You cant smoke everybody that sells dope.. Lizard said he was forced into performing the unauthorized drug deals after an investigator from Santa Clara County nearly blew his cover. These defendants wisely elected to plead guilty rather than face the prospect of Mr. Hernandez appearance as a trial witness against them.. In fact, the 31-year-old gangsta rapper, whose real name is David Rocha, wanted nothing more than to distance himself from his codefendants. Lizard was charged with attempted murder, and sent back to jail. When he entered Corcoran State Prison in 1989 for selling cocaine, he joined Nuestra Raza, a recruiting gang for the more esteemed Nuestra Familia. Rocha still did not understand the charge or why he was being placed into custody. Now, for a CD he cut five years ago, for a guy he claims he barely knew, for a dollar he never made, David Rocha faces a life sentence on a single count of conspiracy. Frias used a pay phone to call another gang member, Roque Boxer Martinez, who said he would bring a .22 and meet Frias in the parking lot. Whatever you want. That 50 percent looked like gold., Sir Dyno claims he never asked where Gratton got his money, and whether or not the jury believes that could be key to his fate. Then Lizard got lucky. With most prison gangs who try and use the mail, theres a big lag time things get lost, hits get reversed so theres a lot of miscommunication. His words are those of a man still prepared for war. Hed began his criminal career as a teenage norteo gang member, pulling off smash-and-grab robberies of jewelry stores. The former leaders include James "Tibbs" Morado, Joseph "Pinky" Hernandez, Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba, Cornelio Tristan, and Tex Marin Hernandez. The voice doesnt sound like Sir Dynos, but officers in the streets took offense. And what had germinated inside the prisons was now blooming all across California. In June, one California prison experimented with another solution to the Norteo-Sureo war. Three days before Christmas, Lizard called Holguin. Now, for a CD he cut five years ago, for a guy he claims he barely knew, for a dollar he never made, David Rocha faces a life sentence on a single count of conspiracy. Of course, once the hit list is reactivated, Lizard knows that his name will sit at the very top. The risks had Lizard thinking. Nuestra Familia members in the Secured Housing Unit kept to a punishing daily regimen of crunches and push-ups, followed by makeshift weightlifting with a barbell fashioned from pillow cases filled with books and magazines. My stuff has softened up a lot, Sir Dyno says. But the state prison guards union and correctional officials have argued that to mix inmates now would only bring more violence. Once that dried, the correspondent would write another letter in ink on the page, but the recipient knew to hold it up to the light to read the real message. Arnold Schwarzenegger protested the fact that the five were not scattered across the federal prison system, as former U.S. Attorney Robert Mueller's staff had promised. In his FBI interrogation, Gratton never makes it clear whether Sir Dyno knew he was rapping for the mob, or that North Star Records had been set up to launder money. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. According to prison officials, gang leaders could arrange such deals by offering to keep the peace. All norteos must unite with the determination to fight and challenge all those who oppose our unity and advancement toward equal justice. Its not easy.. finds relevant news, identifies important training information, Lizard sent word to Big Smiley to corroborate this story. I wanted to get out of there, to come to California and do what I needed to do.. Meanwhile, Daniel Lizard Hernandez is just one step away from his own day of reckoning, and from possibly reentering the outside world. I know theres some things you dont ask., Dyno claims thats the moment he realized hed been duped and would never see his cash. He crawled into his living room before dying in his familys arms. Blacks sided with the Black Guerrilla Family or the Five Percenters. gang activity in Northern California about six years ago. The cases were spread across Northern California. His teen angst surfaced one day when he threatened to kill his vice principal. And I wanted to go high.. The case grew out of information developed by Santa Rosa Police, Youre a lot smarter than those guys doing life in prison. You have entered an incorrect email address! He leaves behind a 3-year-old son of his own, but vows that the cycle of violence ends with him. Sir Dyno accepts this rivalry, and its where many of his raps come from. I didnt care, he said later. Lo-fi beats backed simple, repetitive keyboard riffs. There sat Cornelio Corny Tristan, one of three alleged NF generals. He wanted to know what assurances could be made for him. Instead, he says, Gratton talked business. Eager to shore up his status in Nuestra Familia, Lizard said, he soon stabbed Sureo Rudolpho Castillo in the throat, nearly killing him. Inside the state prison system, norteos side with Nuestra Familias syndicates, and sureos with La Eme, aka the Mexican Mafia. only to sell records. Time to go, the agent said. Symbols and culture Police surmise that the order was responsible for many of the shootings in Salinas in 2007, which increased by 50 percent over 2006 levels. But on his way out the door, the veteran agent made Lizard an offer. His bike frame was made by Dyno, so the kids at school called him Dyno Dave. By the time he turned twenty, though, youthful angst had sunk in, and Too $hort cassettes found a home in Dyno Daves music box. The unit requires pin-drop silence from its inmates. Since at least the 1920s, many California Latinos have thought of themselves in the same way that other residents of the state divide themselves: as Northern Californians, or Norteos; and Southern Californians, or Sureos. Black tattoo ink scribbled across their forearms and crawled up their necks, and some of them hid stone-faced beneath dark Ray-Ban-style glasses. Police1 is revolutionizing the way the law enforcement community Address: 318 Harrison Street, Suite 302, Oakland, CA 94607 Phone: (510) 879-3700 www.EastBayExpress.com More by Justin Berton Lizard is a Rat new AltWeeklies Award - Feature Story East Bay Express | Justin Berton | 04-21-2008 | Media Tags: media Growing Up Right new One morning this past August, Sir Dyno sat in his Dodge Caravan, stuck in I-580 traffic, knowing hed be late for his court hearing in San Francisco. According to Ribotas report, when he asked about the rappers affiliation, Rocha denied having any gang involvement but is a norteo. Big Smiley immediately ordered his soldier to enforce gang law back in C-Facility. And there was ghosting a letter: using a Q-Tip to swab milk or urine to write out orders on a piece of paper. According to Lewis, gang members have been linked to an estimated three hundred homicides across Northern California. 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He arrived on time, with one of his friends waiting in the lobby. Natos harsh sentence made Lizard rethink his lifes path. A from-the-top down, command and control, rigidly structured operator who wouldn't let subordinates exercise any personal initiative. I was showing them everything., Today, Lizard said he flipped because he was tired of people pushing their own agendas. Since his first arrest, hes produced a new CD nearly every month. You arent just talking about some poor criminal who was abused by the NF and got drawn into the criminal net. Zilversmit represents Armando Suave Heredia, a gang member arrested for ordering a successful hit on Salinas heroin dealer Ray Sanchez. A small minority within the gang has not transferred loyalty to Cervantes, Santa Cruz County's Morales said. Not far from Tristan sat Rico Smiley Garcia, facing the death penalty for carrying out his bosses orders and putting two bullets in the back of Castillos head. Up to that point, Lizard had identified himself as a Sureo, but only when pressed. Frias, a 22-year-old Salinas native, maintains that Hernandez, the informant, approved the "green light," the execution order, on Sanchez while working for the FBI. When the state-of-the-art super-max penitentiary opened in 1989, built exclusively for the states 2,800 most violent inmates, Governor George Deukmejian hailed it a model for the rest of the nation. Instead, it has become a model gang incubator. He always offered to learn more and do more to serve the organization. He oversaw battalions across the greater Bay Area, and relayed their progress to his bosses back inside. Grattons information cast a domino effect, eventually leading to 21 cooperating witnesses for the government. I fear no man, he said. If he went back to Pelican Bay, his elders would be upset to see him. The former leaders include James "Tibbs" Morado, Joseph "Pinky" Hernandez, Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba, Cornelio Tristan, and Tex Marin Hernandez. Lizard said Cuete asked him to establish a line of communication that couldnt be detected by guards. According to Lizard, the commander had one more piece of information: Cuete says youre a no-good. He told the young man that if he wanted to be recognized by Nuestra Familia, he could appeal to the generals. I was all ready to go, Lizard recalled later. Otherwise, he was free to go about his business. He was as bright and loyal as they came, so Cuete could trust him.. So far as you can trust anyone in a gang, hed trusted Cuete. Lexipol. But Wino rejected Lizard. Its getting airtime on radio stations in the Central Valley, and Sir Dyno has gone into super-marketing campaign mode, making a goal to get the ballad single Daddys Home in rotation on 75 radio stations nationwide. I didnt know the guy was selling drugs, too. In the eyes of the law, that would make Sir Dyno a real-life gangster. He reiterated that he told Martinez clearly: no bloodshed., How could I order the hit? he asked. Even though theyd heard about the hit in advance, FBI agents never told Sanchez he was marked for violence. Its not a good thing, said former San Quentin warden Vasquez. Then he waited. And one critic of his tenure as an informant even charges that the FBIs leash on Lizard was so loose that the government turned a blind eye to the killing of a Salinas drug dealer. Youre hot, the underboss said. In sealed court documents, Lizards primary FBI handler claimed that he was duped by his informant. SANTA ROSA Several members of the notorious Nuestra Familia His father sold vacuum cleaners; his mother was a housewife. We are not going to whack no DAs!. They were, according to the government, members of Nuestra Familia, Northern Californias most notorious and ruthless prison gang. On one slow-burn track, Sir Dyno raps in a stoned vibrato: Today when I got up I knew it was a good day/Got on my red shirt, Dickies, and Im on my way., After the initial press run, Gratton restocked stores with an additional 1,000 CDs. Do Not Sell My Personal Information. They pulled in young guys by the bushel.. After he was expelled, his parents sent him back north to live with an aunt in Pittsburg, where he continued to. In November 1998, he was pulled over on a traffic violation. Robert Brown Bob Viramontes was 44 and had shared cells with Nuestra Familias founding fathers in Soledad. attempts on two assistant district attorneys in Santa Clara I was getting my game back, Lizard said. Lizard said he shook the tail, but later needed to prove he was clean. The five former leaders are James "Tibbs" Morado, 59, whose common-law wife, 20-year-old Salinas resident Crystal Nenque, was found slain on Hecker Pass Road near Watsonville in 2005; Joseph. You wouldnt isolate an inmate and make him a target for the other side., But some criminologists now acknowledge that this practice strengthened the gangs. In total, aside from the five convictions and twenty guilty pleas credited to Lizards grand jury testimony and undercover work, federal officials said Operation Black Widow led to a total of 75 Nuestra Familia convictions. Lizard said he attacked Huero-T as he slept, pummeling him into a bloody mess until guards pulled him off. (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). Despite the governor's complaints, all five are still housed in the same supermax unit. All rights reserved. That autumn, according to testimony from a fellow gang member, Lizard ordered seventeen stabbings. He was a long way from his former East Bay stomping grounds, and hadnt dared visit his wife and children, who still lived locally. All of these directives were channeled through him. Daniel Hernandez sends a red line to several imprisoned (NF) leaders recommeding the impeachment of (NF) General Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba and lieutenant Sheldon Villanueva. I didnt have a choice, he recalled. In the aftermath of Operation Black Widow, the five highest-ranking leaders of Nuestra Familia, James "Tibbs" Morado, Joseph "Pinky" Hernandez, Gerald "Cuete" Rubalcaba, Cornelio . Prisoners are permitted reading materials, including legal documents in manila folders, which are hands-off to the guards who routinely search the cells. Not just in rap, but everywhere. The handlers didnt want to blow his cover. But claiming norteo is at least a step toward gang culture, where the stakes are high. He said he felt no jitters, nor did he question his loyalties to the brothers he was betraying. Now, the legal definition rests simply on whether a person has a slight connection to the mob. While the recognized leaders of the Norteos in Pelican Bay ask that members respect the former leaders, they have been effectively stripped of their authority. Its the life story of a petty hood who reached his full criminal potential only afterentering the California prison system. At Lizards behest, Crazy Girl opened two bank accounts and made deposits from gang soldiers who were required to remit 25 percent of their profits. In a memo to his colleagues, Helton talks about spotting G.U.N. I did what I had to do, he says. Ramirez bragged to Lizard that hed already chased Sanchez out of Salinas Chinatown at least once, and had warned him that he needed to pay taxes if he wanted to deal in Salinas. The guys I played with didnt care Norteo, Sureo, or what side you were on. Copyright Weeklys All rights reserved. The only way to sell was to shock, he says. You can cancel at any time. He told his interviewers Sir Dyno put out Gang Stories without permission and, for that, was very close to being placed on a hit list.. posters and CDs in his car, again cementing a link between the prison gang and local norteos. Lizard wrote Big Smiley a wila, or small letter the size of a gum wrapper. Four months into his service as a snitch, FBI agents concluded that he had lied to one of his handlers when he said he was headed to Stockton for a round of golf. After they wade through all of the evidence, jurors will then be asked to turn their attention to David Rocha. The California Supreme Court is now reviewing a case that questions whether inmates can be segregated for their first sixty days at reception prisons such as San Quentin. On the new CD, he pounded out a few norteo rhymes, deriving material from his meth bust, after which hed pleaded guilty to a reduced charge and was sentenced to a year of house arrest. He found his man in David Sir Dyno Rocha, then a 26-year-old budding rhymer and producer from Tracy. Im just going to wait for the trial.. But as his FBI handlers dug further into Lizards tenure as their employee, they unraveled other disturbing facts that threatened to compromise the credibility of their star witness. Back among the general prison population, Lizard reported to his ranking captain, Gerald Cuete Rubalcaba, one of the gangs most revered members. [21] Im a Northerner, he says, arms wide. It was during that interrogation Sir Dyno says he first learned about Grattons connections to Nuestra Familia. If youre a norteo, and youre flamed-up in reds a 49ers jersey will do a lone sureo, who might be dressed down in his Dodgers blue, could make a move on you, unprovoked. The quickest way to get money back fast would be to release a norteo album. That wasnt what I signed up for.. 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