MARBELLA CLUB

Carlos “Ciego” Bladimir Montoya is an active member of the gang Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13. Montoya was arrested on Sunday, May 3 in eastern Loudoun.
Montoya joined the ULS clique of MS-13 in 2002, and rose to become its leader. At the time of Montoya’s arrest last week, on federal charges of Aiding and Abetting Murder in the Aide of Racketeering, he was staying at a residence in Sterling.
Montoya’s gang-related activities were not limited to Loudoun. On May 5, 2007 in Fairfax County, police were called to an apartment complex after residents reported gunshots fired in the area. When Fairfax Police arrived, they found the dead body of Melvin “Pelon” Aguilar Reyes lying in the parking lot. Pelon was a member of the 18th Street gang, the rival gang of MS-13.The FBI was able to solve the case after a confidential witness spoke to the investigator about their role in the May 5, 2007 murder of Reyes. The witness admitted that he/she, along with four other MS-13 members, went to the apartment “patrolling” for chavalas—rival gang members or associates identified as disloyal. The five MS-13 gang members, driven by Montoya in his black Lexus, set their sights on Reyes. Montoya later confessed to FBI officials that two of these members had handguns, one of which was a revolver. According to Montoya, he drove to the back of the apartment buildings, parked on the street, and three of the gang members exited his vehicle. Reportedly, the three individuals told Montoya to wait in the car and to keep it running. They ran toward the apartment building when Montoya heard shots fired. When the three returned to the car, according to Montoya, they “bragged” of how they had shot the chavala and he had “fallen down.”According to court documents, Reyes was known to have had prior run-ins with members of MS-13. In an interview, Montoya described him as “cocky and all tatted up.” This was the second time Montoya had gone searching for the 18th Street gang member. Just a few days before, the same group had searched for “Pelon,” but could not locate him.On Sunday, May 3, the future of Montoya’s leadership in this part of MS-13 came to a swift end when a sheriff’s deputy recognized a vehicle registered to Montoya parked at a residence on Samantha Drive in Sterling. Sheriff’s deputies served a search warrant and too Montoya into custody for the 2007 homicide of Reyes.Montoya faces federal charges of Aiding and Abetting Murder in the Aid of Racketeering under Title 18 of the United States Code. Montoya–originally held at the Loudoun County Adult Detention Center–has now been transferred to federal authorities.In the wake of the recent homicide in Lansdowne less than two months ago, Loudoun residents are particularly sensitive to gang-related issues. After March 22, when Potomac Station residents William Bennett was murdered and wife Cynthia brutally beaten during a Sunday morning walk, residents demanded answers. The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office captured four suspects in six weeks—with not much more than a white van as a clue. When four suspects were arrested with “loose ties” to a nationally recognized gang, old questions turned into new concerns.
Although Loudoun County Sheriff Steve Simpson could only say the motive was most likely robbery, he remains certain the attack was not connected to a gang initiation or ritual.Gang Response Team Coordinator Edward Ryan of the Northern Virginia Gang Task Force said that although things are under the microscope more now than they were before the Lansdowne murder, gang activity is no more prevalent than it was at this time last year. Ryan notes the Gang Task Forces philosophy is three-pronged: suppression (which works more for law enforcement), intervention and prevention. They provide services to kids and families at risk, instilling positive role models to prevent furthering the gang lifestyle. Non-profits and other organizations are involved–hoping that the converged efforts will curtail future gang activity.
At the April 30 Community Meeting at the National Conference Center, Sergeant David Zuleger acknowledged the existence of four gangs in the Loudoun area—MS-13, 18th Street Gang, the Bloods and the Crips–with a total of 180-200 members. Zuleger runs the seven-person Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office Gang Unit. The unit’s functions include gang-related investigations, intelligence gathering, training, inter-agency support and suppression.

Baltimore homicide detectives are investigating threats by two suspected members of the MS-13 gang to kill a Baltimore police officer, the alleged gang members threatened to kill an unidentified police officer during questioning at Southeast District headquarters.The suspects had been arrested on gun possession charges.The officer reported that the suspects – whom police believe have ties to the violent MS-13 gang – said they had killed a police officer in El Salvador and only got two years in prison, according to a report filed by the officer.Then, the officer alleges, the suspects threatened to kill him.
“We’ll do the same to you,” the report states.The threats were made during an investigation of activities of the gang in the Southeast police district that includes parts of Fells Point, home to the city’s 5,000-member Hispanic community.The officer who was threatened is Hispanic, and was translating questions posed to suspected gang members after their arrests. The officer noted in his report the violent history of the gang, which often target family members.The threats were made directly to the police officer during an investigation and were considered credible enough to warrant a full investigation by the city’s homicide division, a source from the Southeast district said.MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, is a gang with Salvadorian roots that has been gaining growing influence in the Baltimore/Washington area, according to federal prosecutors.Last week, Victor Ramirez, aka "Mousey," 30, a resident of Hyattsville who was born in El Salvador, was sentenced to 60 years in prison for his role in three murders and a string of violent crimes including armed robbery."The evidence proved that MS-13 sent Victor Ramirez to Maryland from El Salvador as part of a plan to strengthen the MS-13 gang and expand the gang’s criminal activity," U.S. Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein said after Ramirez was sentenced.Along with MS-13, the recent high-profile murder case involving eight alleged members of the city’s Bounty Hunters gang, a violent drug organization with ties to the Bloods, also has garnered headlines. Eight suspected members, incuding a 16-year-old female, have been charged with first-degree murder.Police allege that eight gang members beat 20-year-old Petro Taylor unconscious at a Baltimore motel last December then drove him to a secluded area of Leakin Park,where they stabbed him more than 30 times before dousing him with gasoline and setting him on fire. The state medical examiner’s office determined Taylor was burned alive.Last week a series of violent incidents at the city’s Inner Harbor area – including two stabbings – raised the specter of a growing gang presence at Baltimore’s most popular tourist destination. The violence including the vicious beating of a Michigan teen who was pummeled on Pratt Street by a group of young men wearing bandannas.