Skip to main content

Fransisco Rangel, 25, is suspected in the fatal shooting of Plant City resident Michael Longoria Thursday, and the wounding of a second man.

Fransisco Rangel, 25, is suspected in the fatal shooting of Plant City resident Michael Longoria Thursday, and the wounding of a second man.On Friday, deputies sent to arrest Rangel encountered him as he was driving, and a chase began. About 9:15 a.m., Rangel stopped near Strawberry Plaza and opened fire, killing Lagunes and getting away, according to the Sheriff's Office.
None of the deputies were injured, and after about a seven-hour hunt through residential Plant City, Rangel was caught. He is being held in the Orient Road Jail without bail.Carter confirmed that Rangel is a member of the Sur 13 gang, a Latino gang prominent in Plant City, Dover and West Tampa.Sheriff David Gee said tattoos led deputies to believe he was a gang member, and Carter said, "Everything that we've done in the investigation leads us to believe he was a Sur 13 member."
Sur is Spanish for "south." Sur 13 originated in the street gangs of Southern California. The number 13 indicates the 13th letter of the alphabet: M, short for Mexican Mafia prison organization, with which Sur 13 is affiliated.Gee announced in 2006 that the gang had a growing local influence. Its graffiti pops up on the outskirts of Plant City.The gang played a part in an attempted murder last month in Tampa. Three people identified as Sur 13 gang members attacked two men with glass bottles and a machete, shouting "Sur 13!" and "We're going to take you out!" a witness said.Investigators still aren't sure of the motive behind Thursday's shooting, which left Michael Longoria, 36, of Plant City, dead. Rangel also is suspected in the shooting of another man, who is in a hospital and will likely survive, Carter said. Deputies haven't released his name.Longoria's mother said she doesn't believe her son was a member of any gangs. Lupe Williams, 63, met Rangel recently, but she doesn't think he was a close friend of her son's. She has no idea why he would have shot Longoria, who left behind five children, ages 14, 11, 9, 7 and 3.Longoria grew up in a migrant family that worked in the fields from North Carolina to Florida until settling in Plant City in the early 1990s, Williams said. Longoria got his high school diploma, even though it was tough going to school while working, she said. "He was a hard worker," she said.Longoria has a long list of arrests, mostly drug-related, and a one-year prison stay in 2004. His mother conceded he sometimes got into trouble because "he'd hang out with some of the wrong people," but she insisted he was good at heart.
Now, her son won't pop over for dinner anymore, and she won't be able to do his laundry, which she did even though he didn't live with her. "He's my baby, so I never cared," she said.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Gypsy Joker Motorcycle Club compound,Ronald B. Campbell,Andrea G. Reeder,Dylan C. Grose,William C. Casteel.arrested

Four people were arrested on suspected drug charges, including the group's leader.Methamphetamine was found at the Gypsy Joker Motorcycle Club compound at West 19th Avenue and South Gum Street. Benton County Undersheriff Paul Hart said they needed so many officers as a "precautionary" step because the Gypsy Jokers are known to be connected to drugs and other criminal activities."It is an outlaw motorcycle gang with convicted felons who reside there," Hart said. "We gear up to meet that threat."Some stolen property and a couple of weapons also were seized, he said. The Violent Crimes Task Force, made up of federal agents and local police detectives, raided the club house and two homes at 5 a.m.The Benton County Regional SWAT team and the Yakima SWAT team were used to help search all the buildings."Because of the large site ... it makes it difficult to secure and make sure everybody is safe," Hart said. "The Violent Crimes Task Force ... ...

William (Billy) Bowden pleaded guilty in a Winnipeg courtroom today to carrying a firearm in a careless manner in January 2007

William (Billy) Bowden, 33, pleaded guilty in a Winnipeg courtroom today to carrying a firearm in a careless manner in January 2007 and skipping out on his preliminary hearing about a year later. Other drug and weapons charges related to the 2007 incident were stayed as part of a plea bargain securing the two convictions. Bowden remains in custody though, charged with manslaughter in relation to the November 2007 killing of Jeff Engen, who was fatally stabbed at the Empire Cabaret, prompting the club to close. That charge remains before the courts. Bowden has been in custody since he was arrested Feb. 14 in Whistler, B.C., and returned to Manitoba. The Crown and defence jointly recommended that time be noted in his sentence for carrying the firearm. That crime occurred around 2:30 a.m. on Jan. 20, 2007, as Bowden was leaving the NV lounge in a truck with friend Ken Houston, court heard. Police discovered a Glock 9mm handgun loaded with 18 bullets in a pile of garbage close to where the...

Oak Park gang member charged in the shooting death of one of his homeboys while they were out on a retaliation attack in rival territory.

Closing arguments began today in the murder trial of a reputed Oak Park gang member charged in the shooting death of one of his homeboys while they were out on a retaliation attack in rival territory.Deputy District Attorney Anthony Ortiz said as many as 30 shots were fired in the June 27, 2005, broad-daylight shooting on Della Circle in the Florin area. One of the shots fired by defendant Denishio Demmitrius Collins, 26, killed David Perkins, 22, one of the eight gang members from the Oak Park Bloods who filled three cars in the assault on a rival Crip set, according to Ortiz."This wasn't an in-the-dark sneak attack," Ortiz said. "These were people who said 'screw it' - this is our war and we're going to bring it to your streets." After the shooting, the Oak Park gang members dumped the dying Perkins out of one of their vehicles and left him to die, Ortiz said."He was left on a sidewalk to die by his homeboys," the prosecutor said. Their m...