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 Two U.S. Marines arrested and indicted for Execution fashion homicide over drug cash

Michael Webster: Investigative Reporter July 24, 2008 at four:00 PM PDT

Camp Pendleton California two Marines will probably be arraigned Friday on expenses of fatally capturing to demise Pvt. Stephen Serrano, 20, of El Dorado, Calif., Lance Cpl. Christian Carney, 21, of Manorville, N.Y., and Pvt. Alvin Lovely, 20, of Dallas are accused of killing him again on May 13 of this yr. According to Military police the 2 suspects admitted the crime as a result of they believed he and an unidentified Marine had stolen cash from them. Both the alleged killers and the victims are believed to have bought cocaine, ecstasy and different medicine on the bottom. The Orange county DA’s workplace studies.

Prosecutors on this case affirm that the 2 Marines have been concerned in drug dealing at Camp Pendleton and the San Diego Orange County areas in southern California and killed Pvt. Stephen Serrano gangland fashion as a result of they have been informed he stole from them. Both are dealing with homicide costs consequently.

The medicine being bought are from Mexican drug cartel gangs that are believed to have infiltrated Camp Pendleton and different Marine bases throughout America, in line with one excessive degree DEA agent who refused to be named. When Carney and Lovely came upon the cash had been taken, they drove the unidentified Marine to a secluded, hilly space of San Clemente, pointed a gun at his head and threatened to kill him if he did not determine who stole the money, prosecutors stated. Prosecutors went on to say fearing for his life, the Marine informed them Serrano did it.

Later that day, authorities stated, Carney and Lovely drove Serrano to the identical hillside space and shot him level clean as soon as within the face and 3 times within the again execution type earlier than fleeing.

A hiker found Serrano’s physique mendacity face down in a drainage ditch May 15, 2008.

The Orange County Grand Jury indicted each Carney and Lovely earlier this month on one felony rely of homicide and one felony rely of legal threats. Carney can also be charged with trying to dissuade a witness from testifying by threatening to kill or have the witness killed. Prosecutors stated that after the killing, Carney informed the unidentified Marine to not speak about what that they had executed to Serrano or he can be killed two.

The homicide investigation was taken away from army investigators as a result of the alleged crimes occurred off base.

The violent Tijuana drug cartel also referred to as the Arellano-Felix group (AFO) has a agency and lethal maintain on all drug trafficking actions in Baja and San Diego County California the place Camp Pendleton is situated.

Richard Valdemar, a 30-year-veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, travels the nation lecturing and educating police about military-trained gang members. Valdemar and different gang specialists say gangs are encouraging members to hitch the army for coaching to study city warfare and study the newest weaponry.

The army’s present emphasis on city warfare performs into the street-fighting mentality of gangs, specialists say.

“When individuals go into the military, they are taught how to use weapons, defensive tactics, and the use of a lot of sophisticated techniques,” stated LaRae Quy, of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. “They take that back on the streets with them. This is a legitimate concern for law enforcement.”

Valdemar cites former Camp Pendleton Marine Sgt. Jesse Quintanilla as only one high-profile instance. A army courtroom sentenced Quintanilla to demise in 1996 for killing his government officer and wounding his commanding officer.

When interrogators requested Quintanilla why he dedicated the crimes, Quintanilla stated it was for “his brown brothers,” in line with Valdemar. Quintanilla confirmed them a tattoo on his chest with the phrase “Sureno,” a reference to a California gang, in response to courtroom paperwork.

Law enforcement officers in San Diego say road gangs right here proceed to have robust ties with organized crime teams in Tijuana. A gunman killed just lately in an assault in Tijuana is believed to belong to each a gang in Barrio Logan and the Arellano Felix Drug Cartel. KPBS Reporter Amy Isackson reported. For years, Mexican drug trafficking teams have recruited U.S. gang members to do every little thing from smuggle medicine to homicide. Tijuana’s Arellano Felix Drug Cartel and a gang from San Diego’s Barrio Logan neighborhood return a minimum of 15 years.

A Joint Task Force composed of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been established in San Diego, California to focus on the AFO: the Task Force is investigating AFO operations in southern California and associated regional investigations which monitor drug transportation, distribution and cash laundering actions of the AFO all through the United States. It is now believed that the investigation can also be wanting into Marine and Navy private involvement.  Click on or google:

Sources:

DEA,FBI,DIA

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Source by michael Webster