR THEM.WELL IM A LET YOU KEEP GUESSING BUDDY HOPE YOU SLEEP TIGHT AT NIGHT, IT AINT OVER YET IT WILL NEVER END.AND HOMEBOY HAZARD IS ONE SICK MAN BUT HE GOT 7 YRS BECAUSE RAMON LANDEROS LIKE TO SNITCH. YOU VATOS DID ME DIRTY "
danielle wrote on Aug 28, 2008 12:00 AM:
" WELL THATS ALL I GOT TO WRITE FOR KNOW I DONT WANT THAT GORILLA FOLLOWING ME AROUND THE CITY GIVING ME A HARD TIME JUST FOR SPEAKING MY MIND,I MEAN IM JUST A CITIZEN HES THE ONE WITH THE BADGE ENJOY THAT BADGE ALL OFF YOU CALEXICO OFFICERS BE CAUSE JUST LIKE THERES A LAW FOR US CITIZENS THEIR IS ALSO A HIGHER LAW THAT TAKES CARE OF POLICE MISCONDUCT SO ENJOY YOURE BADGES AS MUCH AS YOU CAN BEFORE YOU BECOME ANOTHER POLICE STASTISTIC DUE TO CORRUPTION.GOODNIGHT DONT LET THE BED BUGS BITE P.S im used to the bed bugs "
danielle wrote on Aug 27, 2008 11:50 PM:
" GERARDO I REMEMBER YOU TOLD ME YOU WERE A DETECTIVE KNOW YOURE A SEARGENT WOW HOW DID YOU PULL THAT OFF YOU MUST BE COVERING FOR SOMEONE I MEAN IF I WAS A DETECTIVE I WOULDNT WANT TO GO DOWN TO SEARGENT DO YOU KNOW YOUR ABC GERARDO I THINK NOT LIL GORRILLA LOOK A LIKE WHEN I SEE U I JUST FEEL LIKE TICKLING YOUR BELLY. HA HA HA I THINK WE SHOULD BE MORE FOCUSSED ON YOU "
danielle wrote on Aug 27, 2008 11:39 PM:
" daniel fernandez is all calexico police talks about and looneys13 get a life policemen and quit pointing fingers you guys are supposed to be detectives detect ask him some questions. daniel my advice to you is your better off hiring an outside detective like d*ck tracy that dude is probbably a much smarter and better detective than those detectives in calexico that focuse more on rumors than actual facts. "
danielle wrote on Aug 27, 2008 11:25 PM:
" what im wondering is how the police know what happend 2 days before the shooting with that guy daniel fernandez smashing ramon landeros truck with a baseball bat and why wasnt he arrested.i think the police know more than what they say and why are they more focussed on daniel fernandez than the actual guys that shot at him,meanwhile the police are saying that daniel send an armed man for pay back and only shot twice and no one was hit in that incident thats weird how a man shot twice and and end up getting convicted for 7 years with no phisical evidence mean while the guys that wounded daniel fernandez have not been apprehended this whole freaking subject smells like police cover up. ramon landeros youre a fu**ing snitch. "
wesley wrote on Jun 7, 2008 10:33 AM:
" Weasley, huh? I 'll remeber that when I see an illegal alien gangbanger stomping your face into the cement. "
bob_bear wrote on Jun 6, 2008 9:23 AM:
" I just saw a news article about the violence along the border of El Paso,TX. Sounds very familiar to our border. Unfortunatly, I will have to agree with Wesley (or Weasley) on this one. The government does not care about the Imperial Valley! "
angel911 wrote on Jun 4, 2008 5:07 PM:
" It would be great if the locals would call in illegal activities but they won't bc the feel that it is not wrong for illegals to cross. If anything most of them help them. Those who want to stop it are scared that if they help stop it they themselves will have gangs shooting at them. Damned if you do Damned if you don't theory. Remember how you feel now when it comes to vote on immigration. Maybe for once we will pass stronger laws to enforce that will in turn help the U.S. "
wesley wrote on Jun 4, 2008 4:11 PM:
" You are going to get more of it, so just *suck1 it up. The government doesn't care about you, indeed socialist politicians need a certain amount of killing to stay in power. Get used to it. "
susflores wrote on Jun 3, 2008 6:53 PM:
" I just don't see why they don't question the kids who are on bikes all over that area. they constantly ride around the same areas and use their radios to let the coyotes know when "la migra" is out of view. Also, why not provide the residents with a phone number to report these illegal activities? This area is where you see a lot of the elderly people who are tired of illegals hiding in their back yards. "
619 green go wrote on Jun 3, 2008 6:10 PM:
" ALAMADRE, you cant just arrest someone because they are known smugglers. Duh. Its like saying someone is a known junkie. you just know. They are a dime a dozen in Calexico. Low class losers, who prey on the misfortunes of others...
So sad that aliens struggle tremendously to come to this country. With no place to live, Not knowing the language, no family...etc. to seek a better life(most of them). (Im not an advocate but I can respect their determination.) And the ones who are here (the gang members) have every opportunity to strive and become productive citizens only become losers. Viva la Raza. I hope they have enpough bullets for each other. Seriously though. I have to respect cax pd who have to deal with these knucleheads. Be safe, god bless you and your families. You are appreciated! "
andEjudge wrote on Jun 3, 2008 4:35 PM:
" I hope we all remember this stuff when its our tutn to serve on a Jury. When the slimy crook rat b**tard....I mean attorney gets up there. dont buy it. "
Ms. PattyHearst wrote on Jun 3, 2008 1:38 PM:
" It doesn't matter if what the gov't does. Illegals want a piece of the American pie, and where there is a will there is a way.
Calexico is becoming like Tijuana. I'm glad I don't live in that neck of the woods-wouldn't want to be in the crossfire of these gang members. "
freektwo wrote on Jun 3, 2008 11:43 AM:
" let lets make hiring illegals a felony. wait does that include hiring all those illegals that do landscaping for my yard too? or the ones that clean my house? hiring illegals is done at home too. don't just just on companies, jump on everyone. "
alamadre wrote on Jun 3, 2008 10:50 AM:
" If these guys are known sumglers why are they
not in jail or prison ??? DUH.........
Saturate the area with Border Patrol so their
illegal activities stop......
Cax PD should get LLANAS on this case...... "
farmallalfalfa wrote on Jun 3, 2008 10:31 AM:
" abelito- I agree with you. The feds need to crack down on these "sanctuary cities" like San Francisco and Houston. "
abelito wrote on Jun 3, 2008 9:43 AM:
" Make hiring illegals a felony, with stiff jail sentences for those who employ them, without exception, plus stiff fines; apply the "three strikes" law on them as well, and let's see how long this demand for hiring illegals will last. Anything short of that is just "window dressing." "
040295 wrote on Jun 3, 2008 9:39 AM:
" I fell if and when they get shot call their parents at home so they can come to the crime location and pick them up for transport them to the doctors office and pay their there medical bills from the earns of their smuggling. "
gymjunkie wrote on Jun 3, 2008 9:32 AM:
" Let them kill each other off. "
hunnybear85 wrote on Jun 3, 2008 9:26 AM:
" I hate these jerks. "
farmallalfalfa wrote on Jun 3, 2008 9:18 AM:
" Mexicans preying on Mexicans. Pitiful. "
bob_bear wrote on Jun 3, 2008 8:56 AM:
" This is some pretty serious stuff going on here. Gang members shooting guns. Sooner or later, an innocent person is going to get hurt. "
pelucas13 wrote on Jun 3, 2008 8:56 AM:
" Daniel Fernandez a known human smuggler.Ok if he's a known human smuggler shouldn't he be in jail. "
blackieblax wrote on Jun 3, 2008 8:48 AM:
" So far, you've all made some really good points. "
agzero75@hotmail.com wrote on Jun 3, 2008 7:52 AM:
" I wonder if anybody is smugging gas? It must be worth more than an illegal alien. Anyways, this is simply a result of illegals hoping to rip off other illegals. They do it to themselves. Ariba, viva los mojados. "
shogun30 wrote on Jun 3, 2008 7:52 AM:
" We all need to wake up here. So far the Imperial Valley has been relatively peaceful compared to other areas near the border like Tucson, Nogales, El Paso, and Laredo. The violence level is increasing here however. People in the community should support both local and federal law enforcement efforts beofre things start to deteriorate here. Guns are becoming too commonplace in human smuggling orgaizations. "
kayro14 wrote on Jun 3, 2008 7:26 AM:
" Here's a thought: abolish Federal income tax and replace it with a national sales tax. That way when the smugglers, who are making $1500 a head per the article, will have to pay tax on everything they buy. They certainly aren't paying any taxes now. This doesn't stop the problem of smuggling people, drugs or anything else but it means that the bad guys are now paying for good guys to catch them. "
oscarb9 wrote on Jun 3, 2008 6:37 AM:
" As long as there is still a demand, there will be people coming into this country. Currently a record number of immigrants have been detained and charged but only a very few amount of employers have been charged. It's simple economics, demand will keep on bringing the supply. As for these gang members, I hope they get rid of them. "
agentbell wrote on Jun 3, 2008 6:22 AM:
" People defend Illegals coming to this country to work, but what they don't see is this criminality that always comes along with the actual smuggling. These incidents are not isolated, but are happening along border cities every day. Time to get serious and crack down on smuggling operations "
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DANIELF wrote on Dec 16, 2008 3:40 PM:
IT AINT OVER YET IT WILL NEVER END.AND HOMEBOY HAZARD IS ONE SICK MAN BUT HE GOT 7 YRS BECAUSE RAMON LANDEROS LIKE TO SNITCH.
YOU VATOS DID ME DIRTY "