He called his mother, who begged him to turn himself in. Gangs didnt worry about guards; they worried about each other. When Luis Sandoval went to work for the Texas prison system, he did the wrong favors for the wrong people. texas syndicate hand signs. The warden would later testify that Sandovals actions were somewhat heroic. But, Peterson added, the hero had seemed awfully calm in the midst of all the bloodshedperhaps too calm. I knew he didnt have nothing to do with it. Rosas would do the killing, while another TS member held Arredondo and two others stood by as lookouts. The new boot suffered the usual abuse from veterans and inmates. Sandoval lied: No, sir. Contradicting this claim, Internal Affairs investigator Dale Schaper took the stand and read his report of the night Sandoval was arrested. Word spread that the Texans were a force to contend with. This practice violated the Ruiz stipulation that an officer must be present at all times at any entrance or exit of the main building. Not everyone was so sympathetic, however. A man was stabbed twenty times. 15 Title TEXAS SYNDICATE (ESE TE: TS) History The TS originated in the California prison system in the early 1970s, primarily to protect the small number of native Texan Mexican-American inmates from Tango. Or if they cared to enforce the rule. At that time, the Texas jail and prison systems were under the control of the Texas Mexican Mafia, or Mexikanemi, and the older Texas Syndicate (TS) prison gangs. Some offenders join an STG in an effort to exert influence and take advantage of other offenders. A gurney was produced, but the inmate ignored it. Texas prisons were mostly gang-free until bloody battles broke out in 1984-85 between the Mexican Mafia and Texas Syndicate as well as the Aryan Brotherhood and Mandingo Warriors. Gangs still terrorize the prisons. After the trial, Sandovals attorney, Steve Fischer, contacted TDCJ officials and asked them to let bygones be bygones. Leaders direct members to forward a portion of their profits to Barrio Azteca members in prison and to their lawyers. Nothing during three weeks of by-the-book lectures at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice training academy had prepared him for the helplessness he felt as a lone correctional officer constantly surrounded by violent criminals. . He was on a westbound bus, fleeing the state. On March 19, the name of Luis Sandoval was called three times in the Walker County courthouse, but the defendant did not respond. The guard said he wasnt tied to anyone. The west end of the B-wing hallway was left unguarded after three-thirty every afternoon, when the guard normally stationed there was transferred to the chow hall. The next day, Sandoval recalled, I walked into work feeling good. It was a pleasure to deal with an inmate man to man, for once. There were many times when he said, I aint gonna do this shit anymore. And wed think, well, maybe were putting too much pressure on him. Were he to pay his old workplace a visit, Luis Sandoval would notice several changes at Ellis I. The drug trade was lucrative, and Sandoval always seemed to be hurting for money. John Loomis. On the fourth day of the Sandoval trial, as if to punctuate the implicit warning in the testimony that gangs till thrived within the system, a member of the Mexican Mafia stabbed a Hermano de Pistolero to death at the Eastham Unit. The 90s and The Cartels It seemed that everywhere Sandoval went, there was Vicente, pushing his broom across the floor, sometimes waving or offering a greeting to the new boot, but never badgering him. Sandoval got off in Los Angeles and found his way to Van Nuys, where a cousin put him up in his apartment. But Ellis I officials, like so many other wardens in the post-Ruiz era, were playing a numbers game. Louie would love nothing more than to be a guard again, Fischer told them. Summary ofGang Signs & Symbols: >> Houston GangsByTypeListed Alphabetically - This is not an all inclusive list. After that first transaction, Sandoval went back for morea total of three, four, or five times, he told me, though he vividly described six transactions to an investigator hired by his family. This would put the Texas Syndicate in contact with several Mexican-based cartels. Inmates fashioned shanks out of road signs, door hinges, food trays, typewriter platen rods, and field equipment. Texas Department of Public Safety. Fifty-two prisoners were murdered in a 21-month period that became known as the " war years ." Over 50 different gangs were represented in our study. Throughout that specific decade, the state of California saw the birth of several criminal organizations. One was an officer who muled marijuana and cocaine for a black inmate known as Apple Jack, whose activities were no secret at the unit. Recruitment is conducted through social ties and involves a background check to screen for informants.[1]. Some choose designs that symbolize their time inside. Word spread through the unit the way it always had, at bewildering speed: Joe Arredondo was a dead man. The main objective of the Texas Syndicate was that of offering protection to other native Texan inmates. Hes bleeding! He whirled and burst into the B-wing hallway. Hispanics who were not TS members formed their own gang, the Mexican Mafia, which today outnumbers the TS two to one but is not considered as well organized by prison officials. But he stayed out of trouble, in large part because of two hall porters, Bubba Ray Smith and Johnny Abrams. Inside the walls of each prison is drugs, prostitution, gambling, extortion, and grand theft, but no investigation into any of these things has ever been made. The letter did not say what such an investigation would say about Luis Sandoval. Sandoval insisted that he didnt know anything about the Arredondo murder other than what he filed in his report. When Vicente and his friend Armando Garciaalso a pleasant, nonconfrontational fellowbegan to ask Sandoval if he had a light, the guard refused at first, and finally decided, after repeated requests, what the hell. A host of documents relating to the trial, as well as interviews with numerous sources involved in the case, have provided chilling details of how Texas prisons really work today. Looking toward the chapel, he could see Crippin ahead of him, heading for the hidden narrow corridor at the west end of the B-wing. Joe Arredondo was taken to a hospital in Huntsville. Dale Schaper dutifully typed up his report, and sent it through the proper channels. I could watch him deal with inmates and think, This guy knows something I dont know., One evening, while gazing out from his apartment balcony, Sandoval saw a car drive slowly by. As the organization continued growing, drug trafficking came to be one of their favorite activities and sources of income. He grabbed the stash of marijuana he had recently picked up, ran to the bathroom, and flushed it down his toilet. Conditions were no different on December 17, 1986, which was why Sandoval was given the assignment of B-wing hall boss that afternoon. The inmate staggered forward, blood gushing from his head and neck. The Texas Syndicate (Spanish: Sindicato Tejano) is a mostly Texas-based street and prison gang consisting of predominantly Mexican American membership. 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. Then he returned to Arredondo. Texas Chicano Brotherhood 11. The Texas Syndicate (Spanish:Syndicato Tejano) is a mostly-Mexican criminal group founded in Folsom State Prison, California, in the 1970s. How Florence ButtNot Her SonLaunched the H-E-B Empire, Jimmy Carters Peanut-and-Egg Taco Made Quite the Impression on San Antonians. Although numerically and financially inferior and facing multiple powerful advisories, the Barrio Azteca gang managed to murder many significant members of their enemies in several Texas prison facilities. A question for the mayor: If it really is unacceptable, why do you continue to accept it? Sandoval weighed his choices. Sandoval did as he was asked. To get drugs out of the free world and into prison cells, there must be a courier. Keep all gang information within the group. But to prison officials, the story is as familiar as the smell of marijuana in a cellblock and the sight of an inmate with a hand-tooled shank. Respect other members; 8. Tattoos The TM tattoo consists of the letters "TM" with one or all of the bottom tips of the letters shaped like devil's tails and/or arrowheads. (Today, Sandoval says that statement was coerced.) After the big lockdown, metal detectors were installed in every prison unit to discourage the carrying of shanks. The Texas Syndicate's activities include drug trafficking, extortion, prostitution, protection, gambling, and contract murder. 15-51164 (5th Cir. One Ellis I officer reported that in 1986, between one hundred and two hundred gallons of chock was discovered on a weekly basis within the unit. Like any good businessman, Garcia kept a close eye on the marketplace. After you sit there for twenty-four hours a day with nothing else to do, you discover all sorts of good hiding places. Added a current officer, The only time that we can find drugs is if an inmate snitches and tells us.. Never let a member down; 7. Virtually everyone saw it coming. The system snitches on one mule while protecting another. They have their prostitution, their gambling, their extortion. former wnct news anchors Twitter. Plucky twenty-year-old, Susan Evenbright pledges to make her last summer in Texas a big one. (Officials also say the Texas Syndicate is far more selective and does not, for example, recruit homosexuals.) Arredondo did take part in a different contract killing, but when all the conspirators except Arredondo were placed in administrative segregation, TS members concluded that Arredondo had snitched on the rest to save himself. Gang members have a direct working relationship with associates and/or members of the Gulf Cartel. Prison officials could boast that their residents stood less chance of being killed than did the average Texas city dweller. And You Thought Feral Hogs Were Bad. That afternoon, Ellis I warden Jerry Peterson called Sandoval into his office to congratulate him on a fine job. The mule, they believed, had done the drugs himself. When they got there they found Joe Arredondo lying on his back. The new boots new habit, like everything else, was duly noted by the inmates. 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. They often use the letters "BA" or numbers "21" as their identifying symbols and tattoos. Garcia himself was not a TS member. Receipt of inmates on interstate compact and the current membership in groups with Hispanic and Latino supremacy ideology lend to the threat of an organizing TS within our facilities. Somehow an inmate by the name of Vicente had gotten past the new boots boys. Although once used mostly at Heavy Metal and Rock 'N' Roll concerts, the Satan sign is now seen regularly at Country Music concerts and Christian Rock concerts as well. The roles in the Arredondo hit were decided in either the chow hall or the chapel, where numbers were drawn from a cup. After their verdict was announced on Wednesday, May 29, the jurors milled around outside the courtroom and vented their disgust with the states case to the media. [1], The history of the group and documented acts of violence in other jurisdictions warrant their certification as a Security Threat Group. Twelve days later, Texas chief prison prosecutor Travis McDonald flew to L.A., took custody of Sandoval, and flew him back to Huntsville, where he was held without bond at the Walker County jail. Sandoval took a step toward the crashgate but was held back by the more experienced guard. SMU is among the Texas colleges that have unique ways of showing pride -- with their hands. The gang remains a significant threat to the safety and security of the United States and Mexico and to law enforcement working in and out of custody on both sides of the border. Everybody knew about this scum. Yet Apple Jack went unpunished: He tithed a share of his profits to the Texas Syndicate and gave the supervisors something to crow about by setting up a guard now and then. But the first six months is hell. Sandoval was determined to tough it out. None of them knew anything about Sandoval and drugs. Texas Mexican Mafia comes in a distant second with 4,700 members, followed by the Texas Syndicate (3,400 members), Latin Kings (2,100 members) and MS-13 (800 members). ), The Sandoval trial was a rare public washing of the Texas penal systems bloodstained linen. In March of 2010, the Barrio Azteca gang ambushed a private automobile traveling on a road in Juarez, Mexico, killing U.S. Consulate employee Leslie Ann Enriquez Catton, her husband Arthur Redelf, and the husband of another consulate employee, Jorge Alberto Salcido Ceniceros. The decision was reached: Arredondo would be taken down. The following day, Chaplain Alexander Taylor, who witnessed Sandovals efforts, wrote the CO III a letter of commendation. A Texas man sentenced to 25 years for aggravated assault of a family member was erroneously . As a former prison gang member, I'm ashamed to look in the mirror because my failures are staring back at me. The youth gangs havent caused trouble yet, but the realities of prison life suggest that this will surely change. Just as he entered, Sandoval heard someone yell, Hes on the floor! He continued to walk, step after tortured step, a full fifty yards, before collapsing, dead, in the doorway of the infirmary. He was arrested for driving while intoxicated, following a one-car accident that left his limbs temporarily paralyzed. Although numerically and financially inferior and facing multiple powerful advisories, the Barrio Azteca gang managed to murder many significant members of their enemies in several Texas prison facilities. The two inmates snitched for Sandoval and herded him away from troublemakers, admonishing him, Boss, stay away from those guys.. In his first year on the job, Luis Sandoval found himself delivering drugs to a self-described drug runner on behalf of the states deadliest prison gang, the Texas Syndicate. They reinvest these funds to fuel the gang's supply of drugs, guns and ammunition. But Arredondo had brought back nothing. Theyre gonna be looking at you, and all that stuff in the past is gonna come up. The murder would take place in a corridor abutting the B-wing: the maximum-security area where Luis Sandoval often worked. Sandoval described Ellis I warden Jerry Peterson as a good man but a figurehead. Marshals ServiceCommunications CenterCall 1-800-336-0102, Gang Membership by County - SW Region He was whisked off to the Walker County jail. He would stand at the searchers desk like he was running the building, Sandoval said. But I was a good officer. Thus, the former good officer now wished to disavow everything he had told me earlier. Youll drain all the blood to his head. Three other officers arrived on the scene. His father died. Its like a fly in a salt shaker., Today the numbers still favor the inmates: There are 47,751 of them and only 3,500 security personnelnone of whom carries a gunper eight-hour shift. If you didnt treat your snitch right, he would scurry off to a more grateful listener and begin his new relationship by snitching on you. The 1,577 gang members currently housed in administrative segregation represent only a fraction of those inmates who actually do the gangs bidding. Porky Viscaino-Amaro, 41, is a Mexican citizen. It revealed a world where drugs and weapons are freely available to inmates, where murderous prison gangs control inmate behavior far more than prison guards do, and where the guardians of law and order have just as much trouble distinguishing right from wrong as do the inmates they are watching. By that time, things were quiet again at Ellis I. His neck had been slashed; his head was all but severed. Sandoval knew this. Can College Sports Get More Absurd Than SMU Joining the Pac-12? Extra guards to supervise the gathering had to come from some other post. Then hed say, Damn, I wish I had twenty dollars to go buy a couple of beers. And Id say, Just wait here, Ill be back. And Id collect fifty dollars for him. In a sense, you become a convict also.. After its formation in 1986, both the Texas Syndicate and Texas Mexican Mafia refused to recognize the Aztecas and declared war on the gang. 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. The investigators didnt tell me much, nor was I particularly inquisitive, he said. Ruben Mosso, 'El MIlenio" "FBI: Los Zetas - problema de seguridad nacional para EU," January 9, 2008, "Prison Gangs (continued) - Gangs and Security Threat Group Awareness", "Special Issue: Gangs in the United States", "Appendix B. National-Level Street, Prison, and Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Profiles - Attorney General's Report to Congress on the Growth of Violent Street Gangs in Suburban Areas (UNCLASSIFIED)", http://www.communitycorrections.org/psn/publications/TxGngThrtAssessment2010.pdf, First prison gang remains a force to fear, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Texas_Syndicate&oldid=1123850487, Short description is different from Wikidata, Pages using infobox criminal organization with ethnicity or ethnic makeup parameters, Pages using infobox criminal organization with rivals parameter, Articles containing Spanish-language text, Articles with dead external links from June 2018, Articles with permanently dead external links, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Place the Texas Syndicate before anything else, Understand that the Texas Syndicate is always in the right, Keep all gang information within the group, This page was last edited on 26 November 2022, at 01:12. By now he was a CO III, an old boot, and he had trained many of the guards who now worked with 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.
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