More than 70 arrested in statewide gang sweep

More than 70 gang members netted in a statewide, multi-agency enforcement surge are facing a battery of federal and state charges including murder and drug possession. Forty will be looking at deportation proceedings.

The arrests were made over the last two months as part of "Operation Community Shield." The program, overseen by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's National Gang Unit, combined law enforcement officers from local agencies, the U.S. Attorney's Office for Utah and the state's new SECURE immigration strike force, a unit launched this summer and administered by Utah Attorney General Mark Shurtleff.

ICE Special Agent Jonathan Lines, who coordinated the effort, said Wednesday the project was a great success.

"ICE is committed to rooting out these gang members before they get too embedded in communities," he said. "These are dangerous criminals. … More than half will do state or federal time before being deported."

Lines said a similar multi-agency raid last summer resulted in more arrests — 124 — but this year's sweep netted more serious criminals. They include Guadalupe Alfredo Melendez-Laine, a 34-year-old Honduran national with ties to the Sureno 13 street gang. Melendez-Laine, who has been deported five times, was arrested in Salt Lake City Aug. 12, and according to the ICE report, has a lengthy criminal record including an arrest in Utah two years ago for possession and trafficking of heroin.

Ken Wallantine, chief of law enforcement for the Utah Attorney General's Office, said offenders like Melendez-Laine are exactly the profile the SECURE team is tasked with apprehending.

"We're focusing our efforts on people that are trafficking stolen goods, fraudulent ID, human trafficking and transporting narcotics and weapons into the state," he said. "We've known for a long time that a lot of drugs being trafficked in Utah, and many of the Western states, is facilitated by gangs that have transnational connections."

Shurtleff, who was a strong supporter of legislation last year that created the new crime team, said its involvement in the federally led sweep was exactly what he had hoped for.

"The SECURE strike force is partnering with ICE in Operation Community Shield to do just what the people of Utah need: get the worst criminal aliens off our streets," he said. "As attorney general, I am committed to protecting all law-abiding Utahns from these dangerous gang members."

The surge focused on Ogden, Salt Lake, Provo and St. George with a surprisingly large number of the arrests — 21 — occurring in St. George. Lines said the southern Utah city's proximity to the Nevada border makes it a perfect transition point for gang members moving out of Nevada and California and looking for new opportunities in Utah. Wallantine said ongoing efforts like Wednesday's operation will help keep the state an inhospitable place for those looking to commit crime.

"We're seeing strong criminal pressures here," he said. "We're at a point where if we push back hard, we can prevent that element from gaining a foothold."

e-mail: araymond@desnews.com