Armando 'El Gordo' Villareal brother detained in Tijuana
One time revered CAF lieutenant and onetime confidant of Fernando Sanchez Arellano Inge, Armando Villareal's brother Ricardo Zemeno 'El Richie' Villareal was detained in Tijuana in a 2012 jeep Cherokee with a kilogram of heroin. 'El Richie' is 26 years old and a native of San Ysidro, the border community just across from Tijuana, in San Diego. The older brothers went to Montgomery High in San Ysidro.
According to police reports, which are often too coincidental and convenient
to be believed in their entirety, Richie was traveling in Colonia Hippodermo, when he threw drugs from his vehicle, police pulled him over and discovered more in a plastic container on the seat, a common method of storing drugs in Tijuana.  |
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Richie's older brother had a brief but celebrated career in CAF, beginning in 2008, when he was one of the principal cells fighting for Inge, against El Teo. His brother Arturo Villareal, (6-1) was one of the closet advisors to Javier Francisco Arellano Felix, both brothers received 30 year sentences in federal court, in 2006 and 2013.
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| 6-1 after arrest on 'Doc Holiday' boat |
Armando was caught in Hermosillo, Sonora in July 2011, after being indicted in San Diego in a FBI led Cross Border Violent Task Force operation targeting a cell of his, and other CAF cell leaders operating in Tijuana, Southern San Digeo and Los Angeles. He pled guilty to trafficking methamphetamine, kidnapping, murder and extortion, as part of a plea agreement with federal prosecutors. His plea agreement came on the heels of Mario 'Unico' Escamilla, am Imperial Beach based CAF operator, trafficker, gang member, extortionist. The crew moved meth and marijuana through San Ysidro POE using tractors, body cavity smuggling and cars.
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| Armando Gordo Villareal DMV shot |
The crews taxed other gang members and planned, participated, and carried out robberies, kidnappings, and attempted murders, all with several cooperating witnesses and undercover officers in their immediate circle. 43 people were indicted and arrested in July 2010. Armando Villareal remained on the run until July of the following year, where he was overseeing and hijacking shipments of drugs from Culican, Sinaloa and Jalisco.
Not much is known of his younger brothers Richie. Doesn't appear he was a person of stature in any organziation. comments on AFN Tijuana claim he was a 'manguera', or hose, which is a term for narco wannabe. Other comments claims he worked a regular job, and was not really involved in trafficking activities. His arrest comes on the heels of the unexpected arrest of the ghost like disciple, heir apparent of the Arellano Felix family, Fernando Sanchez Arellano, last week in Tijuana. With even the younger brothers of the fallen former bosses being arrested, the legacy continues to fade.
Sources AFN Tijuana, Siskiyou Kid on forum.
Sources AFN Tijuana, Siskiyou Kid on forum.