Gang Target Operation Arrests 33, 28 Guns Seized

Federal, state and local authorities arrested 33 individuals and seized guns and drugs during a 90-day concentrated enforcement initiative in the South King County area dubbed "Operation Down in the Valley."

The initiative was led by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and the Valley Gang Unit.

"Drug trafficking, and the violent crime it spawns, is not limited to our urban areas," said U.S. Attorney Jenny A. Durkan. "We must make our neighborhoods places for people to thrive. ‘Hot spot' initiatives such as this seek to identify and root out the bad actors who are making our communities unsafe. I congratulate ATF and Homeland Security Investigations for their leadership, and our local partners who worked to get dangerous and violent offenders off the street."

At a press conference Tuesday, October 23, 2012, officials highlighted four offenders nabbed during the operation, Jorge Fernandez-Muñoz, Cedric Jackson, Terrance Jackson and Alonso Enrique Pelayo.

Fernandez-Muñoz is charged with conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and was arrested Oct.17 outside the Southcenter Target store in Tukwila. He had set up a two-pound methamphetamine deal in the store's parking lot with a person working with law enforcement.
Cedric and Terrance Jackson are charged with conspiracy and multiple counts of distributing cocaine and crack cocaine. When arrested at his home on Oct. 18, Cedric Jackson had four firearms including a Tek-9; a Glock with an extended magazine; a Taurus .357 revolver and a Russian-made revolver. He now faces additional charges for being a felon in possession of firearms.

Pelayo was arrested Oct. 22 after selling several firearms to a person working with law enforcement. One of the guns was a sawed-off shotgun and two of the handguns had been reported stolen in Snohomish County.

"Criminals don't pay attention to jurisdictional lines or borders, which is why law enforcement partnerships that bring together a variety of enforcement authorities are incredibly important," said Brad Bench, special agent in charge, HSI Seattle. "HSI is committed to disrupting criminal enterprises at every level of their operation, from their associates in the U.S. to their leadership abroad."

In all, authorities took 28 guns and nearly 14 pounds of methamphetamine off the street as well as cocaine, heroin and prescription narcotics.

The charges contained in the complaints are only allegations. A person is presumed innocent unless and until he or she is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

The Valley Gang Unit includes police officers from the cities of Kent, Renton and Tukwila, the King County Sheriff's Office, the Port of Seattle and the Washington State Department of Corrections. The Seattle Police Department, the FBI and the Washington State Liquor Control Board also participated in the initiative. The cases are being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington and the King County Prosecutors Office.

Former CBP Officer Convicted for Fraud, Purchase of Illegal Firearms

A local federal jury convicted a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer Monday, August 20, 2012, on two counts of making a false statement on an official federal form, and one count of making a false statement to a federal agent. This conviction was announced by U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations and the FBI.

Manuel Eduardo Pena, 38, a CBP officer, was convicted Aug. 20 after the jury deliberated four hours.
According to court documents, an HSI special agent testified that he witnessed Pena buy a firearm Dec. 5 at the Academy Sporting Goods Store in Brownsville. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Form 4473, which is required to be completed by anyone purchasing firearms, indicated Pena stated he was purchasing the firearm for himself. However, special agents witnessed Pena take the firearm from the store and deliver it to another person in exchange for money. In addition, the person Pena sold the firearm to testified that the gun was intended for him, not Pena.

The evidence presented indicated that Pena made a second straw purchase Dec. 19 at the same store. HSI and FBI special agents were present and again witnessed Pena purchase the firearm, state on ATF Form 4473 that the firearm was for him, and then transfer the gun to the same individual. The FBI took possession of both firearms.

Pena was arrested May 24, at which time he lied to an FBI agent claiming he had bought the guns for his own personal hunting use. He stated he used the guns at his deer lease before leaving them with a friend. In fact, the FBI possessed the guns, and they clearly were straw-purchased for another person.
Pena tried to convince the jury the gun purchases were part of a "communal purchase" of firearms for a hunting lease.

Pena has been a CBP officer for 12 years and the charges are unrelated to his official duties.
U.S. District Court Judge Hilda G. Tagle, who presided over the trial, set sentencing for Nov. 19. Pena faces up to five years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine on each count. Previously released on bond, Pena was allowed to remain on bond pending his sentencing.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Oscar Ponce and Karen Betancourt, Southern District of Texas, prosecuted this case.