C2
D.C.
The Afro-American, June 1, 2013 - June 7, 2013
CRIME BLOTTER
District Woman Pleads Guilty to Involuntary Manslaughter In Traffic Fatality in Southwest Maria N. Werts, 49, pleaded guilty May 21 to involuntary manslaughter and driving under the influence stemming from a traffic fatality where she struck and pinned a pedestrian to a tree, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced in a statement. Sentencing is scheduled for July 26. The plea agreement calls for Werts to serve a sevenyear prison term for her offenses. According to evidence, on April 28, 2013, Werts was drinking malt liquor and smoking crack cocaine immediately before getting behind the wheel of a 2010 Toyota Yaris. While driving on 1st Street SW, about 2:45 p.m., Werts ran a red light at the intersection of South Capitol Street making an illegal right turn on red. A southbound driver on South Capitol Street had to swerve to avoid colliding with Werts. Werts lost control of the Toyota, mounted the sidewalk adjacent to the southbound lanes and struck Emmajean Gainey, 58, who was walking with another pedestrian. Werts struck Ms. Gainey head on and pinned her against a tree. Gainey was killed instantly. Witnesses who saw Werts get out of the Toyota and attempt to leave the scene detained her until police arrived. She later admitted to drinking alcohol and smoking cocaine immediately prior to getting into the car. She denied driving the car, telling authorities that she was merely a passenger, though several eyewitnesses identified her as the driver responsible for Ms. Gainey’s death, according to Machen’s statement.
Three Plead Guilty in Murder and Wounding of ICE Agents in Mexican Ambush Julian Zapata Espinoza, aka “Piolin,” 32, pleaded guilty May 23 to the murder of U.S. ICE Special Agent Jaime Zapata and the attempted murder of ICE Special Agent Victor Avila in Mexico. The court also unsealed the guilty pleas of three other defendants on related murder, attempted murder, racketeering and accessory charges, according to a statement from U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. According to court filings, on Feb. 15, 2011, Espinoza, a commander in Los Zetas Cartel, a heavily armed Mexican narco-trafficking cartel and trans-national criminal organization, attempted to hijack Special Agent Zapata’s and Special Agent Avila’s armored government vehicle as the agents were driving on Highway 57 in San Luis Potosi. Two armed Zetas hit squads, or “estacas,” forced the agents off the road and surrounded their vehicle. Espinoza, the leader of the attack, ordered the agents to exit their vehicle. When the agents refused and attempted to identify themselves as
American diplomats from the U.S. Embassy, the hit squad members fired weapons into the vehicle, striking both agents. Estaca members continued to fire as the agents attempted to escape by driving away. Zapata died and Avila was seriously injured in the attack. On April 19, 2011, Espinoza was indicted by a federal grand jury and on Dec. 20, 2011, was extradited from Mexico to the U.S. On May 23, he entered a guilty plea to the murder of Zapata, and the attempted murder of Avila. In addition, Ruben Dario Venegas Rivera, aka “Catracho,” 25, and Jose Ismael Nava Villagran, aka “Cacho,” 30, pled guilty to federal charges in connection with the slayings. Francisco Carbajal Flores, aka “Dalmata,” 38, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to conduct the affairs of an enterprise through a pattern of racketeering activity and to being an accessory after the fact to the murder and attempted murder of the ICE agents. As part of their guilty pleas, Espinoza, Rivera and Villagran admitted to being members of a Los Zetas hit squad and to participating directly in the ambush on Feb. 15, 2011. Flores, acknowledged assisting Zetas members after the attack. All four defendants face a maximum sentence of life in prison. No sentencing date has been set, according to the statement. “The deadly ambush of two highly dedicated and courageous American law enforcement officers by the Los Zetas drug cartel demanded an intense, dedicated and forceful response,” said Machen. “The message to any criminal who dares to commit an act of violence against a U.S. law enforcement officer serving in a foreign land is unmistakable—if you commit such a heinous crime, we will not forget, we will not falter, and we will not rest until you are brought to justice. Our work in this critical case will continue until all of those who participated…are held accountable.”
Prince George’s County Oxon Hill Man and Woman Plead Guilty to Pandering Charge Amina Hamid 20, and Charles Mayberry, 19, both of Oxon Hill, pleaded guilty May 24 to a charge of pandering after admitting to luring a young woman into prostitution, U.S. Attorney Ronald C. Machen Jr. announced in a statement. Sentencing is scheduled for July 19. Each faces a statutory maximum of five years in prison. According to the government’s factual proffer, in early 2013, Mayberry lured a young woman into working for him and Hamid by telling her that prostitutes who worked for him earned up to $1,000 per day. Hamid set up an ad on a website in which she advertised the young woman as “…the girl u can use like a toy.” Hamid used her own cell phone number in the ad and handled calls
from potential customers. Then she and Mayberry drove the young woman to agreed-upon locations. On May 10, an undercover police officer, posing as a customer, texted Hamid and made arrangements to meet the young woman at a hotel room on New York Avenue NE in the District. The two were arrested after delivering the girl to the hotel, according to a statement. In announcing the plea, Machen praised the work of the FBI/Metropolitan Police Department Joint Task Force on Human Trafficking, which investigated the case.
Baltimore Two Suspects Arrested in Patterson Park Area with Assault Weapons, Narcotics Officers from the Baltimore Police Special Enforcement Section arrested and charged two suspects May 21 with multiple weapons and narcotics violations after a cache of weapons, suspected marijuana and almost $20,000 in cash were found in their home, official said in a statement of probable cause in the case. The suspects were identified as Francisco Milos and Lynnie Lewis, both 29. They were taken into custody after a search and seizure warrant was executed at their home in the 100 block of N. Kenwood Ave., according to the statement. According to police, the items seized included three handguns, three rifles and one shotgun; among the weapons were two AK-47 assault rifles, an AR-15 style assault rifle and more than 7,500 rounds of ammunition for the various weapons. Also seized were two bullet proof vests, 504 grams of suspected marijuana and about $20,000 in cash. The warrant was served about 9 p.m. Officers found Milos at home. The warrant was requested after undercover officers purchased suspected marijuana from the home. The SWAT team was assigned to the search because officers had received information that Milos allegedly possessed weapons and may have “displayed and threatened people” with them, the document said. Milos let the officers in and, after his Miranda rights were read to him, talked to the officers without a lawyer, the document said. “Milos stated that all the drugs in the house belonged to him,” it said. “Milos also stated that the guns in the house belong to him…Milos stated that he had the large amount of weapons because he was preparing for the war.” When asked who would be fighting the war, he did not respond, officers wrote. The searchers included the police dog, Harry. The officers found the cash in a safe after Milos told a sergeant how to open it, an officer wrote. Milos, was charged with possessing a bullet proof vest along with multiple weapons and narcotics violations. Lewis was charged with multiple narcotics violations. She was allegedly at work until Milos instructed police where she was. She returned home to be arrested, the document showed. Milos is being held without bail at the Baltimore City Central Booking and Intake Facility. Lewis is being held on a $50,000 bail, police said.