In a corner of his home thats been scribbled on with black markers by one of his kids, Sir Dyno still works daily, mixing beats on a computer, recording new rhymes, diddling on a keyboard. Prosecutors remained high on their star witness, notwithstanding Agent Ragans conclusion: Mr. With the prison population growing so fast, they had their pick, Lewis said. Assistant US Attorney Steven Gruel responded in court papers that federal agents couldnt be blamed for failing to notify the victim, since Sanchez already knew that he had serious problems with Heredias gang (in fact, he had been hiding). Gruel also offered four instances in which Lizards testimony did lead FBI agents to inform Norteos they were marked for death. Shortly thereafter, his client pleaded guilty for a chance at parole, but remained adamant that Lizard had given him the green light. At night, he ordered rows of Nuestra Familia inmates to recite aloud Aztec war chants to rattle guards and enemies. Lizard claimed Norteo. Released from the Secured Housing Unit in August 1995, Lizard was chiseled and fit as a warrior in heart and mind. Following instructions from the generals, Cuete put out a hit on Brown Bob. With most prison gangs who try and use the mail, theres a big lag time things get lost, hits get reversed so theres a lot of miscommunication. They let in only the guys who followed the rules to the T, and bought into the cause. The quickest way to get money back fast would be to release a norteo album. Gratton was shirtless, a large Nuestra Familia tattoo visible in bold letters across his back. slated for Sept. 13 in San Francisco, is Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba It gives you something to do. He and his wife moved to Boise, Idaho, where he hoped the slow pace would help him start over. Holguin also was searching for evidence that connected Lizard to a larger operation. To the FBIs delight, he also boasted about his existing Ecstasy ring, which was clearing a few thousand dollars a week. On one Gang Stories track about issuing payback on the cops, a voice in the background calls out Detective Ribotas name, a suggestion to watch his back. The only way to sell was to shock, he says. I was all ready to go, Lizard recalled later. His teen angst surfaced one day when he threatened to kill his vice principal. Lizard said he beat Ruiz to a pulp with his fists, bringing his victim close to death. Two months later, the leaders met again at the Los Robles Lodge in Santa Rosa. Anytime he drove out of the area, he had to call Ragan or his partner. You have entered an incorrect email address! Lizard said he wrote to a member of the Black Guerrillas whom hed met in San Quentin. The policy eventually trickled down to county and city jails and even the California Youth Authority. He just happened to have this talent, and he put this talent to use.. While Nuestra Familia is primarily a Chicano gang, membership sometimes extends to other Latinos as well as non-Latinos. Rocha still did not understand the charge or why he was being placed into custody. On one slow-burn track, Sir Dyno raps in a stoned vibrato: Today when I got up I knew it was a good day/Got on my red shirt, Dickies, and Im on my way., After the initial press run, Gratton restocked stores with an additional 1,000 CDs. According to prison officials, gang leaders could arrange such deals by offering to keep the peace. Happy was hardcore, with a permanent smile beneath his Fu Manchu mustache. Gratton is the guy whos going to make the entire case against David; its his word against Davids. Hes got a future. This may be called Tools or use an icon like the cog. He told Ramirez there should be no bloodshed. But then he added: If something comes at us, you cant help it. The system certainly creates you, makes you decide. He found his man in David Sir Dyno Rocha, then a 26-year-old budding rhymer and producer from Tracy. Three days before Christmas, Lizard called Holguin. The handlers didnt want to blow his cover. If you wish to change your alliance, you will still have to prove to Norteos you are worthy, and the Sureos will want to kill you for switching sides.. The words didnt sound right to Lizard. I mean, he wasnt gonna tell me, and I wasnt gonna tell him what I was doing.. If youre a norteo, and youre flamed-up in reds a 49ers jersey will do a lone sureo, who might be dressed down in his Dodgers blue, could make a move on you, unprovoked. He faced 25 years to life. Lizard got away with it, and when Big Smiley emerged, he personally sponsored Lizard into Nuestra Familia. Sir Dyno had only been to jail once, following his drug arrest. Lizard hinted in his early letters that hed be sending more important documents for his legal case. In actuality, he sent a list of code names using Aztec and Spanish words. As a kid growing up in this small town, David Rocha was a freestyle BMXer who bounced along on one wheel during Fourth of July parades. According to transcripts and court documents, Ramirez brought up the touchy subject of Ray Sanchez, a competing heroin dealer who was boasting of taking over the drug game. Hed loaded up the hit list and was feuding with two of the generals while angling for a promotion. Whites joined the Aryan Brotherhood or Nazi Low Riders for protection. For months, Dynos attorneys have been trying to distance their client from the rest of the defendants and get him his own trial. I spoke to a classification officer at the San Joaquin County jail who confirmed that Rocha claimed to be norteo but didnt claim a particular set of a gang.. Violence was averted in those cases, Gruel said. Address: 318 Harrison Street, Suite 302, Oakland, CA 94607 Phone: (510) 879-3700 www.EastBayExpress.com More by Justin Berton Lizard is a Rat new AltWeeklies Award - Feature Story East Bay Express | Justin Berton | 04-21-2008 | Media Tags: media Growing Up Right new [Robert Gratton] will testify that these messages on Rochas CD is further proof of the projects connection to the Nuestra Familia., In Mansons view, the government was also arguing that a persons identification as norteo equated to a claim of membership in Nuestra Familia. You have entered an incorrect email address. Cuete arranged for the new hotshot to move into his cell. Then he waited. I wanted to be that NF member who the people could count on, Lizard recalled. Its founding fathers adopted the phrase Blood in, blood out, and wrote a fifty-page constitution setting out the organizations bylaws. When he entered Corcoran State Prison in 1989 for selling cocaine, he joined Nuestra Raza, a recruiting gang for the more esteemed Nuestra Familia. gang activity in Northern California about six years ago. I wanted to get out of there, to come to California and do what I needed to do.. I was getting my game back, Lizard said. Now, nearly all Norte-o soldiers and Nuestra Familia regiment captains across California answer to Cervantes, gang experts say, but re-establishing the gang's control over the streets has not been easy. Of the 21 original defendants, nineteen are already certified as Nuestra Familia through the state Department of Corrections. Four months into his service as a snitch, FBI agents concluded that he had lied to one of his handlers when he said he was headed to Stockton for a round of golf. Lizard has a thick handlebar mustache, broad shoulders, and is engraved with prison tattoos in Old English script. When the NF trial begins on November 3 jury selection starts this week federal attorneys will use photographs and lyrics from the G.U.N. The theory went, if we separated the two gangs, wed have less problems, Vasquez said. The federal indictment named 13 members, including Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba, the boss who greenlighted Viramontes, and the two other reigning La Mesa members, James "Tibbs" Morado and Cornelio "Corny" Tristan. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. This time, Goose brought bar charts to show drug production and expected net profits. In a way, its a compliment to me. A from-the-top down, command and control, rigidly structured operator who wouldn't let subordinates exercise any personal initiative. Lizard said he shook the tail, but later needed to prove he was clean. 305. Nuestra Familia prestige is now generational, passed from father to son, uncle to nephew. At the time, the $5 million price tag and networking of thirty different law enforcement agencies made it the most expensive and largest investigation into a California prison gang. Nineteen-year-old Armando Frias was shooting pool when he recognized the wanted man. He seems likely to face civil and/or criminal penalties for what appears to be at best mismanagement and at worst blatant corruption that. Gratton sought out Sir Dyno because the rapper had a following, needed to produce a successful CD, and was familiar with music distribution and marketing. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). Besides directing the tone of the project, Gratton asked to narrate the intro. He used rap to vent about what every other twenty-year-old male stuck in a small town vents about: how fucked-up life is. Copyright 2023 Police1. One of the highest-ranking defendants in the upcoming trial, , Just as knowledge can be the key, there is strength in numbers; therefore, we norteos can no longer continue to fight against one another. After that, he said, I didnt want any speculation coming my way because we still had meetings to take care of. Lizard said he compensated by assisting in unauthorized drug and arms deals. The red line also called for (NF) lieutenant David Cervantes to be put on retirement status. And frankly, heres a guy whos committed numerous violent crimes, and hes getting a free pass. Holguin was well known to Nuestra Familia members hed interviewed hundreds of them during his three decades in the system. Lexipol. I did what I had to do, he says. Maybe hed give me one hundred bucks to shut me up, or fifty bucks to shut me up, he says, or gas money or something.. Even though theyd heard about the hit in advance, FBI agents never told Sanchez he was marked for violence. I could rap political, I could rap street, it doesnt matter, Sir Dyno says. The former leaders include James "Tibbs" Morado, Joseph "Pinky" Hernandez, Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba, Cornelio Tristan, and Tex Marin Hernandez. All of these directives were channeled through him. Shes not liking it too much. And I wanted to go high.. Even now, he talks about the incident with the distance that soldiers put between themselves and their wartime deeds. This arrest data includes all information on current and previous arrests for . But one day on the yard, he was approached by Juan Nato Gurule, a long-lost cousin from the East Bay. Still Sir Dyno says he wasnt getting paid. And with an ever-increasing prison population that only assures the continued growth of it and other gangs, the very segregation that bolstered the gangs strength appears irrevocable. That, he ordered rows of Nuestra Familia members hed interviewed hundreds them... 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