Three members of the Brown Pride gang, including one of its local leaders, are behind bars on gun and drug charges as the result of Gang Unit enforcement in South Nashville.
Deaderick Steven Ramirez, 23, of Starboard Drive, Juan Jesus Chapa, 20, of Snell Boulevard, and Ivan Guadarrama, 22, of Wallace Road, are charged with possession of marijuana for resale and violating the newly enacted Crooks with Guns law, which provides for mandatory consecutive prison sentences.
A fourth Brown Pride member, Raul Rostro, 21, of Roundwood Forest Drive, fled from officers and is not yet in custody. He also faces marijuana and Crooks with Guns charges.
Tuesday night, Gang Unit Detective Kevin Akin was routinely checking the area around Wallace Road and Linbar Drive, which is known for a Hispanic gang presence, when he saw a Chevrolet Lumina cut through a convenience store parking lot to avoid a traffic light. Akin followed the car, saw that it was speeding, and stopped it in the 3800 block of East Ridge Drive. The three passengers, Chapa, Guadarrama, and Rostro immediately fled from the car. Ramirez, the driver and a local Brown Pride leader, appeared as if he was about to flee, but decided to obey Detective Akin’s commands and got on the ground.
Found in plain view on the back floorboard of the Lumina was a plastic bag containing marijuana. Also discovered in the car were a nine-millimeter pistol, a 12-gauge shotgun with a pistol grip, two sets of digital scales, one ski cap with eye holes cut out, and three rolls of duct tape. The temporary tag on the Lumina, which expired on December 29, had been illegally altered to show an expiration date of February 29.
About an hour after the traffic stop, Gang Unit detectives located Chapa and Guadarrama inside Los Patrancas, a Hispanic bar on Haywood Lane. They were arrested without incident.
“We lobbied hard for the Crooks with Guns law for cases just like this,” Chief Ronal Serpas said. “These four individuals, we believe, are dangerous gang members who had guns to protect their efforts in selling marijuana to South Nashville’s Hispanic community.”
ICE has placed a federal immigration hold on Guadarrama. Additional charges against all four suspects are expected. Federal agents from ATF and ICE are assisting in the continuing investigation.
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