Two U.S. Marines arrested and indicted for Execution style murder over drug money

Two U.S. Marines arrested and indicted for Execution style murder over drug money
 
Michael Webster: Investigative Reporter July 24, 2008 at 4:00 PM PDT
 
 
Camp Pendleton California two Marines will be arraigned Friday on charges of fatally shooting to death Pvt. Stephen Serrano, 20, of El Dorado, Calif., Lance Cpl. Christian Carney, 21, of Manorville, N.Y., and Pvt. Alvin Lovely, 20, of Dallas are accused of killing him back on May 13 of this year. According to Military police the two suspects admitted the crime because they believed he and an unidentified Marine had stolen money from them. Both the alleged killers and the victims are believed to have sold cocaine, ecstasy and other drugs on the base. The Orange county DA’s office reports.
 
Prosecutors in this case confirm that the two Marines were involved in drug dealing at Camp Pendleton and the San Diego Orange County areas in southern California and killed Pvt. Stephen Serrano gangland style because they were told he stole from them. Both are facing murder charges as a result.

The drugs being sold are from Mexican drug cartel gangs which are believed to have infiltrated Camp Pendleton and other Marine bases across America, according to one high level DEA agent who refused to be named. When Carney and Lovely found out the money had been taken, they drove the unidentified Marine to a secluded, hilly area of San Clemente, pointed a gun at his head and threatened to kill him if he didn't identify who stole the cash, prosecutors said. Prosecutors went on to say fearing for his life, the Marine told them Serrano did it.

Later that day, authorities said, Carney and Lovely drove Serrano to the same hillside area and shot him point blank once in the face and three times in the back execution style before fleeing.
 
A hiker discovered Serrano's body lying face down in a drainage ditch May 15, 2008.

The Orange County Grand Jury indicted both Carney and Lovely earlier this month on one felony count of murder and one felony count of criminal threats. Carney is also charged with attempting to dissuade a witness from testifying by threatening to kill or have the witness killed. Prosecutors said that after the killing, Carney told the unidentified Marine not to talk about what they had done to Serrano or he would be killed two.
The murder investigation was taken away from military investigators because the alleged crimes occurred off base.
 
The violent Tijuana drug cartel also known as the Arellano-Felix organization (AFO) has a firm and deadly hold on all drug trafficking activities in Baja and San Diego County California where Camp Pendleton is located.
 
Richard Valdemar, a 30-year-veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, travels the country lecturing and teaching police about military-trained gang members. Valdemar and other gang experts say gangs are encouraging members to join the military for training to learn urban warfare and learn the latest weaponry.
 
The military's current emphasis on urban warfare plays into the street-fighting mentality of gangs, experts say.
 
"When individuals go into the military, they are taught how to use weapons, defensive tactics, and the use of a lot of sophisticated techniques," said LaRae Quy, of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. "They take that back on the streets with them. This is a legitimate concern for law enforcement."
 
Valdemar cites former Camp Pendleton Marine Sgt. Jesse Quintanilla as just one high-profile example. A military court sentenced Quintanilla to death in 1996 for killing his executive officer and wounding his commanding officer.
When interrogators asked Quintanilla why he committed the crimes, Quintanilla said it was for "his brown brothers," according to Valdemar. Quintanilla showed them a tattoo on his chest with the word "Sureno," a reference to a California gang, according to court documents.
 
Law enforcement officials in San Diego say street gangs here continue to have strong ties with organized crime groups in Tijuana. A gunman killed recently in an attack in Tijuana is believed to belong to both a gang in Barrio Logan and the Arellano Felix Drug Cartel. KPBS Reporter Amy Isackson reported. For years, Mexican drug trafficking groups have recruited U.S. gang members to do everything from smuggle drugs to murder. Tijuana's Arellano Felix Drug Cartel and a gang from San Diego's Barrio Logan neighborhood go back at least 15 years.
 
A Joint Task Force composed of the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Federal Bureau of Investigation has been established in San Diego, California to target the AFO: the Task Force is investigating AFO operations in southern California and related regional investigations which track drug transportation, distribution and money laundering activities of the AFO throughout the United States. It is now believed that the investigation is also looking into Marine and Navy personal involvement.  Click on or google:

Sources:
DEA,FBI,DIA
 Dangerous Mexican/U.S. Criminal Enterprises Operating Along the Mexican border
 
 
Marine facing murder charges is back in O.C.
Marine found shot to death identified
Marine dead in murder mystery near Camp Pendleton
Autopsy planned on Marine found dead in O.C.
Mexican drug cartels infiltrating colleges and high school campuses in America
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