Word spread through the unit the way it always had, at bewildering speed: Joe Arredondo was a dead man. Examples of coded language indicating that someone is to be eliminated include putting an X over the name of the individual or by referring to this targeted individual as X. Additionally, TS members will state that this targeted individual has a green light, or has been designated as a muleta (problem). On the witness stand, Sandoval suggested that the caller was someone from TDCJ Internal Affairs; more likely, he was a Texas Syndicate member delivering the message that the TS would not be amused if Sandoval blew the whistle on their activities. Somehow an inmate by the name of Vicente had gotten past the new boots boys. The defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. They are affiliated with local prison gangs and often stock their ranks with young children, some in their early teens (not an uncommon practice for gangs in general). But Ellis I officials, like so many other wardens in the post-Ruiz era, were playing a numbers game. (Fong 41) The fact that the gangs would still find ways to take advantage of people not qualified for their gang, is enough evidence that the gangs in the prison system, find their ways in maintaining power over their victims. Whoever killed him had to have come through the B-wing hallway and had to have been dripping with blood. Not everyone was so sympathetic, however. The roles in the Arredondo hit were decided in either the chow hall or the chapel, where numbers were drawn from a cup. Sandoval was one of the officers I wanted to be like, said one correctional officer whom Sandoval helped train. Texas Syndicate Gang Members. But to prison officials, the story is as familiar as the smell of marijuana in a cellblock and the sight of an inmate with a hand-tooled shank. After the lockdown, the murder rate plunged. A fresh take on sports: the biggest news and most entertaining lists. [2] As a street gang, heavy activity has been reported in Austin, Corpus Christi, the Rio Grande Valley and the Dallas Fort Worth area in Texas. This past May, the bullet-riddled body of Mexican Mafia member Andres Sampyro was found in a San Antonio barrio. I just want to take care of my business, he would tell gang members who tried to recruit him. In a sense, you become a convict also.. Thereafter, inmates made their blades out of hard plastic or made do with whatever crude instrument was within reach, like the cast-iron weight an inmate found in the recreation yard and used, with one vicious swing, to lop off the ear of another inmate. Anytime they choseanytimethey could kill him. The first major TDCJ gang, a Hispanic group known as the Texans, consisted of former residents who were doing time in California penal institutions in the mid-seventies. When a new member is ready to be "patched in," they are instructed to go buy a new pair of jeans and a denim jacket. It was not the most hospitable climate for trust, which was something Sandoval felt inclined to consider when Armando Garcia and Vicente held out a letter and asked Sandoval to mail it for them. Yes, he had made the phone calls. A host of documents relating to the trial, as well as interviews with numerous sources involved in the case, have provided chilling details of how Texas prisons really work today. Here are fifteen of the most troubling and horrifying gang initiation rituals around the world. by . In addition, you will have to deregister from any wars or invasions. Hey, boss, you got a light? Luis Sandoval pulled out his lighter and, as he had before, lit the cigarette held by Armando Garcia. In total, the gang had an estimated 5,000 members in Juarez and 3,000 in the United States in 2013, Insight Crime reported. To get drugs out of the free world and into prison cells, there must be a courier. Everyone agreed that the building tender system was a cheap and crudely effective method of maintaining order. Join The Syndicate Speak with representative Astrid in the Syndicate Enclave and, should you desire, join the Syndicate Go up the stairs within the Enclave to speak with Astrid. According to testimony, the man who drew the magic card, number one, was TS sergeant Carlos Rosas, a 31-year-old Dallas resident who was serving thirty years for aggravated robbery. First, a new prisoner or prospective member is asked a question by a member. Unlike most state crises, there is absolutely no mystery to the takeover of our prisons by violent gangs. But now that seemed the least of Luis Sandovals worries. The money chiefly comes from drugs. His father died. But the report was not a signed confession. If you didnt treat your snitch right, he would scurry off to a more grateful listener and begin his new relationship by snitching on you. The Texas Syndicate 2,082 views Jun 18, 2022 62 Dislike Share Save Gangsters Cops and Politicians 3.4K subscribers Gang Expert Gabe Morales discusses the California roots of the Texas. Popular on college campuses, most fraternities or sororities still have rites of initiation, but the focus is now being put on making the experience fun and mildly embarrassing, rather than something that causes a new member to need therapy. Nearly all of them, however, confessed that they knew TDCJ had its share of dirty guards. The gang mostly deals drugs, with Oxycontin, heroin, and crack being the big ticket money-makers. Give me your shirt, he ordered an inmate and with it applied pressure to the wound. [1], The history of the group and documented acts of violence in other jurisdictions warrant their certification as a Security Threat Group. The procedure is referred to as clearing a TS member or running the lights. Members in prison were cleared by exhibiting documentation such as plea agreements, presentence investigation reports, judgments or other case-related document, to enable higher-ranking members to verify that the person to be cleared did not cooperate with law enforcement. As of 2000, the Texas Syndicate had about 1,000 members in prisons and jails state-wide, with many more on the outside. Other weapons were by-products of inmate ingenuity, as in the case of Cosmo, the death row inmate who fashioned a bomb out of matchstick tips and an asthma inhaler and blew a hole in his cell wall. Id say about eighty percent of the inmates knew he was dealing clamed one inmate who was close to the action. If several TS members commit a crime, it is not uncommon for one member to demonstrate his loyalty by taking responsibility for the crime in order to shield other TS brothers from the attention of law enforcement. He was on a westbound bus, fleeing the state. Joshua Fechter is a reporter covering City Hall and San Antonio politics for the Express-News. Texas Syndicate: Founded in the 1970s at the Folsom State Prison in California ; . I could watch him deal with inmates and think, This guy knows something I dont know., One evening, while gazing out from his apartment balcony, Sandoval saw a car drive slowly by. The organization, also known as Los Barrios, derives some of its strength through alliances with Mexican drug cartels. After being released from California prisons these inmates returned to Texas, often returning to violence and re-entering the prison system. Now it was May 1991, and Sandoval was behind bars, his fate in the hands of a Huntsville jury. There were many times when he said, I aint gonna do this shit anymore. And wed think, well, maybe were putting too much pressure on him. For several days, Sandoval read the Bible and considered his options. And as you work there, you tend to become a product of your environment. This practice violated the Ruiz stipulation that an officer must be present at all times at any entrance or exit of the main building. He had lied to his own investigator, just as inmates and Internal Affairs had lied to the jurors. Yes, he had mailed Vicentes letters, had cashed two money orders for the inmate, and on three different occasions, had delivered packages from a parking lot to a telephone booth. Many recruits show up voluntarily, but the group does practice kidnapping and forced recruitment. Categories Community content is available under CC-BY-SA unless otherwise noted. Sandoval figured the odds were about even. Take over the hallway for me, Sandoval said to his subordinate while handing him his keys. The Texas Syndicate (or Syndicato Tejano) is a mostly Texas-based prison gang that includes Hispanic and at one time White members (The organization at one time did allow non-Hispanic members to join, but that policy was repealed in the 1980s). Texas Syndicate members frequently refer to each other as carnal (brother) and maintain a distinct identity by establishing and enforcing specific TS rules, holding meetings, utilizing TS gang signs (horns), and by maintaining a close relationship with fellow gang members and their associates throughout the state. Like any good businessman, Garcia kept a close eye on the marketplace. It was their fault, not his, but someone would have to take the fall. Justice therefore ordered that the two thousand building tenders be replaced by more prison guards, who would police the inmates with a firm but civilized hand. Tango Blast, Texas Syndicate, Bloods, Crips, Gangster Disciples and MS-13 all were identified as active in human smuggling operations in 2014. TS membership is comprised predominantly of Texas-born Mexican-American males and operates under a formal paramilitary organizational structure with a constitution and strict established rules. So wed just lay back, let him cool down. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); The experiences of being involved in Prison Gangs. Throughout the Sandoval trial, guards on the witness stand were asked if they had ever stopped a gang member from murdering an inmate. App. Initially formed in El Paso jails in 1986, the Barrio Azteca gang expanded to a transnational criminal organization, allying itself with the Juarez Cartel (pictured). Gangs didnt worry about guards; they worried about each other. The 1985 lockdown put a damper on the atmosphere but not on the flow of drugs. Inside the walls of each prison is drugs, prostitution, gambling, extortion, and grand theft, but no investigation into any of these things has ever been made. The letter did not say what such an investigation would say about Luis Sandoval. Like any good criminal organization, there is an interesting ritual for all new members, although there are some variations for different chapters. Arredondo did take part in a different contract killing, but when all the conspirators except Arredondo were placed in administrative segregation, TS members concluded that Arredondo had snitched on the rest to save himself. [2] The Syndicate is the oldest Texan prison gang. Rosas would do the killing, while another TS member held Arredondo and two others stood by as lookouts. The strict rules and harsh discipline governing the Texas Syndicate help insure that the organizations members and associates function as a continuing unit despite any changes in membership. It revealed a world where drugs and weapons are freely available to inmates, where murderous prison gangs control inmate behavior far more than prison guards do, and where the guardians of law and order have just as much trouble distinguishing right from wrong as do the inmates they are watching. The warden would later testify that Sandovals actions were somewhat heroic. But, Peterson added, the hero had seemed awfully calm in the midst of all the bloodshedperhaps too calm. New recruits who hoped to join the Knights Templar have been forced to eat a child's heart in order to prove their loyalty to the cause. There are only weak inmates and strong inmates. While accurate numbers are difficult to come up with (do we include associates or just full members? They specialize in the usual street crimes including robbery, car theft, drug trafficking, assault, and murder, but the 18th Street Gang is also known to have been involved with human trafficking and illegal immigration initiatives. One of them is fear. The 18 second beating is a theme for this gang, and they often employ it as a disciplinary measure when proper respect isn't shown to a leading member or if a member goes against the gang's rules. Either the guard didnt know what was going on, or he did. Ten months after the murder, on October 23, 1987, Sandoval was again summoned to the wardens office. Other members have been instructed to attack strangers or cops, and of course, many of the women who get into this gang do so by offering themselves to multiple members. And as in any society, some lead while others are led. After the big lockdown, metal detectors were installed in every prison unit to discourage the carrying of shanks. By the mid-1800s, there were street gangs in _____. The recruitment techniques of gangs vary from gang to gang, but generally, they have some common recruitment techniques and requirements. And were there in it. Crippin knelt and lifted the inmates legs. For his trouble, the inmates offered the guard $75. Blood was gushing out of a hole in his neck; he was unconscious but gasping wildly. Compared with Luis Sandovals quiet life in Alice, Ellis I must have seemed like an opium den. West Texas Syndicate Energy is an energy company with practical and futuristic goals, continuing to push environmental-friendly and pioneering technologies in more traditional energy endeavors. Carnales make sure that the rules are known. During this investigation, authorities seized over 100 kilograms of methamphetamine and multiple firearms attributed to this organization. [4][5], The Texas Syndicate was established at Folsom State Prison in California in 1978 in direct response to the other California prison gangs, notably the Aryan Brotherhood and Mexican Mafia, which were attempting to prey on native Texas inmates. When asked on the witness stand if the hallway was ever undermanned, the reply of Nolan McCoolanother officer working the B-wing that afternoonwas emphatic: Constantly.. Then he returned to Arredondo. Sometimes, that person is allowed to chose between taking out a prison guard or a rival gang member, but other times, the decision is made by the member in a position of leadership. Even before the call, Luis Sandoval had been sweating bullets. Lighting an inmates cigarette is considered an act of friendship or favoritism, and favoritism is forbidden by TDCJ rules. It seemed that everywhere Sandoval went, there was Vicente, pushing his broom across the floor, sometimes waving or offering a greeting to the new boot, but never badgering him. On Sandovals shift alone, at least four or five guards had been busted for bringing drugs into prison, but there were others who hadnt been busted and probably never would be. Show More Show Less 20 of 32 7. 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