Norteno gang members arrested in sting

By Jeremy Lipps

June 97, 2007

Federal Bureau of Investigation agents and more than 200 law enforcement officers arrested 22 Norteno gang members in 15 cities across Northern California on Wednesday morning, officials announced yesterday.

FBI agents and law enforcement officials were in Salinas discussing details of the simultaneous arrests, some of which were made in Salinas, Stockton, San Francisco, Petaluma, Fremont and Castroville.

The arrests are the result of a three-year investigation that began with the Watsonville Police Department. Officers noticed a rise in street crime and soon linked it to a "tax'' demanded of local Norteno street gangs by the mostly prison-situated Nuestra Familia criminal gang, according to Marina Police Chief Eddie Rodriguez.

Realizing the need to expand the effort to many jurisdictions, departments began coordinated investigations eventually recruiting agencies from the Monterey County Sheriff's Office to the FBI to the California Department of Corrections.

Salinas police Deputy Chief Manny Solano especially praised the Department of Corrections for their intelligence contributions during the investigation.

"A lot of the time it seems as if there is no end in sight,'' Monterey Sheriff Mike Kanalakis said. "These investigations take a long time to develop. In the end a lot of people were put away.''

Among those arrested were high-ranking members to low-level street criminals. Crimes ranged from drug possession to murder. No injuries or deaths resulted from any of the raids, Kanalakis said.

"It had a significant impact,'' Kanalakis said about the arrests. "Only time will tell just how big of an impact.''

The "Valley Star" operation is ongoing. Two men escaped agents Wednesday, prompting an appeal to the public to be on the lookout for Robert Javier Farias Portela, 24, and Faustino Gonzalez Jr.

Portela has been associated with a black 1999 Honda with license plate 5YOU364 and Gonzalez with a white Nissan Maxima with license plate 4XUU96.

"These were federal warrants,'' Kanalakis said. "These are not individuals that will be coming back.''

Copyright © 2007 by Bay City News, Inc. -- Republication, Rebroadcast or any other Reuse without the express written consent of Bay City News, Inc. is prohibited.

####