A former enforcer for the Texas Mexican Mafia drew five consecutive life
prison terms without parole Wednesday for his role in the killings of five
people, including Balcones Heights Police Officer Julian Pesina.
Ruben “Menace” Reyes, 37, was deemed a threat to society by Senior U.S.
District Judge David Alan Ezra, who took the unusual step of recommending that
he serve his sentence at a Supermax prison in Florence, Colorado.
The U.S. Bureau of Prisons’ Administrative Maximum Facility houses or has
housed many of the country’s most infamous criminals and terrorists. Heriberto
Huerta, the San Antonio native who founded the Texas Mexican Mafia in prison in
the 1980s, is serving life terms at that lockup, where inmates are isolated for
most of their stay.
“I have looked for the good in this defendant and I have found very
little,” Ezra said of Reyes. “Unfortunately, there is little to no hope in
rehabilitation of this defendant. He has no conscience. … He poses a danger
because of his propensity to murder.”
At a hearing last year, Reyes admitted killing at least 16 people as part
of the gang’s efforts to control the drug market here through extortion and
violence. He was charged only in connection to five killings because some
evidence on the others didn’t match his admissions.
Without making a deal with prosecutors, Reyes pleaded guilty in July to 10
counts on charges that included violent crime (murder) in aid of racketeering
and aiding and abetting the use of a firearm during a crime of violence.
Reyes’ lawyer, Brandon Hudson, asked Ezra to run the life sentences
concurrently, but the judge turned him down.
According to court records, Reyes was the go-to guy for the gang’s “green
light” hits. Among those he admitted killing was fellow gang member Ulysses
Farias, 36, in October 2013 and three high-ranking members of the gang in
January 2014 who had fallen out of favor.
![]() |
Officer Pesina |
Reyes also told investigators he passed down orders targeting Pesina, 29,
who was off duty when he was shot outside his tattoo shop on May 4, 2014, while
delivering payment for a street tax imposed by the gang. Pesina was under FBI
investigation at the time for drug-dealing activity but was killed because he
had falsely claimed membership in the gang, court records said.
Shortly after those killings, Reyes learned that his own gang wanted him
dead and went to the San Antonio Police Department for protection. Over at
least two days, he confessed to the SAPD and the FBI about several killings and
helped investigators find the makeshift grave near Pearsall containing three
victims he shot in January 2014: Texas Mexican Mafia general Carlos “Worm” Chapa,
captain Mark Anthony “Lefty” Bernal, and “lieutenant of lieutenants” Johnny
“Smiley” Solis.
They were killed for mishandling $60,000, court records said. Reyes was
briefly given Bernal’s rank afterward before the gang put out a “green light”
on his own life.
“He cooperated from the moment he came in and helped (investigators) solve
a number of killings,” Hudson said. “A big victory for us was getting the death
penalty off the table.”
Of the victims’ families, only Bernal’s widow, mother and father addressed
the court Wednesday.
“Mark made some mistakes, but he never hurt anybody,” Bernal’s mother told
the judge. “He did not deserve to die.”
She called Reyes a “soulless, heartless monster” who killed Bernal two
weeks before the birth of his daughter.
“So many lives (Reyes) has taken,” she said. “He deserves the death
penalty, not life in prison.”
Reyes was cooperating with the FBI but changed his mind as the Justice
Department’s lengthy process in racketeering and potential death-penalty cases
lagged on.
“His justification for killing some of (the victims) were that those
people were ‘in the (gang) life,’ as if that were some sort of justification,”
Ezra said. “There is no justification for committing cold-blooded murder. The
defendant did so without remorse, with cold and precise calculation and
absolutely no thought about the families of the victims, the children and the
community.”
follow link to a San Antonio Express pictorial explaining the Texas Mexican Mafia scroll through the 29 photos
Damn. I wish I could say I don't believe in the death sentence but guys like this really push my limits. I know as a fact that there are people on death row for the salyings of as few as one or two people but this guy was convicted of helping slay five people!!!
ReplyDeleteWether they did it for money or out of anger or both these people really do deserve the worst that others can throw at them.
He didn't kill innocent people, he killed rivals and even that cop was a crooked cop
DeleteYeah! That's true.
Delete"He didn't kill innocent people, he killed rivals and even that cop was a crooked cop"
DeleteOhh,its all good then,as long as they were"in the life"its alright,maybe he shouldn't even be charged ?
And,he only killed 16 human beings,not that many really ? After all he didnt kill innocent people?
8:09 so are we back to the days where it was "an eye for an eye" law?
DeleteYou don't just go around killing on your own, all murders must be sanctioned by all the top capos, not by one or two, no matter who the target is, sometimes it is a resident, or his brother and sister, children, the dog or the cat, because we are murderers, I mean businessmen and men of honor, and we don't.really care to tell children too many times to behave themselves, that why we unleashed rudi giulianni on John Gotti, he kill his Godfather without anybody's permission, our friend RUDY has gone on to a good life, always earning for his elders from his high perches in federal government, makes me she'd a tear we. I think of Don RUDI GIULIANNI, maybe someday our dear Rudi will get to run it all.
DeleteOrale eyh that's right.
Delete@8:09 the Mexican military get weapons from other countries also like France and Spain, not just the U.S. Anything from guns, ammo to armored vehicles to aircraft. If greed is what is moving them to take over this area it has nothing to do with funding.
Delete8:25 ...and germany, all the former colonist economies are going bankrupt over taking on debt, cutting taxes, firing people, low wages, banking and investment fraud and refugees.
DeleteSo they split a few weapons deals to appear to be fair,
--everybody is coming to LatinAmerica for a second going at it, it will not work...
I made the comnent 8:09. What I ment was that he does NOT deserve the death sentence because he didn't kill anybody that contributed to society. Not even the crooked cop. Criminal killing criminals..
DeleteThese guys are like the latin kings because they kill their own more frequently than enemies.. dumb if you ask me..
ReplyDeleteSmart move if they had salaries.
DeleteThe majority of prison gangs kill their own people more than their rivals. Killing your rivals cost the gangs too much to start a war. Many of the killed members are killed because they realize what they have been taught is total bullshit and want to walk away. The blood in and blood out mentality is the reason why the TANGOS are so big in the Texas prisons.
DeleteThe Latin Kings are always snitching on "snitches", after they are usually the ones who snitch first, but oh boy, the accused get killed real quick, that is why the LK have never been much more than "unos pinchis grameros de la esquina" at some run down neighborhood
DeleteThey control Chicago. That's like a 100 million dollar empire a year minimum. At least 100 million. That's pretty good if you ask me.
Delete"The incas" don't leave much for the grameros, it is all for greedy mophakas at the top with the connections to city hall, or to the governor's office, I remember Jim Thompson, he was squeaky clean, but his friends and buddies, well, let's just say, they contributed HEAVILY TO THE CAMPAIGNS.
Deleteit got good for a while for the gangsters and the 2shit, with all the flores twins business, but now it is all gone, legit, to try and save some ass, they got themselves a president for a while, but the tuxedo parties never included LK, unless they were in the prison, or as special gd/26 "guests"
So why not let him back out to finish the job ?
ReplyDeleteLooks like he took a beating
ReplyDeleteUsually happens when you kill a cop, even a piece of shit crooked one.
DeleteHerbie put the green light on his ass, now he's all scared....Pussy!!!!!
ReplyDeleteQuien es herbie? El carro del love bug?
DeleteThat's how these scum work. Ol' boy put in the work because his superiors are too scared. Then they put a green light out on him because he knows too much. Wow, that's looking out for your carnal alright!! Fuck gang life!!! You are better off being a lone wolf.
DeleteYeah
DeleteGangs are for people who doesnt have balls to be on.their own
Fack the carnales ese, there's only you, try and cast no shade because that will get you done.
DeleteHe won't last in a dog cage. Jajajajaja die a slow tormented insanity induced death you shitheel fuck.
ReplyDeleteA 'Mexican Mafia' captain who “made some mistakes, but never hurt anybody“, yeah right!!!
ReplyDeleteThere's a funny Family Guy bit about that gang mentality; Stewie sees a gang member get shot and tries to call an ambulance but all the guy wants is a news crew to cover his death and "for a gap-toothed woman to say: 'He never did nothing to nobody'"
DeleteHahaha I know... was reading it and at the same time was like WTF is wrong with the mother. Calling the other guy "soulless"
DeleteBernal's mother truly doesn't understand what these guys have to do to get into the gang. Bernal was a Captain in the Texas Mexican Mafia. How much hurting does a person have to inflict on other human beings to obtain that rank? How much blood did he spill in the name of the gang to become a Captain? Obviously a shitload.
DeleteThat's right homes.
Delete7:20 in their world, they know what's up, you may end serving a life sentence, but you did not die, for some people that is wining, and by the time he gets free machete may have died, with the appeals and everything, all he has to do is be born again and lean his bibles and his preaching and dedicate his life to the Lord, and he may even get pregnant a corrections officer or two, here in the US those that see the light are highly rewarded
DeleteThis faction from Texas fight the Mexican mafia from California. because they have the same name but not affiliated
ReplyDeleteNice little psychopath here. If any of you want to understand how these parasites work I suggest you learn on "social anti personality disorders". Look them up, you have NarcissisTs, sociopaths and a few others. They will destroy your lives, they all don't commit murder, most of them don't but they have no empathy. They are all over the place and out there to destroy you. Chives, you should do an article on cartels and these disorders.....
ReplyDeleteHey you're right, but most of these you describe seem to be homeless beggars where I live, no cartel for them. Scum.
DeleteHey man, some have low IQs and then you have others with high IQs. In fact they're like chameleons, you don't know who they are, they are masters of manipulation and they hold jobs like lawyers, politicians and CEOs. I have been involved with 2, very toxic people man. They still give me nightmares....
DeleteHow it works, mexicans get treated on the border towns to a different kind of education in school and on the street, it is supposed to end like this for the less gifted or less cute, packed with ignorance and hot dogs and all english speaking and temporay jobs en las pizcas once in a while.
DeleteI have seen some "tangas" from tango blast, real cute guys, with an education, 4 or 5 cars, (on gangland, of course), these guys are from better families and it makes no difference, blame the social environment for producing them, and their ignorance, but their parents for the most part had other hopes for their children, only to discover they were better off en el rancho in mexico.
this gangsters are connected with sinaloa and beltran leyva cartels
ReplyDeleteTexas Mexican Mafia are connected to whoever will pay them. They have no loyalty to any one cartel. They are about money and they could careless where it's coming from. By the way Mexican Mafia out Cali is well known for working for CDS and BLO but Mexican Mafia out of Texas is not. You might have the two separate Mexican Mafias confused homeboy. Texas Mexican Mafia are known for working with the Zetas and CDG
DeleteHe will kill chapo for snitching
ReplyDelete5:37 NO, snitch...
DeleteJust another waste of our tax dollars going to feed this nut case.
ReplyDelete6:18 the pennies it cost to feed and house and clothe this murdering perp are nothing, compared to the money private prison contractors will be making every day of his lofe, that where the money is, and your "tax money" goes, I hope the Apache Sheriff Arpaio will go to keep him company soon, I heard arpaio lost his reelection bid and mexicans are running a stampede back to their beloved taco trucks where linias of gueros y gabachos are waiting for them, that arpaio was/is one ugly mattaphakka, must have been banging his bullfighter deputies.
DeleteHis nickname should be "El Hatchet Face". I hope this dude wasn't married. Just think if you had to wake up next to El Hatchet Face every morning. Hell on earth it would be.
ReplyDeleteIts hard out here for a g ...
ReplyDeleteYep . I usually say kill em and be rid of them but this guy helped clear up a lot of murders . He killed a general of the m m . Should have been awarded a metal with that life sentence . Walked right in and said he killed all those people ,"help me ? Obviously the gangster life didn't afford him enough funds to run . Ive seen these guys before . Big shots in prison doing their little nickle and dime shit , in charge . Then out on the streets their doing $100 boosts at Walmart just to get by .
ReplyDeleteI could give examples but that might be a little to far . After all this hit man killed more people than smallpox and didn't have enough money to run . These 2 bit gangsters will hit you for saying something about San Antonio that they didn't like or took wrong.
Is there a heaven for a gangsta?
ReplyDeleteYes, this one has just confessed without asking for a lawyer to prettify his testimony or a priest to ask for forgiveness...
DeleteAll he needs to do is confess to a priest everyday, didn't Jesus forgive his detractors and the criminal crucified by his side?
He's giving us the evil eye.
ReplyDelete