Mexican Mafia hit focus of Pinal trial

FLORENCE - A suspected gang member is on trial for penning a letter that was allegedly tied to the 2016 murder of a Guadalupe man.

Anthony Armenta, 31, is accused of trying to rat out a snitch within the Arizona Mexican Mafia while he was imprisoned in Florence seven years ago. Armenta was serving time for an assault charge out of Maricopa County.

On Wednesday, prosecutor Amy Diederich told a jury that Armenta used his words as weapons when he wrote a letter mentioning 27-year-old Benito Uriarte, who was shot and killed outside a Guadalupe home in May 2016.

Diederich said Armenta traded Uriarte's life for a higher status within the notorious prison gang.

Armenta has not been charged with Uriate's death. Instead, he's facing one count of participating in a criminal street gang, a Class 2 felony.

Because of his prior felony convictions, the defendant could receive a lengthy prison sentence.

The jury on Wednesday reviewed multiple handwritten letters, dated February 2010, that were allegedly found in Armenta's prison file.

Maricopa County Sheriff's Office Detective David Parra discovered the letters last year while investigating Uriarte's murder. He said the letters had been confiscated by prison staff and didn't reach their intended recipient.

The letters caught his attention because of slang terms he associates with the Arizona Mexican Mafia. Some words in the letters were written in Nahuatl, an ancient Aztec language Parra said is regularly used by gang members to evade authorities.

One of the letters mentions Benito Uriarte, calling him "xixia," or a snitch in gang slang. The letter also referred to Uriarte as a "leva," another derogatory slang term.

Parra, who is an expert in local gangs, said there's no transgression worse then being called a snitch in the Mexican Mafia. It is the "ultimate sin," he said, and warrants someone's death.

Even though the letters weren't sent out, the state argues Armenta had attempted to spread valuable information about Uriarte within the prison gang - therefore warranting his felony charge.

The state can convict someone for trying "to promote or further the criminal objectives" of a recognized street gang.

Scott Johnson, one of Armenta's four defense attorneys, instructed the jury to question the validity of these letters, highlighting how no one knows for sure when they were written. He emphasized the state's entire case relies upon the letters as its only piece of evidence.

The state labeled Armenta a "probate" of the Mexican Mafia at the time the letters were written.

Parra explained the hierarchy of power that exists within the gang: starting with a single leader, followed by captains, lieutenants, sergeants and regular members.

Parra said new prison inmates will seek out a mafia member to sponsor them by teaching them the gang's code of conduct. After finding sponsorship, they're considered a probate and are tasked with gathering money around the prison and carrying out violent attacks.

Armenta's trial is expected to continue into early next week. He remains in the custody of the Pinal County jail.