Soldier Recruitment Inside Jails Exposed
(10 News)

Andre Rayas committed murder with military precision, and it was caught on camera.

Using a high-powered rifle, Rayas gunned down police Sgt. Howard Stevenson, a married father and police veteran.

Rayas, who died in the shootout in Northern California, learned his tactics as a Marine at Camp Pendleton, an example of the dangers of gangs in the U.S. military.

Hunter Glass is an Army veteran, former detective and gang expert. He said a military gang member is a threat because, “He understands fire power, technology, he understands how to shoot.”

The 10News I-Team spent two years investigating military gang members, revealing their growing numbers among sailors, Marines and soldiers.

The I-Team captured illustrations of gang activity, including Bloods and Crips on the dance floor at Fort Bragg, who first flashed gang signs and then turned on each other.

The I-Team’s investigation showed the brutality of gang initiation with dramatic video of a young man being beaten harshly by six or seven gangsters.

There are actually 19 separate gangs with members in the military, according to the National Gang Intelligence Center. They include gangs from all races such as Mongols, MS 13, Vice Lords, Asian Boyz and the Mexican Mafia.

The Center’s threat assessment for 2009 said military gang members pose a “unique threat” because of their “distinctive military skills” and “willingness to teach … fellow gang members.”

Peggy Daly-Masternak of Ohio is a longtime educator who is also part of a group that monitors military recruitment.

“When you take a convicted felon, a street criminal, and train them to be a marksman, I think they’re a deadly danger once they get back,” she said.

She saw the I-Team’s first investigation of military gangs last October, which received national attention. Her group’s research echoes what others have told the I-Team — that the war in Iraq put a strain on military recruitment.

TJ Leydon, a reformed white supremacist who served as a Marine for 3 years, said, “After the war in Iraq was going on for two-and-a-half years, all of a sudden the cream of the crop wasn’t coming in anymore.”

Daly-Masternak said some recruiters took drastic steps to fill their quotas.

The I-Team leaned of one who went behind bars, literally walking into a jail to see if any of those locked up would consider joining the ranks. It seemed outrageous, but the I-Team found proof.

It’s a press release dated July 14, 2008. It announced, “A New Program at Your Lincoln County Jail.”

The jail is in Oregon, and the new program involves an Army recruiter visiting the jail “to convey information to incarcerated individuals about serving in our armed forces.”

I-Team reporter Lauren Reynolds posed the question to Lt. Colonel Miguel Howe.

“Do you go into jails to recruit?” Reynolds asked.

His response was, “Absolutely not, absolutely not.”

In fact, it is misconduct, said Lt. Col. Howe, commander of the Army Southern California Recruiting Battalion. He spoke to the I-Team on behalf of the Department of Defense.

“It is a direct violation of Army and Department of Defense policy and regulations to recruit out of prisons, out of jails, anyone on probation or on parole,” said Howe.

He described the Lincoln County program as a mistake and said it was shut down.

Last October, the Department of Defense told the I-Team it does not have a problem with criminal gangs among its ranks, despite the estimate of 14,000 military gang members. That same month, the Department standardized for all services the way they grant conduct waivers. Those waivers allow some applicants with criminal histories to enlist.

“There are actually 11 people who review that application,” said Howe.

He said to keep unsavory characters out of the armed forces, the vetting process has been strengthened.

“There are over 140 questions that we ask that young person,” said Howe.

The U.S. military grants roughly 30,000 conduct waivers each year. Gang members were never supposed to be eligible.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy who invited the recruiter to jail defended the program last summer.

He is a veteran himself, and said it’s better to have petty criminals and first-time non-violent offenders in the military than locked up at a cost of $100 each per day.

bring back the Dirty Dozen

This has been going on for decades in various parts of the country.

"He is a veteran himself, and said it’s better to have petty criminals and first-time non-violent offenders in the military than locked up at a cost of $100 each per day.'

Our jails are full of non-violent offends while we let repeat violent offenders out!!!!!

"He is a veteran himself, and said it’s better to have petty criminals and first-time non-violent offenders in the military than locked up at a cost of $100 each per day.'

Our jails are full of non-violent offenders while we let repeat violent offenders out!!!!!