Cop’s killing among 28 deaths blamed on Texas Mexican Mafia

Alfred Cardona, 36, left, talks with his attorney Stephen Foster in the Bexar County 226th District Court, Monday, Sept. 29, 2014. Cardona was sentenced to life in prison in federal court Wednesday morning in connection with the murder of Balcones Heights police officer Julian Pesina, 29. The officer was killed on May 4 outside a San Antonio tattoo parlor he co-owned on Hillcrest Drive. less Alfred Cardona, 36, left, talks with his attorney Stephen Foster in the Bexar County 226th District Court, Monday, Sept. 29, 2014. Cardona was sentenced to life in prison in federal court Wednesday morning in ... more Photo: JERRY LARA /San Antonio Express-News Photo: JERRY LARA /San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 33 Caption Close Cop’s killing among 28 deaths blamed on Texas Mexican Mafia 1 / 33 Back to Gallery

A federal judge has set an Aug. 8 trial date for three alleged members of the Texas Mexican Mafia charged in the killing of a Balcones Heights police officer as prosecutors revealed this week that one of the defendants might plead guilty.

The slaying of Officer Julian Pesina, who was gunned down May 4, 2014, outside the tattoo parlor he co-owned, is among 28 murders in the San Antonio area being investigated by the FBI and Texas Department of Public Safety as part of a larger probe of the prison gang, prosecutors said during a status conference Wednesday.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Shearer told U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez that locally-based prosecutors must consult with Justice Department officials in Washington before moving forward on several portions of the investigation.

Jesse Santibanez, 37; Alfredo Cardona, 27; and Jerry Idrogo, 34, were indicted in June 2015 on federal charges connected to Pesina’s killing and drug and robbery and extortion charges related to the gang’s enforcement of territory. Pesina had tattoos linked to the Texas Mexican Mafia and was being targeted in an FBI drug dealing investigation.

Their lawyers said they believed the case might be re-indicted to add sweeping charges under the Racketeer Influence Corruption Act, or RICO statute, but Shearer told the judge that delays from Washington had put that on hold.

Ruben “Menace” Reyes, who Shearer said was a Mexican Mafia lieutenant on the North Side of San Antonio who became “lieutenant of lieutenants,” is awaiting trial in a separate but related case.

Before being charged in 2014, someone from Reyes’ own gang attempted to kill him on orders from leaders, so he went to San Antonio police and admitted killing three other high-ranking Mexican Mafia members and provided information on several other gang murders, officials have said.

“He was cooperating,” Shearer told the judge. “He is no longer cooperating. At some point, he changed his mind.”

Once Reyes stopped talking, prosecutors in March filed a new federal indictment against him that included charges in connection with killings of Pesina and another Mexican Mafia gang member, Ulysses Farias. The new indictment said Reyes killed Farias on Oct. 12, 2013, to gain entry into the gang, and rank. Reyes’ case is pending before another judge, with trial set in September.

Shearer told Judge Rodriguez that Reyes passed down orders for the trio to kill Pesina. Shearer also said the feds want to offer plea deals to Santibanez, Cardona and Idrogo in which the defendants plead guilty to Pesina’s killing, “any other murder” they were involved in and other charges, and testify against Reyes. Any plea deal must be approved by the highest levels at the Justice Department.

“I think the department wants to ensure the defendants know they are looking at life (sentences), not just the mandatory minimum of 10 years,” Shearer said. “Mr. Idrogo’s (plea deal) has already been approved by the department.”

Idrogo’s lawyer, Bernie Campion, told Rodriguez that the deal is in the best interest of Idrogo, but Campion would not provide details after the hearing.

Cardona’s lawyer, John Convery, and Santibanez’s attorney, Tom McHugh, complained to Rodriguez that their clients’ cases are in limbo while the bureaucracy in Washington makes up its mind.

“I would agree there are a lot of moving parts,” McHugh said. “The problem is the parts are not moving.”

gcontreras@express-news.net