Townsmen 13
| Founded | 1970s |
|---|---|
| Founding location | South San Jose Hills, California |
| Years active | 1970–present |
| Territory | San Gabriel Valley |
| Ethnicity | Chicano (Mexican American) |
| Criminal activities | Drug trafficking, assault, robbery, extortion, arms trafficking, theft, murder, hate crimes, racketeering, money laundering, and fraud |
| Allies | Mexican Mafia[1] Sureños[2] |
| Rivals | El Monte Flores, Puente 13, Azusa 13[3] |
Townsmen 13, also known as TSM,[5] is a Mexican-American criminal street gang based in South San Jose Hills, California. It is one the largest Hispanic gangs in the eastern San Gabriel Valley.[6] and one of the oldest in La Puente.[7]
History[edit]
Also known as TSM, the gang has had an estimated 104 members since 2011. The gang claims the eastern portion of the unincorporated community of South San Jose Hills, California.
Townsmen 13 is now part of a larger organization and pays "taxes" or "tribute" to the Mexican Mafia or "La eMe," a powerful prison-based gang who controls the majority of Latino gangs in Southern California.
Location[edit]
The gang claims the unincorporated section of South San Jose Hills, California. The official turf of the gang consists of Valley Boulevard to the South, Azusa Avenue to the West, Giano Avenue to the East and Temple Avenue to the North.
Culture[edit]
Even though Townsmen 13 are a Sureño gang and use the number 13 (to denote the 13th letter, M, in the alphabet.)[8] they are rivals with a variety of other Sureño gangs. Members usually tattoo the words, "Townsmen", "TSM", "VTSMR", "T", and "TSMxSTL" on them. XIII, X3, 13 and 3 dots are also seen with Sureño gang members and their colors are blue and gray. Like all Sureños once they are in the prison system they set aside their rivalry and unite under the Sureño Banner and are controlled by La eMe.
Criminal activity[edit]
The Townsmen 13 gang has been documented being involved in various criminal activity, and is one of the largest and most notorious gangs in the eastern San Gabriel Valley. Their main source of income is from the illegal sale of heroin, crystal meth, cocaine, marijuana, prostitution, ecstasy, & PCP. TSM gang-members are well known for trafficking in illegal narcotics, along with other crimes like battery to murder, as well as robbery, burglary, carjacking, witness intimidation, kidnapping, weapons trafficking, credit card fraud and identity theft, racketeering, drug and weapons-related charges, money laundering & hate crimes against blacks.
-JORGE LUIS “Vandal” LOPEZ is an active member of the gang.
LOPEZ was convicted of two counts of attempted murder and of one count of carrying a loaded weapon.
On December 6, 2010, the trial court sentenced LOPEZ, on count 1, to life with a 15-year minimum parole eligibility period, doubled to 30 years based on a strike that the court had previously found true. The court sentenced him to an additional 20 years for the gun enhancement. He received the same sentence on count 2, but the court ordered it to run concurrent to count 1. On count 3, the court sentenced him to a consecutive 16 months (one-third the midterm of two years, doubled based on a strike).
LOPEZ is currently located at the Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad, CA. His parole eligible date is scheduled for February 2044.[9]
-JAVIER “Beaver” SOTELO was an active member of the gang.
SOTELO was convicted, following a jury trial, of one count of willful, deliberate and premeditated attempted murder. The jury found true the allegation that the offense was committed for the benefit of a criminal street gang. In 2011, he was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole.
On May 14, 2017, SOTELO died from natural causes while serving his prison sentence. [10]
-JOSE LOUIS “Villain” LOMELI is an active member of the gang. -JUAN CARLOS “Loco” QUINAREZ is an active member of the gang.
On September 22, 2020, LOMELI and QUINAREZ were convicted by jury of murder and attempted murder in a gang-related shooting. Gang and firearm use allegations were found true. The jury also found Lomeli guilty of numerous additional felonies arising from his efforts to evade arrest. The court sentenced LOMELI to six consecutive life terms with a minimum sentence of 160 years, plus an aggregate determinate term of 23 years eight months. The court sentenced QUINAREZ to four consecutive life terms with a minimum sentence of 82 years.
LOMELI is currently located at the High Desert State Prison in Susanville, CA. His parole eligible date is scheduled for February 2041.
QUINAREZ is currently located at the Calipatria State Prison in Calipatria, CA. His parole eligible date is scheduled for August 2040.
References[edit]
- ↑ 41 people tied to El Monte gang linked to Mexican Mafia are indicted Caitlin Owens, Los Angeles Times (July 30, 2014)
- ↑ Oldie But Baddie: El Monte Flores Gang Richard Valdemar, policemag.com (May 20, 2009)
- ↑ https://www.leagle.com/decision/incaco20111229023
- ↑ https://casetext.com/case/people-v-lomeli-16
- ↑ "Gangs in the United States - Internet Accuracy Project". Accuracyproject.org. 2011. Retrieved 22 December 2011.
- ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2012-02-16. Retrieved 2015-06-19. Unknown parameter
|url-status=ignored (help)CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link) - ↑ "El Monte Flores Gang Member Sentenced to 210 months in Federal Prison on Multiple Racketeering Charges". Department of Justice - U.S. Attorney’s Office, Central District of California. 23 May 2016. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
- ↑ "The Rise of Sur 13". Corrections.com. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
- ↑ https://www.leagle.com/decision/incaco20081223029
- ↑ https://caselaw.findlaw.com/ca-court-of-appeal/1553653.html
- ↑ https://https://casetext.com/case/people-v-lomeli-16
This article "Townsmen 13" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Townsmen 13. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
