Northern Va. gang members charged with human trafficking
Three individuals from Reston and a fourth man with no fixed address, all of whom police say are either members or associates of the MS-13 street gang, have been arrested under various charges including gang recruitment and human trafficking.
The Manassas City Police Department announced March 2 that Manassas City investigators, in conjunction with the Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force, City of Manassas Park Police, Virginia State Police, Fairfax County Police, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, charged four suspects on Feb. 25 for their alleged involvement in a case regarding gang recruitment by the Mara Salvatrucha street gang, better known as MS-13.
Investigators said that the execution of two search warrants in Reston, as well as one on a suspect vehicle, yielded enough evidence to arrest the suspects and serve a total of 43 charges in all, with additional charges pending.
Police said the arrests concluded a nearly three-month-long investigation into an incident involving the assault of a 15-year-old Manassas girl by MS-13 members during a gang initiation ritual on Nov. 14.
The incident, which police said illustrated the typical movement of the gang’s activity throughout the region and prompted the collaboration of multiple agencies, was initially reported to Manassas City Police in December.
Included in the recent arrests was Iraheta Palacios, 30, of the 11900 block of Winterthur Lane in Reston.
Palacios, who police say also goes by the aliases of “Jose Angel” and “Little Crazy,” was charged with human trafficking; nine counts of gang participation; two counts of gang recruitment; three counts of conspiracy to cause a juvenile to assist in the distribution of marijuana; contributing to the delinquency of a minor; aiding illicit sexual intercourse; use of a vehicle to promote unlawful sexual intercourse; threatening force to encourage gang participation; and obstruction of justice.
Carlos Albert Hernandez Garcia, 20, of no fixed address, was also charged with human trafficking, as was an unnamed 17-year-old juvenile from Reston. The fourth suspect was another unnamed Reston juvenile, age 16. He was charged with gang participation and conspiracy to distribute marijuana.
The suspects are currently being held without bond in Fairfax County, where they await prosecution. No attorney information for the adult suspects is available in Fairfax County court records.
According to Det. Bill Woolf of the Fairfax County Police Department’s Human Trafficking Unit, human trafficking in northern Virginia has become big business for illegal street gangs.
Over the last year, Woolf said his unit has generated more than 160 leads, and identified more than 260 victims.
Nearly 20 percent of all the leads obtained by the unit were gang related, he said.
“We have noticed over the last few years that gang violence in Northern Virginia has gone down but the gang members are staying here,” Woolf said. “We asked ourselves why that might be, and what we found is that they have moved from violent crime to sex trafficking, an activity that for them offers higher profits and lower risk.”
According to Woolf, gangs target unsuspecting and typically insecure teenage girls as young as 13 or 14 who are seeking attention and affection.
“Most of these guys are very savvy in coercion and brainwashing,” he said. “They don’t want to use violence. Their means of power is to get these girls to fall in love with them because then they can get them to do anything they want.”
According to Woolf, many organized gangs treat teen sex trafficking like a legitimate business and run it with financial acumen, using established accounting principles that they apply to their newly adopted trade. “Many have done cost-benefit analyses and have found that the sex trafficking of minors often runs a lower risk for higher profit than pushing drugs,” he said.
Last year, Fairfax County launched a new website to inform the public about human trafficking and how to better identify potential victims.
The website, http://www.justaskva.org is a ,collaboration of the Fairfax County Police Department, Fairfax County Public Schools, the Fairfax County Commission for Women, Hidden Brook Communications, Fairfax Community Church, and other faith-based organizations. “The website is designed to heighten awareness in the community and provide a much-needed public recording mechanism,” Woolf said.
The Manassas City Police Department announced March 2 that Manassas City investigators, in conjunction with the Northern Virginia Regional Gang Task Force, City of Manassas Park Police, Virginia State Police, Fairfax County Police, and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Investigations, charged four suspects on Feb. 25 for their alleged involvement in a case regarding gang recruitment by the Mara Salvatrucha street gang, better known as MS-13.
Investigators said that the execution of two search warrants in Reston, as well as one on a suspect vehicle, yielded enough evidence to arrest the suspects and serve a total of 43 charges in all, with additional charges pending.
Police said the arrests concluded a nearly three-month-long investigation into an incident involving the assault of a 15-year-old Manassas girl by MS-13 members during a gang initiation ritual on Nov. 14.
The incident, which police said illustrated the typical movement of the gang’s activity throughout the region and prompted the collaboration of multiple agencies, was initially reported to Manassas City Police in December.
Included in the recent arrests was Iraheta Palacios, 30, of the 11900 block of Winterthur Lane in Reston.
Palacios, who police say also goes by the aliases of “Jose Angel” and “Little Crazy,” was charged with human trafficking; nine counts of gang participation; two counts of gang recruitment; three counts of conspiracy to cause a juvenile to assist in the distribution of marijuana; contributing to the delinquency of a minor; aiding illicit sexual intercourse; use of a vehicle to promote unlawful sexual intercourse; threatening force to encourage gang participation; and obstruction of justice.
Carlos Albert Hernandez Garcia, 20, of no fixed address, was also charged with human trafficking, as was an unnamed 17-year-old juvenile from Reston. The fourth suspect was another unnamed Reston juvenile, age 16. He was charged with gang participation and conspiracy to distribute marijuana.
The suspects are currently being held without bond in Fairfax County, where they await prosecution. No attorney information for the adult suspects is available in Fairfax County court records.
According to Det. Bill Woolf of the Fairfax County Police Department’s Human Trafficking Unit, human trafficking in northern Virginia has become big business for illegal street gangs.
Over the last year, Woolf said his unit has generated more than 160 leads, and identified more than 260 victims.
Nearly 20 percent of all the leads obtained by the unit were gang related, he said.
“We have noticed over the last few years that gang violence in Northern Virginia has gone down but the gang members are staying here,” Woolf said. “We asked ourselves why that might be, and what we found is that they have moved from violent crime to sex trafficking, an activity that for them offers higher profits and lower risk.”
According to Woolf, gangs target unsuspecting and typically insecure teenage girls as young as 13 or 14 who are seeking attention and affection.
“Most of these guys are very savvy in coercion and brainwashing,” he said. “They don’t want to use violence. Their means of power is to get these girls to fall in love with them because then they can get them to do anything they want.”
According to Woolf, many organized gangs treat teen sex trafficking like a legitimate business and run it with financial acumen, using established accounting principles that they apply to their newly adopted trade. “Many have done cost-benefit analyses and have found that the sex trafficking of minors often runs a lower risk for higher profit than pushing drugs,” he said.
Last year, Fairfax County launched a new website to inform the public about human trafficking and how to better identify potential victims.
The website, http://www.justaskva.org is a ,collaboration of the Fairfax County Police Department, Fairfax County Public Schools, the Fairfax County Commission for Women, Hidden Brook Communications, Fairfax Community Church, and other faith-based organizations. “The website is designed to heighten awareness in the community and provide a much-needed public recording mechanism,” Woolf said.
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