BY CHRISTINE VARNO
Staff Writer
LONG BRANCH -— The Long Branch Police Department assisted the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency in the recent arrest of two Long Branch residents in conjunction with a nationwide street gang, one of whom was identified as the leader.
Other subjects associated with the gang have been identified as currently residing in the city, but have not been arrested because they have not committed crimes, according to Detective Lt. Bruce Johantgen.
On March 10, the Long Branch Police Department arrested Alfonso Marquez-Lopez, 29, Grant Court, and Cesar Flores, 25, Second Avenue.
The two arrests were among 103 arrests made in six cities across the county since last month of members of the gang known as Mara Salvatrucha 13 (MS-13).
Flores, who Johantgen said is the suspected leader of the gang, has a prior history of aggravated arson, weapons possession, grand larceny and criminal possession of stolen property. Along with Marquez-Lopez, he is being charged by ICE as an undocumented alien and faces deportation proceedings, according to Johantgen.
“Those were the only two [purported gang members] apprehended,” Johantgen said. “ICE had two warrants and we assisted in the arrests.”
The majority of MS-13 is comprised of individuals from foreign countries who are residing in the United States illegally, which make them subject to ICE’s criminal and administrative immigration authorities, according to a March 14 release from ICE.
The 103 individuals arrested to date are being accused of violations ranging from felony charges of re-entering the United States after deportation, to violating state anti-gang injunctions, to violating the terms of their immigration status due to prior convictions for attempted murder, sodomy, assault, arson, weapons possession and narcotics violations, according to the release.
Approximately half of the individuals have prior arrests or convictions for violent crimes, and several have charges of murder pending against them, according to the release.
ICE plans to use its immigration tools to arrest, prosecute and, where appropriate, remove the individuals from the country.
Johantgen said he does not anticipate any gang activity related to MS-13 in Long Branch.
“This agency has not experienced any significant level of gang-related criminal activity,” he said. “[Marquez-Lopez and Flores] just happen to be in Long Branch. We have not had a gang problem in Long Branch.”
He added that the police department is not aware of any MS-13 headquarters located in the city and only a small number of subjects have been identified as being associated with the gang.