Gang Unit

Gang Roundup

            On February 21, 2012, the Corpus Christi Police Department spearheaded a multi-agency ‘Round-Up’ of wanted gang members.  The ‘Round-Up,’ organized by the Corpus Christi Police Gang Unit, was a concerted effort by numerous local law enforcement agencies to take gang members off the street in an effort to reduce crime, the fear of crime, and enhance public safety.

            The plan started over a month ago, when Gang Unit Captain Donnie Mersing asked the CCPD Crime Analysis and Tactical Intelligence Center (CATIC) to compile a list of wanted Corpus Christi Gang Members.  The list included 122 names.  As the list was being put together, some gang members were arrested immediately, based on a need to keep Corpus Christi safe; and others were arrested out of the course of routine business.  It was also determined that 23 of the wanted gang members were already in jail or prison on other charges.  The final list for the ‘Round-Up’ included the names of 93 gang members.

            About 70 Law Enforcement Officials participated in the ‘Round-Up’ during its first day of operation and apprehended 12 gang members and 7 other individuals.  In addition to the initial warrants, charges on the gang members and the other individuals include: Controlled Substance, Possession of Dangerous Drugs, Failure to Identify, Public Intoxication, and Municipal Court Warrants.

            The ‘Round-Up’ also yielded a search warrant based on information found during one of the arrests.  The search warrant produced 8 guns, suspected cocaine, marijuana, and over $7000.00 cash.  The search warrant was executed at 2538 Dunbar, the same location that Jose Garcia 7/18/1985 was arrested.

 

 

The gang members arrested on the first day of the ‘Round-Up’ include:

  1. Alberto Cabrera 1/6/1969
  2. Eusebio Castillo 2/12/1980
  3. Pascual Chavana 8/24/1971
  4. Ramiro Cuellar 2/26/1994 (also charged with – Failure to Identify)
  5. Daniel Garcia 4/7/1990
  6. Jose Garcia 7/18/1985 (also charged with – Possession of Controlled Substance, Marijuana, Unlawful Possession of Firearm by Felon, Unlawful Possession of Body Armor)
  7. John Guerra 3/4/1977
  8. Jesse Martinez 8/21/1983 (also charged with – Possession of Controlled Substance)
  9. Joshua Moya 5/2/1990
  10. Ruben Perez 4/8/1993
  11. Lon Radcliff 8/20/1987
  12. Gregory Reed 8/4/1975

One gang member, likely with knowledge of the ‘Round-Up,’ turned himself into the Nueces County Sheriff’s Office yesterday.  He is Larry Torres 6/10/1977.

The 7 other individuals arrested yesterday are:

  1. Aaron Bell 6/5/1987 (also charged with – Possession of Controlled Substance)
  2. Hector Borrego 12/29/1972
  3. Benjamin Noblett 1/24/1981
  4. Monique Ramirez 12/17/80
  5. Kayla Rosales 6/20/1994 (also charged with – Failure to Identify)
  6. Randall Trevino 1/15/1971
  7. Charles Young 2/22/1966 (also charged with – Public Intoxication)

The agencies that participated in the ‘Round-Up’ include:

  • Corpus Christi Police Department
  • Alcohol Tobacco Firearms
  • Drug Enforcement Administration
  • Federal Bureau of Investigation
  • Immigration Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations
  • Naval Criminal Investigative Service
  • Nueces County Sheriff’s Office
  • United States Marshall’s
  • Texas Department of Public Safety

The ‘‘Round-Up’’ has continued today, and will continue tomorrow.  So far today, there have been six gang members and one other individual arrested for warrants.

Gang Members:

  1. Dylan Ayala 8/21/1991
  2. Christopher Cantera 11/29/1988
  3. Darrell Ewers 2/9/1978
  4. Armando Flores 8/16/1981
  5. Edwardo Rocio 01/15/1993
  6. Jose Ramirez 09/25/1992

Others:

  • Stacy Nesmith 9/15/1983

The gang members arrested prior to the ‘Round-Up’ are:

  • Juventino Castro 4/29/1981
  • Anthony Diaz 9/21/1983
  • Rudolfo Garcia 11/3/1992
  • Larry Lee 1/29/78
  • Roland Rodela 1/19/81
  • Christian Saenz 9/8/76

 At the end of the ‘Round-Up,’ the information about the remaining wanted gang members will be distributed to the Corpus Christi Police Department Patrol Division Officers who will continue looking for these wanted individuals. 

The Corpus Christi PIO Office will provide further information on the ‘Round-Up’ results over the next few days.

Delta District

Overnight Robber Arrested

Occurred on February 22, 2012 3:17 AM     Aggravated Robbery      3302 Baldwin     1202220007

 Officers responded to an overnight robbery at the Stripes store at 3302 Baldwin.  A local Green-N-Go Taxi Driver observed the robbery in progress and quickly called the police.  Prior to Officers arriving at the store, the robber left the store, got into a car, and drove away.  The taxi driver followed in the taxi.

When the two cars stopped at a red light at Baldwin and Cortez, the taxi driver exited the cab and told the robber to get out of his car. The robber was armed with a knife that was displayed during the robbery, but the robber complied with the taxi drivers demand to wait for police to arrive.

The robber was identified as John Gillespie 12/17/1983.  He was arrested and taken to jail.

Delta District

Robber Strikes Three Times Within Hours

Occurred on February 21, 2012 12:49 AM          Robbery      1601 Agnes         1202210007

Officers were called to 1601 Agnes the Stripes Store for a robbery.  The suspect was holding a stick and demanded the money from the register. The suspect was described as a white male wearing a black beanie, flannel shirt/jacket with a hood and camouflage shorts.  The suspect also demanded the store clerk’s wallet, but when the clerk stated he didn’t have a wallet, the suspect settled for a carton of cigarettes and the money from the store. The suspect was barefooted and left running on Brownlee.

Occurred on February 21, 2012 02:06 AM           Robbery       4101 HWY 181   1202210013

The same suspect did another robbery at the Stripes Store located at 4101 Highway 181 at approximately 02:06 AM. This time the suspect was holding a hammer and demanded money from the cash register. The suspect wearing the same clothes from the earlier robbery also wanted the clerk’s wallet. This time the suspect got away with the store’s money and the clerk’s wallet. Again the suspect left on foot.

At 3:05 AM The Portland Police Department responded to a robbery at the Snappy Foods Store in their city. The same description was provided for the suspect in that robbery.

Adam District, Traffic Safety Division

Prison Bus Crash on IH 37

Occurred on February 21, 2012  9:48am Vehicle Crash    9600 Interstate Highway 37         C1201329

Seven people were taken to the hospital as the result of a four vehicle crash that involved a bus that carried prisoners on the controlled access freeway of Interstate Highway 37 Tuesday morning. The bus was in transit from the Nueces County Jail enroute to Beeville when the front of the bus collided with three other passenger cars. There was road construction ahead which reduced the lanes of travel causing the traffic to slow when the bus struck the three other vehicles.

Two people from passenger cars were taken by ambulance immediately with non-life threatening injuries. The thirty one inmates of the Texas Department of Corrections were all individually evaluated by medics at the scene as they were loaded onto a second bus to take them to their destination. Three guards and two inmates from the prison transport bus were taken to the hospital for precautionary treatment. The remainder of the inmates were taken to Beeville and evaluated a second time for any injuries.

Delta District

Footprints in the Dew Leads Alert Officer to Graffiti Vandals

Occurred on February 20, 2012 01:49 AM           Graffiti             2000 Airline               1202210014               

An alert officer patrolling the neighborhood looking for graffiti vandals spotted a suspicious heavy-set male wearing a hooded sweatshirt with the hood covering his head walking on the 1800 block of Airline Road.   The officer saw a second subject run east down a side street nearby.  The officer continued on as if he wasn’t suspicious, but once out of sight of the two men, he doubled back, parked his patrol car in the parking lot of an apartment complex in the 2000 block of Airline, and approached the area on foot.  As soon as the officer got out of his patrol car, he smelled a strong odor of fresh spray paint in the air.  The officer then noticed fresh red spray paint on a metal electrical box near the north entrance of the apartments, as well as fresh blue spray paint on a wooden privacy fence nearby. The officer began walking through the apartment complex and spotted two men sitting inside a parked Dodge pickup near the entrance to the complex.  The officer recognized the passenger in the truck as the same heavy-set man that he had seen walking on Airline moments earlier.  In the rear cup holder of the pickup, the officer observed a can of spray paint. Protruding from beneath the seat, the officer saw two more cans of spray paint. Upon closer examination, the officer noticed two sets of footprints upon the dew covered grass leading from the truck to the vandalized electrical box and fence and back to the pickup. Officers removed both men from the pickup; neither lived in the apartments nor could either offer a plausible explanation as to why they were there. On the hands of the passenger, Rodolfo Molina (DOB: 3-7-94), officers observed specks of red paint, matching the color of the spray paint on the electrical box.  Officers arrested Molina and the driver, Robert Medina (DOB: 8-2-90) for graffiti.  While searching the truck, officers discovered a small amount of marijuana, and three spray paint cans. Both offenders were transported to the City Detention Center and the truck was impounded.

Charlie District, Delta District

Patrol Lieutenant Nabs Auto Burglar

Occurred on February 21, 2012   4:19 AM               4018 SPID                            1202210019

Patrol Lieutenant T. Nichols was parked in a used car lot in the 4000 block of SPID reviewing reports when he heard two loud noises just east of his location.  Nichols looked to see where the sounds came from and then heard two more.  Lt. Nichols drove up the access road and saw Wayne Dimbleby (DOB: 3-28-83) standing near the passenger window of an Oldsmobile Alero with a hammer in his hand.  Nichols ordered him to drop the hammer and get down on the ground; Dimbleby complied after tossing the hammer through the now broken passenger window.  Dimbleby was arrested and charged with auto burglary.  The registered owner of the car told officers that she had left the car in the business parking lot after it had broken down.  She recognized Dimbleby as a friend of her boyfriends, but did not give him permission to break into her car.

Charlie District

Graffiti Vandals Thwarted by Alert Homeowner

Occurred February 20, 2012 11:03 PM          NESBITT @ MANSHEIM                           1202200150

A homeowner  called police to report that two teenage boys ran off when he caught them spraying graffiti on his fence on the 4700 block of Franklin Drive. Officer J. Wicks was responding to investigate when he spotted two teenage boys walking on the 2900 block of Mansheim.   When Wicks stopped to speak to the teens, the two fled on foot in opposite directions.  After a brief foot chase, both teens were apprehended.  During the foot pursuit, one of the teens, Jeremy Ybarra (DOB: 8-18-93), dropped a sweatshirt containing two cans of spray paint.   A short time later responding officers apprehended the second suspect, Michael Lopez (DOB: 11-5-93), hiding in the front yard of a residence in the 4700 block of Nesbitt.  Officers searched the surrounding neighborhood and found several fences, street signs, and sidewalks covered with fresh graffiti.  Overall, officers identified at least twelve separate victims of this vandalism spree. CCPD Graffiti Task Force Detective Ramiro Torres was then summoned to the scene to continue the investigation. Officers searched Ybarra’s car and discovered several more spray paint cans and a small quantity of marijuana.  Officers also conducted a search of Lopez’s home and discovered numerous spray paint cans, two stolen city street signs, and a small quantity of marijuana.  Both teens were arrested and charged with evading arrest, graffiti, and possession of marijuana. Lopez was additionally charged with theft for the street signs found in the garage of his home.

Bravo District

Local Business Burglarized

Occurred on 1/29/12l 3:26 p.m.   Burglary of a Building   5433 S. Staples   1201290038

Officers contacted the owner of Mr. Nice Guys who reported the business was burglarized during the early morning hours. 

Video surveillance revealed two males were seen entering the business through a side window.  The suspects were seen taking numerous acrylic water pipes valued at $250.

The suspects are of unknown ethnicity and appear to be wearing dark clothing.  Anyone having any information regarding this crime is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 888-TIPS or the Corpus Christi Police Department Property Crimes Unit.

Delta District

What’s Mine Is Ours

Occurred on 2/20/12, 03:04 a.m.  Possession of a Controlled Substance   Arlington Drive/Blanco Court   1202200018

Officers pulled over a red 1992 Chrysler New Yorker for driving without headlights and contacted the occupants who appeared to be hiding something.  The driver Moises Munguia (09/11/58) was detained in a police vehicle while Officers conducted their investigation. 

While one of the Officers kept an eye on the passenger Jose Reyna (09/04/77), he observed Reyna reach over the driver’s side and throw a baggy containing a very large rock of Crack Cocaine onto the floorboard.  Total weight of the Cocaine was 41.03 grams. Neither Munguia nor Reyna claimed ownership of the baggy and both were arrested.

Both were charged with Possession of a Controlled Substance, while Reyna was additionally charged with an outstanding Municipal Court warrant for Failure to Maintain Financial Responsibility in the amount of $221.  Officers seized $1,200 from Reyna.  Munguia was also cited for Driving without Lights and Failure to Display Driver’s License.

Charlie District

Victim Stabbed as He Walks Home

Occurred on 2/18/12, 5:56 p.m.  Aggravated Assault   Kostoryz/Norton     1202180110

Officers contacted a 27–year-old assault victim at Doctor’s Regional Hospital who reported he was assaulted as he walked home.  Victim told Officers he was attacked by three Hispanic males who began to kick and punch him.  The males continued to assault him as he lay on the ground. 

One of the males slashed at him with a knife lacerating his forearm as he protected his face.  The victim’s injury was serious and will require surgery.

The armed suspect is described as Hispanic male, 16 to 22 years of age, 5’8” to 5’10” feet tall and weighing 150 to 180 lbs.  The other two males are described as Hispanic males.

Anyone having any information regarding this crime is encouraged to call Crime Stoppers at 888-TIPS or the Corpus Christi Police Department Homicide/Robbery Bureau.

Corpus Christi Police Daily Blotter