Update:The Mayor's Youth Advisory Board will take up the issue of gang violence on Thursday. Release pasted below.
Ever since Reeper published
of screen captures from local gang members' Myspace pages (
), those gangsters have been flooding the post with comments ranging from anger over using the images without permission to pride of being a member of the West Side Lokos ("Our time to shine!" one writes).
In recent weeks, however, the comments have gotten a bit more verbose, with self-identified gang members speaking out in defense of John Villesange, aka Chuco, a teenager accused of shooting a rival gang member, Pedro Maldonado, in June. They say that Maldonado, aka Yako of Surenos 13, "had it coming."
"Sleepy" writes:
"Creeper," who claims WSL and Alto Park Thugs affialiation writes:
These statements seem to undermine Villesange's defense by unintentionally confirming his role in the homicide.
According to the
, the 17-year-old (pictured) pleaded not guilty to first-degree murder, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, conspiracy and tampering with evidence on Aug. 21. A second man, 24-year-old Francisco Montoya, whose Myspace page was also featured in the slide show, also pleaded not guilty in the case. The New Mexican says that each could face more than 30 years in prison.
Update:The Mayor's Youth Advisory Board will take up the issue of gang violence on Thursday. Release pasted below.
