Latest news with #Quintero
Los Angeles Times
4 days ago
- Los Angeles Times
19 charged in alleged Mexican Mafia conspiracy to kill L.A. rap artist
Los Angeles County prosecutors on Wednesday charged 19 people with conspiring to murder a rapper who allegedly angered a member of the Mexican Mafia, a prison-based syndicate of Latino gang members. According to a complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court, accused Mexican Mafia member Manuel 'Snuffy' Quintero issued an order in 2022 to kill Nelson Abrego, who performs under the name Swifty Blue. In the complaint, prosecutors described a sprawling conspiracy that played out over TikTok messages and recorded jail calls, drawing in prisoners from Kern County, jail inmates in downtown Los Angeles and gang members in Paramount, the southeast Los Angeles County city that both Quintero and Abrego call home. Quintero, 49, was arrested Wednesday and has yet to enter a plea. It wasn't clear from court records whether he has a lawyer. A longtime member of the Paramount Varrio gang, Quintero has served prison time for assault, manufacturing methamphetamine and false imprisonment, court records show. On New Year's Eve in 2022, an alleged subordinate of Quintero, Giuseppe 'Clever' Leyva, told an informant he'd notified gang members in Paramount, Compton and downtown L.A. that they had instructions to attack Abrego 'on sight,' the complaint says. Leyva, 34, is now in custody on an unrelated federal case that charges him with selling drugs and guns in Imperial County. He pleaded guilty to trafficking methamphetamine in March and has yet to be sentenced. His attorney in the federal case didn't immediately return a request for comment. After the informant asked if 'Snuffs is mad' at the rapper, Leyva allegedly said of Abrego: 'F— him.' It's unclear why Quintero was angry with Abrego, who could not be reached for comment Wednesday. In a 2024 interview with The Times, the rapper declined to discuss any potential issues with the Mexican Mafia or 'jailhouse politics.' Abrego previously said his music resonates with people because 'everybody wants to be a gangster.' 'Whether you're a lawyer, a police or a kid going to school, everybody wants to be big, bad and tough,' he said in 2024. Eight months after he spoke to the informant, the complaint says, Leyva warned another person in a TikTok message to stay away from the rapper. 'Let me give u a lil 411 s u won't get mis guided with the internet,' he wrote, according to the complaint. 'With Swifty his career is done.' 'I talked to him tried to guide him but he didn't listen,' Leyva allegedly continued, adding that now the rapper was 'getting his blues' in Men's Central Jail. In November 2023, Abrego was jailed on a gun possession charge. Onesimo 'Vamps' Gonzalez, held two cells down from the rapper, called his mother and told her to ask an associate if 'the one who sings' was 'still good,' according to the complaint. Gonzalez's mother hung up. When her son called back, she allegedly said, 'He's no good.' Both Gonzalez and his mother are charged in the conspiracy. Gonzalez was already in custody; Dominga Gonzalez, 66, was arrested Wednesday at her Bellflower home, according to a statement from the FBI. Two days after mother and son spoke, another jail inmate, Jonathan 'Dreamer' Quevedo, called a man imprisoned in Kern County who was using a contraband cell phone, according to the complaint. After mentioning 'Swifty Blue,' Quevedo allegedly asked Jacob 'Eagle' David if he recalled a 'raza rapper' who was 'in the shower.' Prosecutors believed this was a reference to Jaime Brugada Valdez, a rapper known as MoneySign Suede who was stabbed to death in the showers at the Correctional Training Facility in Soledad in 2023. 'The end result should be the same,' allegedly replied David, who was imprisoned for carjacking and robbery. The next day, the complaint says, David instructed Quevedo to tell the attackers: 'Handle that s— with prejudice... You know how that's like a court term? Well, this s— [is] with prejudice.' Quevedo allegedly confirmed it was 'already in motion.' When inmates were let out of their cells at 5:50 the next morning to take a shower, Adrian 'Slick' Bueno, Andrew 'Largo' Shinaia and Jude 'Crazy' Valle entered Abrego's cell, the complaint says. While Michael 'Weasel' Ortiz obstructed a nearby camera, Bueno, Shinaia and Valle beat the rapper and 'sliced' him, prosecutors charged. About five hours later, Quevedo called a woman from jail and asked her to tell David in state prison that 'old boy got his rap session,' according to the complaint. 'They didn't really get a good show,' Quevedo allegedly said. 'Expect them to be performing in probably the 4000 floor' — another area of the jail — 'here soon.' The attempt on Abrego's life was unsuccessful, and by March 2024, the complaint says, Leyva told Joshua 'Demon' Euan in a TikTok message the rapper was recording a live stream outside his family home 'as we speak.' Euan drove to the house at 1 a.m. and sent Leyva a photograph of a gun in the cup-holder of a car, according to the complaint. 'He ain't here,' he wrote to Leyva. Later, Euan allegedly told Leyva he sent people to vandalize Abrego's family home. According to the complaint, he sent photographs of graffiti that read, 'Swifty Blue 187,' a reference to the California penal code section for murder. Euan, 37, eluded arrest Wednesday and remains at large, according to the FBI.
Yahoo
13-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Exposed: How Texans' Tax Dollars Fund Political Agendas
When state Sen. Mayes Middleton sponsored a bill to ban taxpayer-funded lobbying, he hoped it would end the use of peoples' money against their own interests. 'For too long, taxpayers' and parents' own tax dollars have been used to lobby against them in Austin,' Middleton said in a statement to The Dallas Express. Middleton, a Republican, introduced SB 19 in the state Senate in February, aiming to ban public bodies from hiring lobbyists. 'These taxpayer-funded lobbyists have squandered millions of dollars of your hard-earned dollars to lobby against border security, election integrity, parental choice in education, teacher pay raises, and even fought against property tax relief and reform,' Middleton said in the statement. Tarrant County Judge Tim O'Hare endorsed Middleton's proposed ban on taxpayer-funded lobbying in February. 'It's time for Texas to put a stop to using our tax dollars for special interest lobbying,' he posted at the time. Close to $100 million in public funds is spent each year on taxpayer-funded lobbying, according to Middleton. Public bodies across Texas spent up to $98.6 million in 2023 – up from $75 million in 2021 – to hire 'contract lobbyists,' according to a report by the Texas Public Policy Foundation. James Quintero, policy director of the group's Taxpayer Protection Project, wrote that these numbers fail to 'capture the full weight of taxpayer-funded lobbying.' He added that local governments also use tax dollars to hire 'in-house lobbyists' and pay membership dues to 'politically active groups that represent political subdivisions to the legislature.' Quintero wrote that it is 'more difficult to quantify' these kinds of lobbying due to the large volume of information. 'The practice of T[axpayer] F[unded] L[obbying] is being utilized by local governments to lobby state government for more government – and in a decidedly leftwing direction,' Quintero wrote. 'It is tantamount to the weaponization of public money against the public interest, for the benefit of a select few.' Groups like the Texas Association of School Boards used 'school tax dollars' to protect men going into girls' restrooms and locker rooms, and invited 'transgender advocates' to train school board members on pronouns, Middleton said. In the past, the TASB reportedly helped block school choice. The TASB uses 'taxpayer-funded' lobbying, and it spent up to $1.89 million as of the '2024 election season,' according to Transparency USA. Since 2015, the group has spent up to $6.8 million. Its 'advocacy agenda' is off-limits to the public. The TASB denounced efforts to ban lobbying with public money: 'Prohibiting Local Governments from Lobbying is Community Censorship.' Dallas directed more than $1 million to its 'internal lobbyists,' which support legislation it says 'protect[s] the rights of all vulnerable communities, including LGBTQIA+ individuals, youth, seniors, and refugees.' Fort Worth supports legislation that would 'prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.' Other large cities across Texas also fund lobbyists with public money. Austin uses its 'public-private team of lobbyists' to 'actively support legislation' backed by the city council, like 'pay-equity, education-equity, housing-equity, and health-equity.' Houston supports measures 'strengthening local governments' regulatory authority over energy industry participants.' San Antonio's Government Affairs Department pushes legislation supporting 'health equity and social justice.' Middleton's ban on taxpayer-funded lobbying – backed by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick – passed the state Senate in March but ultimately died in the state House. Before it passed the first chamber, Republican state Sen. Robert Nichols introduced an amendment that gutted the bill. This removed the ban on public dollars for nonprofits that hire lobbyists and created carve-outs for nonprofits. TASB is a nonprofit, so this would have exempted the group from the public lobbying ban. 'Time and time again, we have seen taxpayer-funded lobbyists advocate against Texans and against common sense,' Middleton said in a statement. 'We don't need an Austin lobbyist middleman between state and local elected officials. We are elected to represent our constituents directly.'
04-06-2025
- General
Immigration courts dismissing cases of Venezuelan migrants sent to El Salvador: Attorneys
The immigration cases of some of the Venezuelan migrants who were deported to El Salvador under the Alien Enemies Act in March have been dismissed, their attorneys said, raising concern from advocates and lawyers who say the move is a violation of due process. For more than two months, John Dutton, a Houston-based immigration attorney, fought to keep one of his client's immigration case open. Henrry Albornoz Quintero, who was detained in Dallas in January after showing up to a routine check-in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, was deported to the notorious CECOT prison in El Salvador in March. After Quintero was deported, Dutton continued to show up to his client's immigration hearings where he says the government attorneys declined to answer questions about his client and pushed for dismissal. Quintero's case was dismissed "due to a lack of jurisdiction," Dutton said. "There's just nothing [the judge] could do," Dutton said. "Henrry is not here because the president shipped him out of the country. What's an immigration judge going to do to stop that?" Dutton previously told ABC News that Quintero's wife, who entered the U.S. with him last year, had a baby in April. Michelle Brane, the executive director of the immigration support group Together and Free, told ABC News that her team has tracked at least 15 immigration cases of migrants who were sent to CECOT that were recently dismissed. Some of the cases include active pending asylum applications. Brane said she believes immigration courts should "administratively close" the cases, which would allow them to be reopened "if and when" the person is brought back. "Dismissing as opposed to administratively closing is sort of making an assumption that these people will never come back," Brane said. "And I think that's premature and certainly based on the court decisions, so far, they should be brought back to receive some kind of due process." If the Venezuelan migrants were to be brought back, there is no process for reopening their immigration cases, Brane said. The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to ABC News' request for comment. Mark Prada, an attorney representing a 24-year-old Venezuelan, said he was able to have his client's case administratively closed. "I was able to cut the head off the snake before it could poke out of its hole," he told ABC News. Isabel Carlota Roby, an attorney for the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights organization, told ABC News that at least seven of the 10 men her group represents had some form of legal protection in the U.S., including Temporary Protected Status or pending asylum applications before being deported to CECOT in El Salvador. Roby said her group represents them internationally -- filing habeus petitions in El Salvador and other types of advocacy -- but does not represent them in U.S. immigration court. However, she said many of them have had their cases dismissed recently. She told ABC News that most of the migrants her group represents do not have immigration attorneys. "They basically represented themselves in court and presented their own asylum cases," Carlota Roby said. "Most of them simply were deported and their cases were just left behind and that was it." "They were denied due process, they are disappeared, and they are now in this legal limbo where they remain in a prison with no legal protections, excluded from the protection of the law, and they don't know if they'll ever have a chance at a fair trial," she added. The Trump administration invoked the Alien Enemies Act -- an 18th century wartime authority used to remove noncitizens with little-to-no due process -- to deport more than 200 alleged migrant gang members to CECOT by arguing that the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua is a "hybrid criminal state" that is invading the United States. An official with the ICE acknowledged that "many" of the men deported on March 15 lack criminal records in the United States -- but said that "the lack of specific information about each individual actually highlights the risk they pose." Many of their families have also denied gang involvement. The government is temporarily barred from removing migrants under the proclamation after the Supreme Court extended its injunction last month and remanded the case to the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to resolve the question of how much time should be afforded for detainees to contest their removals. Some attorneys told ABC News they are appealing the dismissals. The lawyer for Jose Franco Caraballo Tiapa, a 26-year-old Venezuelan migrant who was seeking asylum in the U.S., and was detained after showing up to his routine check-in with ICE, filed an appeal after his client's case was dismissed. "The dismissal results in what can be construed as a violation of due process, as he was not given the opportunity to be heard on his asylum claim," said Martin Rosenow. Lindsay Toczylowski, the attorney who represents Andry Hernandez Romero, a gay makeup artist who was sent to CECOT in El Salvador, said in a statement that her client was denied due process. "DHS is doing everything it can to erase the fact that Andry came to the United States seeking asylum and he was denied due process as required by our Constitution," Toczylowski said. "The idea that the government can disappear you because of your tattoos, and never even give you a day in court, should send a chill down the spine of every American."
28-05-2025
Alleged jet ski driver booked on manslaughter in hit-and-run that killed Air Force Academy cadet candidate
The alleged driver of a jet ski that fatally collided with a U.S. Air Force Academy cadet candidate while she was kayaking has been booked for manslaughter in the "tragic, unnecessary death," authorities said Wednesday. Ava Moore, 18, was killed in a jet ski hit-and-run while kayaking on Grapevine Lake in north Texas on Sunday evening, authorities said. The jet ski was traveling at a high rate of speed at the time, according to Texas Game Warden Capt. Joseph Quintero. The suspected operator of the jet ski -- 21-year-old Daikerlyn Alejandra Gonzalez Gonzalez -- fled the scene in a vehicle with Maikel Coello Perozo, also 21, authorities said. As they left, the vehicle collided with two other vehicles, Quintero said. Following a search for the suspects, both Gonzalez and Perozo were arrested on Tuesday, Quintero said, crediting "good hard detective work" and tips from the public with leading investigators to a home in Dallas where the two were located. Gonzalez has been booked on felony manslaughter charges in Moore's death, which is being investigated by the Texas Game Wardens, Quintero said. Perozo was charged with collision involving damage to a vehicle and hindering apprehension, both misdemeanors, Quintero said. The automotive hit-and-run is being investigated by the Grapevine Police Department. More charges could be filed amid the ongoing investigation, Quintero said. "The tragic, unnecessary death of anybody on the public waters of the state of Texas is something that we're always fighting to try to deter and stop from happening, and this is a great example of that," Quintero said during a press briefing on Wednesday. "It is a tragic, tragic situation, and I hope that people will take this and use this opportunity to not only remember Miss Moore, but also to remember to be safe on the public waters," he added. Quintero said investigators are looking into whether there was proper permitting to operate the jet ski and if alcohol was a factor. They are also reviewing footage from the scene. A female passenger on the jet ski who remained on shore after the collision has not been charged at this time, Quintero said. The nature of the relationship between Gonzalez and Perozo is unclear at this time, Quintero said. Both are undocumented Venezuelan nationals, according to Joshua Johnson, the acting field office director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Dallas. "It's my understanding both individuals crossed the southern border in 2023 or 2024," Johnson said at the press briefing. "They were arrested at the time of entry, processed for a notice to appear, and then released on their own recognizance." ICE has lodged immigration detainers for both and once the state case is complete, they will take custody of them and proceed with the immigration process, Johnson said. Moore had just graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School on May 19 and had accepted an appointment to join the academy as a member of the class of 2029, according to the school. Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind remembered her as an "exemplary teammate." "We lost an exemplary teammate this weekend -- Cadet Candidate Ava Moore, whose passion for leadership and service left an impact on everyone she met," Bauernfeind said in a statement. "Ava's constant happiness and attitude helped her squadron get through the challenges of the Prep School, and her drive to excel was on display as she sought out leadership positions to improve herself and her team." Moore's family expressed thanks for the messages of love, support and prayers they've received in a statement read on their behalf during Wednesday's briefing. "This is a difficult time for all involved, but also an opportunity for our beautiful girl to continue to impact our community," her family said. "Out of this tragedy, God will make good, and that only can be accomplished through forgiveness."
Yahoo
28-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Alleged jet ski driver booked on manslaughter in hit-and-run that killed Air Force Academy cadet candidate
The alleged driver of a jet ski that fatally collided with a U.S. Air Force Academy cadet candidate while she was kayaking has been booked for manslaughter in the "tragic, unnecessary death," authorities said Wednesday. Ava Moore, 18, was killed in a jet ski hit-and-run while kayaking on Grapevine Lake in north Texas on Sunday evening, authorities said. The jet ski was traveling at a high rate of speed at the time, according to Texas Game Warden Capt. Joseph Quintero. The suspected operator of the jet ski -- 21-year-old Daikerlyn Alejandra Gonzalez Gonzalez -- fled the scene in a vehicle with Maikel Coello Perozo, also 21, authorities said. As they left, the vehicle collided with two other vehicles, Quintero said. Following a search for the suspects, both Gonzalez and Perozo were arrested on Tuesday, Quintero said, crediting "good hard detective work" and tips from the public with leading investigators to a home in Dallas where the two were located. MORE: 2 arrested after jet ski hit-and-run death of Texas teen Gonzalez has been booked on felony manslaughter charges in Moore's death, which is being investigated by the Texas Game Wardens, Quintero said. Perozo was charged with collision involving damage to a vehicle and hindering apprehension, both misdemeanors, Quintero said. The automotive hit-and-run is being investigated by the Grapevine Police Department. More charges could be filed amid the ongoing investigation, Quintero said. "The tragic, unnecessary death of anybody on the public waters of the state of Texas is something that we're always fighting to try to deter and stop from happening, and this is a great example of that," Quintero said during a press briefing on Wednesday. "It is a tragic, tragic situation, and I hope that people will take this and use this opportunity to not only remember Miss Moore, but also to remember to be safe on the public waters," he added. Quintero said investigators are looking into whether there was proper permitting to operate the jet ski and if alcohol was a factor. They are also reviewing footage from the scene. A female passenger on the jet ski who remained on shore after the collision has not been charged at this time, Quintero said. MORE: Jet ski driver flees after killing 18-year-old kayaker in Texas: Police The nature of the relationship between Gonzalez and Perozo is unclear at this time, Quintero said. Both are undocumented Venezuelan nationals, according to Joshua Johnson, the acting field office director for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Dallas. "It's my understanding both individuals crossed the southern border in 2023 or 2024," Johnson said at the press briefing. "They were arrested at the time of entry, processed for a notice to appear, and then released on their own recognizance." ICE has lodged immigration detainers for both and once the state case is complete, they will take custody of them and proceed with the immigration process, Johnson said. Moore had just graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy Preparatory School on May 19 and had accepted an appointment to join the academy as a member of the class of 2029, according to the school. Academy Superintendent Lt. Gen. Tony Bauernfeind remembered her as an "exemplary teammate." "We lost an exemplary teammate this weekend -- Cadet Candidate Ava Moore, whose passion for leadership and service left an impact on everyone she met," Bauernfeind said in a statement. "Ava's constant happiness and attitude helped her squadron get through the challenges of the Prep School, and her drive to excel was on display as she sought out leadership positions to improve herself and her team." Moore's family expressed thanks for the messages of love, support and prayers they've received in a statement read on their behalf during Wednesday's briefing. "This is a difficult time for all involved, but also an opportunity for our beautiful girl to continue to impact our community," her family said. "Out of this tragedy, God will make good, and that only can be accomplished through forgiveness." Alleged jet ski driver booked on manslaughter in hit-and-run that killed Air Force Academy cadet candidate originally appeared on
