The police officers who spend their days and nights keeping the
heat on local gangs say they already are watching for signs that
one of the most violent and notorious gangs in the nation may be
headed toward Gilroy.
By Lori Stuenkel
Gilroy – The police officers who spend their days and nights keeping the heat on local gangs say they already are watching for signs that one of the most violent and notorious gangs in the nation may be headed toward Gilroy.
Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13, already is a “huge problem” in Central Coast areas such as Seaside, Monterey and Marina, where there are a large number of black, Asian and Samoan gangs, said Gilroy police officer Joseph Deras, an investigator with the Anti-Crime Team.
Formed 20 years ago in the immigrant neighborhoods in the “Rampart” section of Los Angeles, MS-13 is believed to have between 30,000 and 50,000 members in half a dozen countries, including up to 10,000 members in the United States. The gang with ties to El Salvador has spread from California – and, more recently, Northern California – into 33 other states and Washington, D.C.
“We will have to be proactive about it,” Deras said. “We’ll hop on it right away, prevent them or discourage them from coming here, make them feel like they want to go somewhere else where it’s not as proactive.”
A few years ago, not many outside El Salvador or Los Angeles were familiar with MS-13. Deras, who was with the San Jose Police Department just a few years ago, said the group was not on the radar even in that city, which he called “fertile ground” for the gang.
But MS-13 members are increasingly the focus of local and national agencies as they continue to spread violence. They are suspected of stabbing six teenagers in the D.C. area earlier this month, and on Monday, apparently coordinated attacks against rivals in four different prisons in Guatemala, leading to 31 inmate deaths.
Federal officials performed a two-part nation-wide crackdown on the gang, first in March, when they arrested 103 alleged members of the gang. And the FBI has created a task force specifically to target MS-13, known in Central America for beheading enemies and staging attacks with grenades and machetes. It is the first nationwide effort to target a single street gang.
ACT members and officers from nearby agencies, including those on the Central Coast, make MS-13 a talking point at monthly meetings used to discuss current gang issues.
“We’re on top of it. Those other cities that we’re talking about – Salinas, Monterey, Marina – they don’t have special teams to deal with that,” Deras said. “They just kind of have to handle it as best as they can.”
The gang has adopted the number 13, associated with other Southern California street gangs. Gang members wear a lot of black and some blue, Deras said. Members also have a hand symbol in which they extend their pointer and pinkie fingers.
Although the gang originated among El Salvadoran immigrants, it now includes people of other Hispanic descent, Deras said.
If gang members do set their sights on infiltrating Gilroy, ACT will know, Deras said. When a new gang tries to establish itself in an area, members will try to dominate the drug trade and anyone who resists them, he said.
“That phase right there is the perfect opportunity for us to go and deal with them, as soon as something happens,” Deras said.
