Sentenced to College - Chapter 9

The jury trial, Day 1

Feb 25, 2025

January 24, 2000 – Day 1 continued

After opening arguments had been delivered on the first day of Angel’s trial, it was time to call witnesses.

The first witness for the prosecution was Officer Bruce Monson, a 21-year member of the Willmar Police Department, and an investigator with the city’s Gang Enforcement Team (GET). This special unit of the Willmar PD had been established about two years earlier, after a spate of drive-by shootings and increasing gang activity in the Willmar area. Both Monson and his partner, Officer James Proshek, had been members of the GET since its beginning.

Prosecutor Connie Crowell first questioned Officer Monson about his background experience with gang enforcement. He responded that he’d taught DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) classes to 5th graders for seven years, which included a unit on gangs. He also attended several classes and seminars on gang behavior through the Minnesota Gang Strike Force and the Quad State Task Force, which served the states of Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska and South Dakota. He and his partner had interviewed several area gang members and, most recently, had been presenters at other law enforcement trainings.

Ms. Crowell presented Officer Monson’s resume to the Court as Exhibit 1.

Next, she asked him to describe his duties as a member of Willmar’s Gang Enforcement Team.

OFFICER MONSON:
Basically my assignment with the gang unit is to track, identify, document, conduct interviews with gang members, apprehend or make arrests of gang members, as well as other persons involved in crime. We work crime areas, neighborhoods—specific areas we will target—we will work that area and focus on gang activity, again interviewing gang members as well as general criminal behavior.
It is a plain clothes position. My partner and I do not wear a uniform. We wear very casual dress, blue jeans, shirts, sweat shirts, whatever would be appropriate to the season, and we drive an unmarked car. Most of the time we drive an old Lincoln. Part of what we do in our activities is make contacts with individuals. We have gotten to know many of the gang members simply by a casual contact.
We will meet people that are wandering around the mall, that are hanging out, specifically gang members that are hanging out at the mall. We at times have been called by security staff and have worked with them to recognize certain aspects of gang activity, gang membership. We may see a group of people, individuals gathered at a parking lot. There's a few different parking lots that seem to attract gang members, a place that they can gather. We will drive-up and just start talking with them about any number of things. Often times if there's an assault situation, we may get dispatched to that activity.
We do a lot of surveillance. We will work certain areas where there have been reports of drive-by shootings or particular crimes, we work that area. We will drive by that neighborhood. Sometimes we will just simply sit on the street in our vehicle and just kinda monitor the activity that's coming and going out of a house, the traffic that's going by. We will do traffic enforcement, and our squad car, even though it is unmarked, they are set up with lights and sirens, so we do make traffic stops.
It's a very unique position that we have. We go to the bars, we’ll check out the bars, just kinda hang out, see who's there. Often times our gang members are too young. Some of our gang members are old enough to be in the bar, we meet with them there. We talk with the families, be it older brothers or sisters, parents. We communicate with the families. we get to know them, they get to know us. We serve warrants. So, we make a lot of contacts, visitations at certain places. We have kinda built up a knowledge base of names of people, certain people that we can call upon to give us information.
We review police reports from other officers within the Willmar Police Department, the Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Department and other agencies, as well. The prison system, other county jails, Prairie Lakes Detention Center, will give us reports if it's something that is gang pertinent, gang related. We also work, as I already mentioned, the drug task forces in the area, other counties.

Officer Monson went on to describe the process of how they documented the information they gathered on all these individual gang members. He explained that it was a universal system adopted by law enforcement officers around the state. They used “Field Interview” cards which came in tablets and, printed on the inside front cover, had a list of the ten criteria that the Gang and Drug Oversight Council used to define gang members.

Just to recap, those ten criteria are:

Admits gang membership or association.
Is observed to associate on a regular basis with known gang members.
Has tattoos indicating gang membership.
Wears gang symbols to identify with a specific gang.
Is in a photograph with known gang members and/or using gang-related hand signs.
Name is on a gang document, hit list or gang-related graffiti.
Is identified as a gang member by a reliable source.
Is arrested in the company of identified gang members or associates.
Corresponds with known gang members or writes and/or receives correspondence about gang activities.
Writes about gangs (graffiti) on walls, books and paper.

Information gathered on the Field Interview cards could include details like physical traits, race, appearance, clothing, color, hand signs, moniker or alias, gang affiliation, tattoos, scars, vehicle description, any damage to the vehicle, other people or passengers with the individual, etc.

The cards were then given to secretaries at the police department who entered them into a database. From there, the card, along with other reports and documents, got put into a folder known as a “gang file.”

MS. CROWELL:
And so why don't you describe, sir, from the front cover of this file—which is the defendant's file—what the identifying marks are on the front of that?
OFFICER MONSON:
Okay. There are three labels on the face of the folder, along with an individual's name. In this case, it's the defendant, Angel Hernandez. This is his gang file. What we have…

At this point, Angel’s defense attorney, John Holbrook, stands up and interrupts Officer Monson.

MR. HOLBROOK: Objection, your Honor. May we approach?
THE COURT: You may.
(The following conference was held at the bench, out of the hearing of the jury:)
MR. HOLBROOK: Your Honor, that's so highly prejudicial. They use a defendant's gang file, refer to it as “his gang file.” I think it's so prejudicial, I move for a mistrial.

There is much discussion after this. Angel’s attorney argues that, by holding up a big blue folder that’s over an inch thick with Angel’s name on it, and the prosecutor saying it’s Angel’s gang file, he can’t possibly get a fair trial at this point. It’s the whole issue after all, whether Angel did this crime “for the benefit of a gang.”

Judge Spilseth agrees with Mr. Holbrook. He won’t call for a mistrial because none of the information in the file has been introduced yet, but he will order that the reference to the gang file be stricken from the record and the jury is to disregard that.

Ms. Crowell continues her questioning of Officer Monson who explains how they code and organize the various gang files according to the seriousness of the individual’s offenses. He uses another individual’s file (not Angel’s) to proceed with his explanation.

If an individual just has one gang card, it gets filed alphabetically with other gang cards. No folder.
If an individual has met one or two of the 10 criteria and has also had a lot of contacts with law enforcement, they get a folder – a green one. Their name goes on the tab of the folder, and all their Field Review cards get moved to the folder.
If an individual has met three or more criteria, they are now considered a confirmed gang member and get a blue folder.
On the cover of the folders, there are three labels:
1. The first one says “Criminal Investigative File.”
2. The second one says “Gang Name”, and “Date” with lines underneath where specific dates can be written.
3. The third one is another list of the 10 criteria that define a gang member. As the officers receive information that meet the criteria, they highlight the criteria in yellow and the date gets recorded on the front of the folder.
All pertinent information goes into the folder, including Field Interview cards, incident complaint reports (ICRs), photos, newspaper clippings, etc.
If a confirmed gang member (three or more criteria) is convicted of a gross demeanor or felony, their name gets highlighted in yellow on their gang folder and they also get entered into the state database—the Minnesota Gang Strike Force’s “Gang Pointer File.”

Officer Monson explains that he and his partner, Officer Proshek, audit each other’s documentation, erring on the side of the suspect if it’s incomplete or not worthy of being filed. He also adds that, in 1998, the Willmar Police Department went through a state audit of their gang files by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) and they “passed with flying colors.”

We have now spent 24 pages of the trial transcript talking about their filing system.

Officer Monson goes on to talk about the two rival gangs in Willmar (Latin Kings and Westside, which is basically everyone that’s not a Latin King), their hand signals, how they disrespect each other, the identifying features and symbols of the Latin Kings, etc.

He also details how many of each “category” of Latin Kings they have in their gang files.

25 green folders (individuals with one or two criteria met on the 10-point list)
22 blue folders (individuals with three or more criteria met on the 10-point list, now considered a confirmed gang member)
18 blue folders with yellow-highlighted names (confirmed gang members with a conviction of a gross misdemeanor or higher, names entered into the state’s gang database)

Officer Monson then narrows that list of 18 down to nine Latin Kings who are “very active,” are considered confirmed gang members, and are state-entered (or could be state-entered based on recent convictions).

Ms. Crowell asks who these nine men are and Officer Monson names names, including Angel’s.

Angel’s defense attorney stands and objects again.

MR. HOLBROOK:
Your Honor, I object that all these individuals whose names have been read off, especially the defendant, were identified as gang members without any supporting documentation or testimony. He is just rendering his opinion about specific gang members, and he includes the defendant. With regard to the defendant, that's invading the province of the jury whether or not he's a gang member. And that's one of the ultimate issues, which I believe we just went through. I move that his testimony be stricken and that the jury be instructed or cautioned to disregard it, especially with regard to the defendant, because that's the ultimate issue, that he's a gang member.

The state prosecutor, Ms. Crowell, states her opinion, but Judge Spilseth agrees with Mr. Holbrook. As an expert witness, Officer Monson is not allowed to make a conclusionary statement without showing the basis, or evidence, for his conclusion.

THE COURT:
Before we continue, ladies and gentleman of the jury, I just have sustained an objection, and at this time I will order that the jury disregard the names that were just read from the list and the conclusion that the witness has drawn. I have sustained the objection to that. You are ordered to disregard that. And with that, the State may continue.

From here, Ms. Crowell and Officer Monson begin going through the other eight gang files one by one. They start with the first convicted gang member who is currently serving time in prison. Officer Monson begins ticking off the criteria on the 10-point list when he’s interrupted by Ms. Crowell.

(The following conference was held at the bench, out of the hearing of the jury:)

MS. CROWELL: I have a whole series of these convictions, certified copies, et cetera. Perhaps we could break now and we can continue with this tomorrow.
MR. HOLBROOK: The jury has had a long day.
THE COURT: That's fine with me.

They are all right. It definitely has been a long day for everyone. The fact is, this is the first “for the benefit of a gang” case that has ever been tried in Kandiyohi County and everyone is under added stress. Learning the new law has carried added weight for all involved. The prosecution wants a conviction to set a precedent. The defense wants a fair trial for his defendant. And the judge just wants to make sure he gets it all right.

As for Angel? He just has to sit and watch as his entire life is being played out on stage and he has no control over any of it.

THE COURT:
Ladies and gentlemen, it may now be appropriate that we take a break. We will recess for the day and reconvene tomorrow morning. Before I do that, there are a couple of comments which I would like to make, First of all, just so you understand, we are using a microphone system. Occasionally I have some slip-ups or problems with it, I hope it's not a problem with you. When I do have conversations with the attorneys, I turn off the microphone, I turn it back on, and sometimes all of a sudden the voice will quickly amplify. Just so you understand, we have all these microphones, they're very sensitive, they work very well but don't work well at all when they are not on.
The second point I would make is this. There are matters which are taken up at the bench. By that mean we have bench conferences, and those are deliberately done out of the hearing of the jury. We do that so that the proper interests of justice are served. It is my goal that this case be absolutely fair to all parties concerned, including the State and the defendant. And as part of that goal it is my effort to submit only the proper evidence to you. I hope you understand that.
And bear with me as we work on this process. I ask for your patience, and please, under all circumstances, if you hear anything that we say or might say during the course of a bench conference, I instruct you to disregard that and not take that into consideration.
We will now take our recess and reconvene tomorrow morning.

Next time: Day 2

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By Joy Baker

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