On October 6, 2016, R. Justin Tolomeo, special agent in charge of the Milwaukee Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the FBI’s Southeastern Wisconsin Regional GangTask Force (SWRGTF) announced the arrest of 28 members and associates of the violentManiac Latin Disciples (MLD) gang on federal and state charges ranging from narcotics trafficking to armed robbery. The SWRGTF, which is composed of local, state, and federal agencies, executed a highly coordinated operation that aimed to dismantle the MLD’s violent grip over southeastern Wisconsin. The agencies involved in today’s operation included the Racine Police Department and SWAT team, the Racine County Sheriff’s Department and SWAT team, the Kenosha Police Department, the Kenosha County Sheriff’s Office and SWAT team, the Sturtevant Police Department, the Mount Pleasant Police Department, the Caledonia Police Department, New Berlin Police Department, the Milwaukee Police Department, the Wisconsin High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force, the Drug Enforcement Administration of Milwaukee, the United States Marshals Service, and the Milwaukee and Chicago FBI field offices.

Members of the Maniac Latin Disciples allegedly operated a continuing criminal enterprise that profited from trafficking drugs in bulk, armed robberies, and employing violence against their community through multiple shootings. In a cooperative effort to combat MLD’s threat, dozens of law enforcement agents participated in the operation and were able to seize vehicles, weapons, body armor, ammunition, more than 40 pounds of marijuana and cocaine, and more than $80,000 in cash from over 20 different locations throughout southeast Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

Below are the names and information of alleged MLD members arrested in today’s operation:

• Gregory D. Tirado, Jr., age 28
• Melissa Rios, age 34
• Juan Paul Guajardo, age 41
• Jose Perez, age 42
• Juan C. Ramirez, age 32
• Frederick A. Evans, age 54
• Martin L. Lazcon, age 24
• Brian Johnson, age 22
• Gregory D. Tirado, Sr., age 46
• Janet Serrano, age 20
• Tyler M. Christman, age 26
• Ashley B. Craddock, age 20
• Jason R. Lopez, age 39
• Bradley R. Sorenson, age 25
• Marelo Ortiz-Cartagena, age 68
• Ernesto N. Perez, age 41
• Marco A. Munoz, age 25
• Marcello Tirado, age 19
• Angel H. Reyes, age 45
• Eric J. Minkey, age 38
• Trevian Dumas, age 22
• Pedro Juarez, age 36