Ashley Luthern

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Several alleged members of a gang known for carjackings, high-speed chases and other crimes have been charged with 31 offenses in a case that illustrates the reckless and brazen methods employed by teen robbery crews in Milwaukee.

Jesus Lazaro, 17, Junior Z. Moreno, 17, and Giovanni Zurfluh, 18, are accused of being members of the "Cut Throat Mob" or "CT Mob," which has been implicated in dozens of vehicle thefts and other crimes. Last year, an 18-year-old linked to the gang was sentenced to 30 years in prison for speeding in a stolen SUV, blowing a stop sign and crashing into another car, killing an elderly couple.

Lazaro and Zurfluh pleaded not guilty and were bound over for trial Tuesday. A hearing for Moreno was postponed until next week.

They and several younger alleged gang members were arrested and charged after a detailed law enforcement investigation into a series of crimes.

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In the first 10 months of this year, more than 80 teenagers were arrested for armed carjackings, according to Milwaukee police data. That is a sharp increase from previous years. Police also have seen a spike in teens driving or riding around in stolen cars and made nearly 500 juvenile arrests for that offense in the same time period.

Fighting back

Among the 31 offenses in the current case is an attempted carjacking downtown in which the two victims fought back.

Miriam Ben-Shalom, 68, and her partner, Karen Weiss, 69, had pulled up to Hotel Metro for dinner at Pastiche. It was about 6:30 p.m. Oct. 22 and they just attended a production of "Man of La Mancha" at The Milwaukee Rep.

Ben-Shalom parked at the valet stand and went to the hatch to retrieve Weiss' walker. She heard an engine revving, looked up and saw the valet fighting with someone.

"I immediately realized it's a carjacking," Ben-Shalom said in a recent interview. "The car's still running, so I went and I tackled the punk and I put him in a hold."

She also said she put the toe of her boot in "a socially significant place," near his groin, to get the teen to stop moving.

Weiss got out of the car using her cane. When she walked around to the other side of the car, she said she saw the struggle with the would-be thief and whacked him several times with her cane before pulling on his hooded sweatshirt to see his face.

Then a large black SUV pulled up and a teen stepped out, armed with a gun. He pointed it sideways, "gangster-style," and threatened to shoot if they did not let go of the other teen, Ben-Shalom said.

They let go and the teens fled in the black SUV.

Crime spree ends

Two weeks ago, Milwaukee police detectives stopped by their house with a photo lineup. Ben-Shalom and her partner independently picked out photos of the same individuals. Milwaukee police arrested a 16-year-old, only identified by initials in the complaint, and Zurfluh who was identified as the gunman, according to court documents.

Lazaro later told police he was in the stolen black SUV with Zurfluh, Moreno and several others searching for license plates to steal when they saw a possible "jump-in," or a vehicle that can be easily stolen with the keys in the ignition, near the hotel.

Ben-Shalom — an Army veteran who fought the military's decision to discharge her after she openly said she was a lesbian — said she had remembered her training and what she had learned at that Milwaukee police citizens' academy.

"Our little action helped end a crime spree," she said. "Maybe not everybody can tackle somebody, but what if every person decided to make her or his small little area of influence in the world a better place?"

Authorities say the members of the gang scoped out possible targets at locations where drivers often left keys in vehicles — such as gas stations — and jumped into the vehicles and drove off.

Those vehicles were used to steal other vehicles, sold to others to commit crimes such as drug dealing, robbery and burglary, or simply used for joyriding, according to the criminal complaint.

The thieves also used the stolen vehicles to drive in city neighborhoods where they ransacked other cars, and often swiped license plates to put on stolen cars to avoid police, the complaint says.

The charges include operating and attempting to operate a vehicle without the owner's consent, theft, endangering safety by use of a dangerous weapon, possession of a firearm by an adjudicated delinquent and fleeing an officer.

Lazaro and Moreno have prior criminal records. In May, Lazaro was adjudicated delinquent, or found guilty in Children's Court, for felony operating a vehicle without owner's consent. He was placed on supervision for a year.

Moreno was adjudicated delinquent in March for felony operating a vehicle without owner's consent and placed on supervision for a year. Three months later, he was charged as an adult with felony burglary and misdemeanor operating a vehicle without owner's consent.

His $1,000 bail was posted and he was released from custody. When he did not appear for his next court date, a warrant was issued for his arrest.