Aztecas ambush Juarez police; 15 gunmen arrested

El Diario December 8, 2012

15 Suspects of Los Aztecas were arrested for the attack., two are ages 14 and 15

Translated by un vato for Borderland Beat

Ciudad Juarez.-- Agents of the Municipal Public Security Secretariat (SSPM) were attacked with gunfire yesterday by members of the "Los Aztecas" gang -- armed branch of the "La Linea"-- in what was the first attack against the agency since January, and led to the arrest of 15 individuals who had an arsenal in their possession.

Three police officers were wounded, one of them is in a delicate medical condition because he was shot in the face. The spokesperson for SSPM, Adrian Sanchez Contreras,  revealed that the patrol officer -- 32 years old and assigned to the South District -- lost some skin from his face and that's why they cannot tell how many times he was shot.

The ambush happened at 10:40 a.m. and started on Oscar Flores Sanchez Avenue at Centeno Street, Colonia La Cuesta, where the suspects began following the officers and sprayed them with bullets when they got to the intersection with Montes Himalaya.

Witnesses to the incident said that the police agents in patrol unit P-680 were attacked by a convoy of gunmen, but managed to defend themselves. Area residents reported hearing bursts of gunfire from the gunmen's weapons, but also heard shots from the police agents who defended themselves.

After wounding the patrol officers, the aggressors fled. The patrol unit was left adrift because its passengers were wounded.

Impacts from the bullets could be seen on the rear window of the patrol vehicle, as well as bloodstains on the door and the seats of the unit.

The city police officers asked for help from central (headquarters) and, in response, local elements and personnel from the State Attorney General (FGE; Fiscalia General del Estado), which controlled all the city police units, went to their aid.

After this first incident, after the reinforcements arrived, city police as well as ministerial, they obtained information from witnesses and implemented a strong operation to search for the attackers; agents combed the Independencia II and Revolucion Mexicana neighborhoods.
 

Police elements managed to locate the vehicles that were involved in the confrontation thanks to an anonymous tip that was provided to the Emergency Center and Immediate Response (CERI; Centro de Emergencia y Respuesta Inmediata) 066, which provided information about the presence of armed persons in Colonia Independencia I, informed SSPM spokesperson, Adrian Sanchez Contreras.
 

The operation took the police to the intersection of Salvador Allende and Carlos Amador Fonseca streets in Colonia Mexico 68, where they found an SUV that was used in the attack.

 

 

 The vehicle has a bullet hole, the rear windows broken and the rearmost seats turned around to face to the rear, from where it is presumed the suspects fired, since there were assault rifle bullet casings

Witnesses said that four individuals with tattoos and shaved haircuts got out of a black 2001 Tahoe, license plates 379-SAT-8, three carrying long weapons and one with a pistol, and were picked up by others who were in an older model white pickup.

 

After an intensive search, in which a third uniformed officer was wounded by bullet fragments, they detained Juan Miguel Mozo, 28 years old, identified as the leader of the organization; Marco Antonio Zamarron, 34 years old; Ricardo Delgado Rodrigues, 30 years old; Julian Ruiz Garcia, 27; Hector Oliva Reyes, 29; Ruben Alejandro Rosales, 37; Victor Ulises Quintana, 18; Francisco Fernando Montejano, 19; Ivan Isael Cazares, 27; Adrian Alberto Garcia, 21; Alejandro Inocencio Rosales, 27; Manolo Salazar Mondragon, 28; and Nancy Nohemi Casas Lopez, 21 years old.

[translator's note: list of seized weapons omitted. --un vato]