Immigration officials nab 35 with gang ties in Las Vegas area

By Dylan Scott

Published Friday, Aug. 20, 2010 | 10:22 a.m.

Updated Friday, Aug. 20, 2010 | 1:03 p.m.

Officials with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested 35 people in the Las Vegas area with ties to more than a dozen street gangs over a three-day span as part of a Homeland Security investigation.

Six of them are facing state criminal charges. Three will be prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for felony re-entry after deportation, a charge that carries up to 20 years in prison.

Those who aren’t facing criminal charges will be processed for deportation, ICE officials said.

Of the 35 who were arrested, three are U.S. citizens, officials said. The following six people are facing state criminal charges: Jesus Gonzalez-Reyes, 36, for an outstanding warrant with Metro for a weapons violation; James Johnson, 30, a U.S. citizen wanted in Mesquite; Michael Nicholas, a U.S. citizen wanted in Las Vegas for assault and domestic violence; Anthony Gallegos, 22, a U.S. citizen wanted for domestic battery; Luis Cardelas-Magana, 26, arreseted for violating his probation; and Julio Cesar Velasco-Avila, 20, arrested for an outstanding warrant with Metro.

Previous cases against some of those arrested include weapons charges, drug possession and attempted murder. Some of the gang members also are accused of kidnapping and selling narcotics within 1,000 feet of a school, said Rick Curry, ICE assistant special agent in-charge.

Gang affiliations include the 18th Street gang, based in Los Angeles, and the Park Place street gang. Officials said 27 of those arrested were from Mexico, while other countries of origin included El Salvador, Honduras, Cuba and Laos. Authorities weren't releasing the names of those facing deportation.

ICE agents combed local, state and federal databases to find the suspects, Curry said. They then identified violators in the Las Vegas area and made the arrests with help from local authorities.

The Nevada Department of Public Safety, Metro Police, Mesquite Police and North Las Vegas Police assisted ICE in the investigation.

Similar ICE operations netted more than 150 arrests in Utah and 47 arrests in Maine this week.

NOTE: This story has been changed to correct that three of the 35 people arrested are U.S. citizens. The story initially reported that all 35 were foreign nationals.