Press Release
BIRD ROAD RUDY SENTENCED ON GUN CHARGES
May 14, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Anthony V. Mangione, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Robert Parker, Director, Miami-Dade Police Department, Julie Torres, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and Amos Rojas, Jr., Special Agent in Charge, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, announce that defendant Rudy Villanueva was sentenced today on federal firearms violations.
Specifically, defendant Rudy Villanueva was sentenced following his guilty plea to being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm in and affecting interstate and foreign commerce, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 922(g)(1). Villanueva was sentenced to 79 months’ imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release. Co-defendant Logan was previously sentenced to 367 days in prison for providing a firearm to a convicted felon.
These charges stem from a Miami Dade Police Department Special Investigations Division Gang Unit and Multi-Agency Gang Task Force (Task Force) investigation regarding a criminal street gang called the Bird Road Boys, whose members reside and operate along Bird Road in Midwest Miami-Dade County. Defendant Rudy Villanueva is the reputed leader of the gang and goes by the name "King Bird Road." Defendant Tony Logan is a member of the gang.
According to the document filed in the case, Task Force members discovered that a video of Villanueva and Logan was uploaded on January 3, 2008 onto the public video database YouTube for public viewing. In the video, entitled "Bird Road Getting in Trouble," Villanueva and Logan brandish firearms. Specifically, Villanueva brandished a shotgun and an assault rifle, and Logan brandished handguns and pulled the trigger several times. During the video, Villanueva and Logan made threats to the Miami-Dade Police Department Gang Unit. Villanueva stated, “Metro Dade Gang Unit, here I am baby” and claimed that “we’s out here fighting a cold war” and that “they come at us if they want to.” Logan told the police to “come get it, . . . ” and flashed gang signs while pulling the triggers of the handguns.
Based on this information, on January 15, 2008, Task Force members executed a warrant to search Logan’s residence. During the search, investigators found and seized, among other things, a Mossburg shotgun, an AK-47 semi-automatic rifle, a Colt .45 caliber pistol, a Barreta .40 caliber pistol and a Smith and Wesson .357 pistol, 780 rounds of .762 rounds of ammunition, and a small amount of .45 caliber, .40 caliber and .375 caliber ammunition. The shotgun and AK-47 appear to be identical to the firearms displayed by Villanueva in the video.
According to court records, a criminal record check revealed that Villanueva has three prior felony convictions, in 1996, 2003 and 2004, respectively. Accordingly, he is prohibited by federal law from possessing firearms.
Mr. Acosta commended the efforts of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Miami-Dade Police Department, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for their work on this the case. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys James M. Koukios and Benjamin Greenberg.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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