Operation Community Shield now under way
Anti-gang initiative has yielded over 100 arrests so far
BY CHRISTINE VARNO
Staff Writer

An individual suspected of being the leader of a nationwide violent street gang was arrested in Long Branch last Thursday.

The arrest was just one among 103 arrests made in six cities across the country since last month of members of the gang known as Mara Salvatrucha 13 (MS-13). The arrests are part of a new anti-gang initiative, Operation Community Shield, according to a press release from the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) office.

The suspected leader has a prior criminal history of aggravated arson, weapons possession, grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property.

He was arrested on administrative immigration violations, according to the release.

Long Branch Lt. Detective Bruce Johantgen said his department is further investigating the case.

“We [the police department] are not aware of a gang problem in Long Branch,” Johantgen said. “Every now and again we get a few want-to-bes, but there has never been a problem.

“We do not know if the suspect just happened to be in Long Branch at the time [of the arrest] or what,” he said.

Also, last Thursday in Port Washington, N.Y., an individual suspected of being one of the original MS-13 clique leaders was arrested, and on Sunday in Los Angeles, an individual was arrested who admitted he was one of the founding members and leaders of the gang.

Operation Community Shield is a nationwide ICE anti-gang initiative designed to disrupt, dismantle and prosecute violent gang organizations by employing the full range of authorities and investigative tools available to ICE, according to the release which stated that MS-13 is the Shield’s initial target.

“Operation Community Shield is an important safety initiative for the Department of Homeland Security that targets the proliferation of gang violence throughout the county,” said Michael J. Garcia, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for ICE.

ICE agents worked with federal, state and local counterparts and made the following arrests to the suspected MS-13 gang members: 30 in the New York, 25 in the Washington, D.C., 17 in the Los Angeles, 10 in the Baltimore, 10 in the Newark and 10 in the Miami metropolitan areas.

One additional arrest was made in the Dallas metropolitan area and all the arrests ranged in charges from criminal to administrative, according to the release.

The 103 individuals arrested are being accused of violations from felony charges of re-entering the United Sates after deportation, to violating state anti-gang injunctions, to violating the terms of their immigration status due to prior convictions for attempted murder, sodomy, assault, arson, weapons possession and narcotics violations, according to the release.

Approximately half of the individuals have prior arrests or convictions for violent crimes and several have charges of murder pending against them, according to the release.

The majority of MS-13 is comprised of individuals from foreign counties who are residing in the United States illegally, which makes them subject to ICE’s criminal and administrative immigration authorities, the release stated.

ICE plans to use its immigration tools to arrest, prosecute and where appropriate, remove the individuals from the country.

“By bringing the full range of ICE’s immigration and customs authorities in the fight against violent street gangs, we can take hundreds of gang members off the streets and have a significant impact on community safety,” said Garcia.