Alex Sanchez-Nationally recognized 'gang peacemaker' arrested in gang sweep

[Carmen Perez]

Friend and colleague, Alex Sanchez, Executive Director of the Los Angeles-based, non-profit Homies Unidos has been involved in peace work and community activism for many years. Working in collaboration with many of the organizations we work with, he has advocated for immigrant rights as well as spoken to youths about the consequences of gang life. Always looking to seek justice, Alex has lobbied for better intervention and prevention programs. Alex has become a nationally-recognized expert in gang intervention--his work has been featured on NPR, in Mother Jones magazine, and through numerous other media outlets. Today, he was arrested by the Feds in a gang sweep. Please keep Alex and his family in your prayers.
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A nationally recognized anti-gang leader was among those named in a federal indictment targeting several Mara Salvatrucha gang members who authorities said today have been involved in multiple slayings, extortion and assaults.

Alex Sanchez, executive director of Homies Unidos, was taken into custody by FBI agents this morning at his Bellflower home. Sanchez and several members of MS-13, one of the nation's most ruthless and notorious gangs, were named as a co-conspirators in the indictment, which will be unsealed later today, said FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.

The indictment alleges that the gang terrorized the Lafayette Park area west of downtown Los Angeles.

The case of Sanchez, who admitted being a member of the MS-13 gang as a youth but said he had sworn off the gang lifestyle, became a cause celebre early in the decade when authorities attempted to deport the self-described gang peacemaker.

In 1994, Sanchez was deported to his home country of El Salvador because of a decade-old auto-theft conviction and a subsequent parole violation for possessing a firearm. A year later, he returned illegally to the U.S. and eventually helped form the local chapter of Homies Unidos.

Sanchez was granted political asylum after successfully arguing that he might be killed if he was returned to El Salvador because of his links to the Salvadoran gang and his stand against police corruption. Sanchez said he was a victim of harassment by the Los Angeles Police Department, and his case was highlighted by police critics during the Rampart corruption scandal.

[Updated at 3:15 p.m: A previous version of this post indicated Sanchez was granted asylum because of harassment by the Police Department.]

Among those who championed Sanchez's cause was former state Sen. Tom Hayden (D-Los Angeles), who befriended Sanchez in the 1990s and testified on his behalf.

-- Andrew Blankstein and Richard Winton
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2009/06/nationally-recognized...

[Monica Novoa]

Thank you for posting Carmen!

Below is address information and a couple of letters for reference.

Letters will need to be addressed in this way:

Honorable Alicia G. Rosenberg
United States Courthouse
312 N. Spring Street, Courtroom D
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Re: Mr. Alex Sanchez Cr. 09-00466

Dear Judge Rosenberg:


Here is a letter David Brotherton wrote:

Honorable Alicia G. Rosenberg
United States Courthouse
312 N. Spring Street, Courtroom D
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Re: Mr. Alex Sanchez Cr. 09-00466

June 25, 2009

Dear Judge Rosenberg:

I am writing regarding the recent arrest of my friend and colleague Mr. Alex Sanchez. I have known Mr. Sanchez for seven years and am well acquainted with his work on behalf of the Latino community in Los Angeles and El Salvador. Mr. Sanchez is one of the leading community workers in the United States specializing in gang conflict and development, particularly at the transnational level. His personal and field experience in this area is incomparable and many of us in the academic world look to his ceaseless efforts to put an end to gang-related violence as one of the most important initiatives to come out of our urban centers in decades. His extraordinary commitment to this goal can be seen in his leadership of the organization Homies Unidos which is well known for its pioneering gang work across the country and also abroad. I have grave doubts about the charges brought against Mr. Sanchez by the FBI as they would confirm that he is still an active gang member when it is patently clear through all his work over the years that this is not the case. Rather what these charges show are that the FBI continues to use a model of gang repression that needlessly drags innocent and guilty into a wider and wider net on the basis that anyone who associates with gang members is part of a conspiracy. This is particularly true in cases that involve the RICO act where the weight of proof to gain a conviction is drastically lessened and increasing reliance is placed on the words of informers and cooperating defendants who are eager to reach a deal with the prosecution. I have seen this repeatedly in so many cases that I have studied as well as been involved in from the standpoint of an expert witness.

Judge Rosenberg, I know that you have to make a decision on whether to grant bail to Mr. Sanchez in the next few days and, in particular, you must decide if he would be a flight risk. In both my professional and personal opinion I would not hesitate to grant Mr. Sanchez bail as he represents absolutely no threat to society or to the future proceedings of the court. As a leading criminological expert on gangs in this country and as a senior faculty member at the nation’s largest school of criminal justice I am confident that when and if the case against my colleague is presented to an impartial jury of his peers Mr. Alex Sanchez will be found not guilty and once again be able to resume his invaluable service to bring peace to our streets.

I thank you kindly for considering my concerns in this matter and would ask that if you have any questions regarding my relationship with Mr. Sanchez or any other matter of relevance that you contact me at your earliest convenience.


Yours sincerely,


David C. Brotherton, Ph.D.
Chair and Professor
Department of Sociology and Criminology
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
The City University of New York
899 10th Avenue
New York, NY10019
Tel: [phone]
[e-mail]

David C. Brotherton, Ph.D. Professor and Chair Department of Sociology John Jay College of Criminal Justice/CUNY Member of Ph.D Faculties in Criminal Justice, Sociology, Urban Education, Graduate Center/CUNY Tel: [phone] [e-mail]


And here is mine:

June 25, 2009

Honorable Alicia G. Rosenberg
United States Courthouse
312 N. Spring Street, Courtroom D
Los Angeles, CA 90012

Re: Mr. Alex Sanchez Cr. 09-00466

Dear Judge Rosenberg:

I am honored to write this letter in full support for Mr. Alex Sanchez, whom I have known for the past 8 years first through community involvement and recently as a board member of Homies Unidos. I currently work as a communications manager at the firm Hershey|Cause in Santa Monica, CA and reside in Culver City. I first met Alex when he came to the Cal State University, Northridge campus to bring Homies Unidos youth to Taekwondo classes on Saturday mornings taught by Professor Joaquin Mauricio Chavez. On his own time, Alex brought youth closer to the newly established Central American Studies program and college students. I was immediately impressed by Alex’s hands-on approach with mentoring youth and talking to them about alternatives and working toward brighter futures. As a father and husband, I see that Alex’s commitment and love for community is an extension of the dedication he has to his family – who he always slows down for in the midst of his tireless work.

As a board member of Homies Unidos I can say with great certainty that it has been a personal privilege to collaborate with a passionate and dedicated peacemaker and community leader. Homies Unidos is fortunate to be lead by Alex’s vision of a community without violence and to count on his dedication and expertise on community-based youth violence prevention and intervention to that end, for the past 11 years.

Alex has lead Homies Unidos work in community-based youth violence prevention and intervention in the area of Pico Union, Westlake and Koreatown of Los Angeles. He has also built bridges with African American organizations uniting communities on the same peacemaking path. As a board member, I have seen Alex continuously demonstrate great knowledge, passion, strong leadership and a unique conciliatory approach – collaborating with diverse individuals and groups from government to grassroots throughout the city of Los Angeles.

I am aware of the indictment of Alex, and am at this time greatly concerned for his safety, as his critical peacemaking work makes him a vulnerable target. I strongly recommend that Alex be released on a reduced bail for his own safety.

Should you have any questions please contact me at 818.653.3292 or via email at [e-mail]

Sincerely,

Monica Novoa

Board Secretary, Homies Unidos

[Carmen Perez]

THIS MESSAGE WAS SENT TO ME ON BEHALF ALEX,
Carmen

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 Ave, Suite 320, Pasadena, CA 91103 - fax [phone]

With Respect,

Troy