Rueben Reyes, the man who deputies say shot and killed Weld County deputy Sam Brownlee on Tuesday, bore tattoos of the No. 13. Friends nicknamed him "Demon." Last year, he broke a man's leg in three places. A Morgan County Sheriff's deputy says Reyes once told him, "F--- you and your entire family. I'm a Surenos."
"They've become more and more involved with violent crime here and are becoming quite a scourge here," Morgan County Sheriff James Crone said. "The Surenos 13 are well known for being involved in drug trafficking, drug dealing and enforcement for other cartels."
The sheriff says the gang became active in Morgan County about four years ago and has been responsible for a number of robberies and drug deals.
Reyes, 20, had been in and out of the jail there 10 times, including last month for driving without a license, according to the sheriff.
In March 2009, Reyes was arrested for being involved in road rage. According to police reports, Reyes was following a driver too closely, then rammed into the truck. When the 52-year-old driver got out of the car, Reyes is accused of kicking and beating the man on the ground, then breaking his leg in three places. For that assault, Reyes bonded out of jail on $50,000, then failed to appear for his court case. He was later re-arrested and bonded out again. That time, bail was set at $150,000.
Reyes was on supervised probation when he allegedly stole his girlfriend's car Tuesday and took police on a high-speed chase. After the car quit running, Reyes reportedly abandoned it and wrestled with Weld County Deputy Sam Brownlee. Reyes got hold of the deputy's gun and allegedly shot him with it three times, killing the deputy. Other officers then shot Reyes, who died later Tuesday in the hospital after surgery.
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