14 year old Javier Quiroz was a typical 14 year old kid. He played soccer, rode his bike around the park and flirted with girls. He was healthy, smart, and hansom. He was murdered. There were very few leads in the case and minimal evidence. Javier was the victim of a gang homicide that was the genesis of Operation Stampede. Operation Stampede was a 6 month covert investigation into the violence and weapons trafficking of a violent San Diego Street gang. It was led by Sergeant David C . Det. Nestor H, Fernando R, Damon S and Jana B where the case agents.

Here is how this case came to life. A sharp CIU detective and two parole agents conducted a search of a man’s house. He was targeted because he was the “shot caller” or leader of the gang. He also had Mafia ties. When this man was visited at prison he was brought out with two guards and belly chains. His imposing structure and strength was easily evident. The detective and agents caught him dirty just prior to getting off of parole. It was explained to him 20 years in the joint (for doing a friend a favor) or help the police solve some crimes. He was at a point in his life where he had the chance to make it. Leave the life of crime and raise a family with his wife or back the homies. He chose to help. Most gangsters would have just walked away from their family to standby their homies.

Through covert video taping and evidence gathering techniques the CI was sent after targets who we believed were involved in 5 murders and 6 attempted murders. The goal was to gather evidence and put them away, even if we could not solve the murders. The CI began buying guns and dope for the Mexican drug cartels. He had sellers from the gang set and other entrepreneurial gun traffickers. Some sold fully auto AK-47’s and M-16 military rifles, others cheap handguns. Once while buying several guns and large quantities of methamphetamine, one of the suspects said, “Hey XX let me have the gun for a few. “I’m gonna go bust on OKE 46th.” (Translation: I want to use the guns to kill some other gang members 4 blocks away.) The CI told him to find his own gun knowing he couldn’t. They tried to burn the house later that night with the family inside.

The Mexican Mafia has a moratorium on drive by shootings. At the direction of detectives, the CI threw a cook out for the gang members at an undercover location we had under observation. (Your tax dollars at work.) He gathered all the gang members around him and said, “The big homies (mafia) are upset. You (pointed to our murder suspect) violated the no drive by rule. Everyone looked at S-1 with disgust. He clearly had to defend himself in this crowd of killers. I didn’t mean to. I was sitting in the car, saw these fools (other gang members) slipping and had to shoot them. The door didn’t open. Tell the big homies, I didn’t mean to. The car was not moving. (Violation of the order is death.)

They went on with the conversation later. Wicked (another gang member) demands to know from S-1 why are you killing little kids? Man, he disrespected us at the beach. We found him at the park. Insane took the gun and shot him. It knocked him into the bushes. He came back to the car and said that little #@$%^ is still alive. He went back and finished him off. You should have heard him begging for his life. He was begging, don’t shot me, don’t shot me. I big bang then it went quite. Javier was dead.

Darrell W, Van C and teams followed one of the primary targets around for two days. They watched as he went to work with his wife and waited for her in the car. He let her pump the gas as two gang members sat in the car. They watched as he delivered dope, got up in the morning, ate lunch and talked casually on the cell phone. At 1206 AM the team watched as he left work (his wife’s) and was stopped by a two officer team. Chris L and Scott H casually walked up to the car, knowing he was good for two murders and asked to see his diver’s license. He showed it to them and was asked to get out of the car. Not unusual for gang members. It was all good, don’t show emotion just go along they will let me go like every other time. In stead L. asks him, "Hey didn’t you get shot in the penis?" Yeah, how did you know? I took the report. Oh yeah. Isn’t the bullet still there? Yeah. (As he is putting handcuffs on the distracted man) It’s gonna be there for a while. You’re under arrest for murder. Just a few hour’s later SWAT teams from our department, Chula Vista , and AFT fanned out all over the city with more than 100 other officers and began throwing flash bangs and kicking doors of wanted gang members. Their sins had been laid bare.

Two weeks ago I asked you to pray for our ability to be safe and track down all these heathens. Thank you! You had a part in one of the best projects in the nation. Because of the stellar work of Dave, Nestor, Fernando, Jana, Damon, Raul, Steve, Lou, Darrel, Van, Chris and many others, 31 people were arrested on multiple charges with a gang enhancement. Some are potentially facing death row, others life. Detectives seized almost 50 guns and pounds of meth, cocaine, heroin and marijuana. Best yet the evidence is irrefutable.

This project caused me to stop and think for a few minutes. Why was this project so successful? I think I know and it is found in I Corinthians 12:14-31. I have yet to see a team work with one purpose and so little strife. Each of the main players put their egos aside and did their job without fail or emotional baggage. “The body is a unit made up of many parts.” Each person no matter what their roll was vital to its success. “Those parts of the body that seem to be the weakest are indispensible.” “Now (because they accepted Christ as Savior) you are the body of Christ and each one of you is a part of it.” If one suffers, we all suffer. If one succeeds we all succeed. It’s part of working as a team.

Am I being and effective body part or am I causing the team to be less than effective? It seems to me this is the malady of the 21st century church.

After the project was announced and the people were arrested one of my guys sent me an email. "The facial expression I saw on these fools faces when the magnitude of this operation resonated in their small brains was simply "Priceless." I just wanted to let you guys know how absolutely great it felt to work this operation today. Great freaking job! I really felt proud to be a San Diego Police Officer today…"

I want to be even more proud of the church-those who believe in Christ. Christians have more at stake, the cases are bigger and the team more important. Some times it takes creativity like Operation Stampede. Other times it just takes doing my part, no matter how small or insignificant. It always takes working as a team. Are you part of the team? Are you enhancing or distracting from the potential of the project?
Part of the BODY!

A

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