ALBUQUERQUE – A federal jury sitting in Albuquerque, N.M.,
returned a verdict today finding Anthony Cordova, 53, of Albuquerque, guilty of
racketeering and murder charges following a two-and-a-half-week trial before
U.S. District Judge James O. Browning.
Cordova and 11 co-defendants were charged with racketeering
offenses in a four-count indictment filed in April 2016. Thereafter, three defendants entered guilty
pleas. In March 2017, Cordova and nine
co-defendants were charged in a three-count superseding indictment.
The superseding indictment charged the ten defendants with
participating in a criminal organization known as the Syndicato de Nuevo Mexico
(SNM) Prison Gang that engaged in acts of violence and other criminal
activities, including murder, kidnapping, attempted murder, conspiracy to
manufacture and distribute narcotics, and firearms trafficking. The superseding indictment alleged that the
defendants were members and associates of the SNM Prison Gang, a state-wide
gang operating in New Mexico prisons and in communities throughout the
state. According to the superseding
indictment, the SNM Prison Gang was formed in the early 1980s at the
Penitentiary of New Mexico after the prison riot in Feb. 1980, and expanded
throughout the New Mexico penal system.
Gang members and associates allegedly are expected to remain loyal to
the Gang and work to further its objectives after they have completed their
prison sentences and those who do not are allegedly subject to violent forms of
discipline. The superseding indictment
alleged that significant goals of the SNM Prison Gang included controlling and
profiting from drug trafficking both within and outside the penal system;
intimidating and influencing other gangs for the purpose of expanding the
network for its illegal activities; and engaging in violence to assert its gang
identity and protect its territory.
The superseding indictment also charged Cordova and Christopher
Garcia, 43, of Albuquerque, with committing murder in aid of the racketeering
enterprise on Feb. 4, 2005, and Cordova with using a firearm to cause a death
on Feb. 4, 2005. The superseding
indictment charged Cordova and his co-defendants with committing the crimes
charged in Bernalillo County, N.M., and other locations in New Mexico for the
purpose of gaining entrance into and maintaining and increasing their stature
within the SNM Prison Gang.
Trial on the two charges in the superseding indictment
against Cordova began on July 9, 2018, and concluded this afternoon when the
jury returned guilty verdicts against Cordova on the offenses of committing
murder in aid of a racketeering enterprise and using a firearm to commit that
murder.
Testimony at trial established how the SNM Prison Gang was
born out of one of the bloodiest prison riots in U.S. history. In the 1980s, the Gang grew until it became
the largest prison gang in New Mexico and controlled the prisons through acts
of violence including murder, assault, acts of extortion, and drug
trafficking. Jurors learned that the
Gang’s main rule is that the SNM Prison Gang comes first regardless, and if
someone disrespects a Gang member in any way, the SNM Prison Gang must
retaliate. The penalty for violating the
SNM Prison Gang’s rules – including cooperating with law enforcement, being a
member of a rival gang, or disrespecting an SNM gang member – is death. Jurors learned that the importance of drugs,
power, and respect of the SNM Prison Gang is not confined within prison walls,
but extend beyond those walls.
The jury also learned about the SNM Prison Gang’s structure
from several SNM Prison Gang members and former members who testified during
the trial. They learned about
“associates” like Cordova, who are non-gang members who associate with the Gang
and help the Gang’s cause by running drugs for SNM drug dealers and sending
drugs and money to SNM Prison Gang members serving prison sentences. “Prospects” of the SNM Prison Gang are
individuals interested in becoming members of the Gang. “Soldiers” are Gang members who commit the
violence and enforce the rules at the direction of Gang leaders. “Hitters” are members who traffic drugs for
the SNM Prison Gang, supply members with drugs and use drugs as a means of
controlling individuals, including corrections officials. “Key holders” are those at each prison
facility who are control and call the shots within the facility. The main leader is in charge of the entire
SNM Prison Gang and gang members carry out his orders.
Jurors heard from law enforcement officers and cooperating
Gang members that when an SNM member is released from prison, they are expected
to continue to support the Gang through criminal activity, including by drug
trafficking. Garcia was the main drug
dealer and supplier for the SNM Prison Gang and held significant power outside
of prison. SNM members released from
prison were sent to Garcia for their “starter kit” of drugs to start
dealing. The victim in this case,
“S.D.,” was a problem for the SNM Prison Gang beginning in approximately 2001,
and in Feb. 2004, he made the fatal mistake of disrespecting Garcia, a SNM
Prison Gang member, by shooting him in the stomach. SNM had to retaliate against that disrespect
and a bounty was placed for the murder of “S.D.”
Testimony at trial established that in Feb. 2005, Cordova
and another individual agreed with Garcia to murder “S.D.” Garcia planned a trip to Las Vegas, Nev., so
that he would have an alibi, and provided Cordova with firearms to use in
murdering “S.D.” Evidence established
that on the evening of Feb. 4, 2005, Cordova and the other individual drove to
a gas station where “S.D.” was known to sell drugs, and Cordova told the other
individual to kill “S.D.” The other
individual did not ultimately shoot “S.D.,” so Cordova took it upon himself to
commit the murder. Cordova followed
“S.D.,” on a secluded road, and fired five shots, killing “S.D.,” by shooting
him in the neck and chest. Testimony
established that Cordova killed “S.D.,” in exchange for payment in money and
drugs from Garcia in retaliation for “S.D.,” disrespecting SNM when he shot
Garcia.
The jury deliberated approximately seven hours before
returning the guilty verdict.
At sentencing, Cordova faces a statutory mandatory penalty
of life imprisonment. Cordova has been
in custody since his arrest in May 2016, and will remain detained pending a
sentencing hearing which has yet to be scheduled.
Cordova’s nine co-defendants in the superseding indictment
have pleaded guilty or have been convicted in related prosecutions to the SNM
prison gang.
This case was investigated by Albuquerque Division of the
FBI with assistance from the New Mexico Corrections Department, New Mexico
State Police, Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, Metropolitan Correctional
Center, Albuquerque Police Department, U.S. Marshals Service, and the El Paso,
Phoenix, Denver, Las Vegas and Knoxville FBI Divisions. Assistant U.S. Attorneys of the U.S.
Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico are prosecuting the case.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment