Dear Friends,

I have met Alex Sanchez many times. Alex is the Executive Director of Homies Unidos. He spoke at an event I hosted many years ago. I do not believe he is guilty of anything. He is a very good young man who has been doing such important work in helping young El Salvadorian’s stay out of gangs. This must be some kind of a government set up against him.

Frank Dorrel

Homies Unidos

http://homiesunidos.org/aboutus.html

 

Statement from Homies Unidos Board

The Homies Unidos Board stands united in full support, behind our executive director, Alex Sanchez and his family. For the past 11 years, Alex has been committed to helping bring about change in his community. He is an exemplary leader, respected colleague and dedicated husband and father. Just as we are confident in Alex’s innocence, we are confident that Los Angeles and the nation will remember that an indictment is an allegation only. As stated in the FBI press release, "Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until proven guilty in court."

We have sought another path, a peacemaker’s path, through intervention and prevention, and we remain committed to it. We appreciate the tireless work of peacemakers in all these arenas and the danger that sometimes accompanies it.

We thank our staff, partners, community allies and generous donors and funders who have supported our work during the past 11 years and encourage you to remember the positive impact that Homies Unidos has had on countless lives and improvements in our communities.

In Alex’s absence, board and staff will continue to lead these important efforts and we ask for your support during this critical time.

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Los Angeles Times

June 25th, 2009

 

Anti-Gang Activist Accused of Gang Crimes

 

Alex Sanchez is executive director of Homies Unidos, a gang-intervention nonprofit. Alex Sanchez, known nationally for his anti-gang work with Homies Unidos, is held on conspiracy and racketeering charges. He allegedly was involved with the Mara Salvatrucha gang.

 

By Scott Glover and Richard Winton
Thursday, June 25, 2009

 

A nationally known anti-gang activist was arrested Wednesday on federal racketeering and conspiracy charges stemming from his alleged involvement in one of the most violent street gangs in the United States.

Alex Sanchez, executive director of Homies Unidos, a gang-intervention nonprofit with offices in Los Angeles and El Salvador, was among two dozen alleged members or associates of the Mara Salvatrucha gang, also known as MS-13, charged in a 66-page indictment that was unsealed Wednesday.

·     Similar cases

The defendants, with monikers such as Creeper, Grinch, Pain and Tears, were involved in a variety of crimes, including murder, conspiracy to commit murder, extortion and drug trafficking, over a 15-year period, the indictment alleges. Among the alleged crimes was a plot to kill a Los Angeles Police Department detective who specialized in investigating the gang, authorities said. Gang members had gone so far as choosing a handgun with which to kill Det. Frank Flores, authorities allege, but police thwarted the plot.

Sanchez’s arrest comes as officials seek to train former gang members to work with at-risk youths. He is at least the fourth anti-gang worker to be charged with gang-related crimes in the last several years.

Identified in court papers by the gang name Rebelde, or rebel, Sanchez was allegedly a gang leader, known as a "shot caller." He is accused of conspiring with fellow gang members to kill a man in El Salvador in 2006 and other crimes.

Daniel McMullen, a top FBI official in Los Angeles, called Sanchez a gang member "who used the guise of a reformist to deceive the public and to play both sides by accepting funds from well-intentioned donors . . . while allegedly committing crimes on behalf of the gang."

Sanchez, 37, was arrested at his home in Bellflower. He broke into tears at a U.S. District Court hearing at which he was read the charges. He is expected to enter a plea next week. The board of directors of Homies Unidos issued a statement Wednesday evening expressing "full support" for Sanchez and saying that its members were "confident in Alex’s innocence."

Homies Unidos received about $1.6 million in tax-deductible donations from 2002 through 2007, according to tax returns available on Guidestar, an online database of nonprofits. Some of the money came from celebrities, according to law enforcement sources who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak about the matter. It was not immediately clear how much money came from government sources, but at least $10,000 came from Los Angeles, according to the city controller’s office.

Before his arrest, Sanchez had been winning accolades from politicians and others for years for his work with Homies Unidos. Based in an office near MacArthur Park, the organization performed tattoo removal for former gangsters who wanted a fresh start and offered life-skills courses for those leaving the gang life.

"For 10 years Homies Unidos has been a catalyst for change, working to end violence and promote peace in our communities," Sanchez wrote on the group’s website. "In fact we are living proof that prevention works and that peace is possible."

Sanchez, a former Mara Salvatrucha gang member in the early 1990s, first came to public attention during the LAPD Rampart corruption scandal a decade ago. Allegedly reformed and working at Homies Unidos, he was planning to testify on behalf of a teenager who contended that he had been falsely implicated in a killing.

But before Sanchez could do so, he was arrested by the LAPD and turned over to immigration authorities, who began deportation proceedings for the illegal immigrant who had reentered the United States after having been deported following a car-theft conviction.

Sanchez applied for political asylum, arguing that he might be killed if he was returned to El Salvador because of his former involvement with the Mara Salvatrucha and his outspoken stance against police corruption.

His case became something of a cause celebre when police critics cited it as an example of how officers in the Rampart Division tried to neutralize potentially problematic witnesses by having them deported.

Among his chief supporters at the time was then-state Sen. Tom Hayden, who accused LAPD officers of improperly targeting Sanchez for arrest. Hayden supported Sanchez’s bid for asylum, which was approved in 2002.

Hayden said Wednesday that it was too soon to assess the merit of the case against Sanchez, but that he does not believe the allegations negated his past achievements.

"He’s one of the most sensitive, knowledgeable and effective anti-violence practitioners I’ve met," Hayden said in a telephone interview. "The violence he has averted in Los Angeles and El Salvador is hard to quantify, but there’s no doubt he’s done it."

L.A. City Councilman Ed Reyes, who said he gave $5,000 in public funds to Homies Unidos for a children’s soccer program two years ago, said he was "totally shocked" by the charges.

Though prosecutors have filed racketeering charges against 18th Street and other gangs, the charges announced Wednesday mark the first time such a case has been brought against Mara Salvatrucha. According to authorities, the gang was formed in Los Angeles in the early 1980s by immigrants who fled war-torn El Salvador. Officials estimate the gang has several thousand members across the United States, as well as in Mexico and Central America. Federal authorities said the gang was one of the most violent in the nation.

The case against Mara Salvatrucha is the third major gang filing by the U.S. attorney’s office in recent weeks.

Authorities filed what they called the largest gang case in the nation last month against the Barrio Hawaiian Gardens gang, which became a priority for law enforcement after a member killed an L.A. County Sheriff’s deputy in 2005.

Last week, federal authorities issued a new round of charges in a pending case against the 18th Street gang, including allegations that a local defense attorney was serving as a liaison between the gang and the Mexican Mafia.

Mike "Cubano" Garcia, 64, a former Boyle Heights gang member who runs a gang program at White Memorial Medical Center, said the charges against Sanchez erode confidence in programs such as his.

"People start wondering, ‘Man, are all these guys crooked?’ " Garcia said.

scott.glover@latimes.com  ~ richard.winton@latimes.com

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CISPES letter of solidarity with Alex Sanchez and Homies Unidos

 

June 25, 2009

 

It was with sadness and indignation that we learned of the arrest of Alex Sanchez, executive director of Homies Unidos in Los Angeles, by the FBI on June 24.  Alex is a longtime fighter for justice in the immigrant community and has worked tirelessly to support the rights of youth in the US and El Salvador.  He and Homies Unidos, the violence prevention and gang intervention organization he helped found, have been close allies of CISPES in the struggle for justice and against police violence throughout the Americas. 

 

We are concerned that the federal indictment against Alex follows in a long line of false charges against him and appears to be part of a pattern to target him for his work to promote an alternative strategy for combating violence than that of the LAPD and Salvadoran National Civilian Police (PNC), which over the years have chosen iron-fist tactics over crime prevention programs.  While Alex and Homies Unidos have sought to promote reconciliation within their community, many politicians in El Salvador and the US have stood by a failed model of combating gang violence with indiscriminate police violence, criminalizing youth and utilizing corrupt institutions like the LAPD and PCN to attack suspected gang members and social movement leaders alike.

 

CISPES stands by Alex and Homies Unidos in rejecting the changes against him, and we repeat the statement of the Homies Unidos board that “an indictment is an allegation only”.  Though the media seems intent of vilifying Alex and the work he has done to rescue youth from gang violence, we stand by him and believe that he is innocent of the crimes he is being accused of. 

 

In solidarity,

 

The Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador (CISPES)

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Here is a letter about how we can help Alex.

 

Hello All,

 

I spoke with Alex’s lawyer Kerry Bensinger today.  He would like to meet with us on Saturday at his office to discuss the case and form a strategy to free Alex.  I am still awaiting a time. Please let know if you can attend.

 

THE FIRST STEP we must take towards helping Alex is getting him released on bail.  The bail hearing has been set for Tuesday, June 30th. In order to do this we must present a strong case in support of Alex’s character, the work he’s done, and most importantly prove that he is not a "flight risk" or "danger to his community."

 

-  We need signed letters of support.  These letters should focus on Alex’s character, accomplishments and importance to his community. Mr. Bensinger, suggested and I agree, that we refrain from bringing up the apparently organized effort to derail Homies and the broken system that has allowed for the epidemic of gangs.  Keep the letters focused on the intent of getting Alex out on bail. You should know that any letter you present to the court will become public record.  

 

-  Please also contact anyone you might think to be a good candidate for support and urge them to write a letter.  Public officials, community leaders, law enforcement…

 

-  We need assets as collateral for bail.  The court is most interested in this as they value property as insurance against flight risk. This is very important, as the alternative will probably be a large sum of money that will be difficult to raise. So if any you would like to post a valuable asset as guarantee against skipping bail, please contact me and I will get you in touch with the lawyer.  

 

Please let me know if you’re schedule doesn’t permit you the time to pen a letter and we will happily provide you with a sample letter to attach your name to.

 

IMPORTANT: We need to have all letters of support and collateral assets by Sunday evening in order to present them to the court before Alex’s bail hearing.  

 

You can either hand deliver them to one of the Homies staff or board members or messenger them to Kerry Bensinger’s law firm:  

 

Bensinger, Ritt, Tai & Thvedt

65 N. Raymond Avenue, Suite 320

Pasadena, CA 91103  

 

Fax 626-685-2562

 

With Respect,

 

Troy

troyog@mac.com

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Homies Unidos

http://homiesunidos.org/aboutus.html

Our Vision
Homies Unidos works to end violence and promote peace in our communities through gang intervention, promotion of humane treatment of marginalized youth, providing alternatives to gang involvement and destructive behavior, empowering youth to change, and providing positive and productive alternatives for them to do so in both El Salvador and Los Angeles.

Our Mission
Homies Unidos recognizes the capacity for positive transformation in all human beings. Therefore, we believe in the inalienable human right of all marginalized youth, families and their communities to pursue their dreams and achieve their full potential free of violence and discrimination.

Objectives
General objective: To support the prevention of social violence, rehabilitation and construction of a culture of peace among Central American community through the implementation of prevention, intervention programs and strengthening families.
Specific objectives

1. To support the improvement of the quality of life of at-risk youth and gang members.
2. To educate the public and policy makers on effective prevention and intervention programs.
3. To stop suppressive laws that are violating our youth civil and human rights in Central America and the U.S.
4. To create community leaders to advocate to stop the deportations and keep families united.

We are an independent 501(c) 3 non-profit organization dedicated to empowering youth, families and communities in the Pico Union/ Koreatown areas of Los Angeles and El Salvador.