When Jose “Boom Bat” Negrete was installed as leader of the Latin Kings in the summer of 2004, the group underwent a stark transformation, from a loosely organized group of men who grew up together in Trenton, into a feared street gang, codified by a commitment to crime and ca
rrying out orders, a former gang member said.
Wilfredo “Hype” Rosa, who spent nearly a dozen years as a Latin King after joining as a teenager, testified Tuesday he also witnessed the evolution of Angel “Ace” Hernandez, from a young boy into a cold-blooded convicted killer serving a life sentence for fatally shooting Latin “Queen” Jeri Lynn Dotson on Aug. 31, 2004.
In chilling testimony, Rosa, now 32, said he and Hernandez visited the woman’s neighborhood hours after Hernandez executed Dotson at point-blank range inside the basement of her Chestnut Street apartment. Hernandez apparently didn’t stir when the duo noticed the area overrun by police officers and cordoned off by yellow police tape.
Hernandez took his cues from Negrete, who is on trial for the fourth time for ordering Dotson’s murder and the botched murder of gang turncoat Alex Ruiz.
There was something about Negrete that was different from past Incas, or leaders, Rosa said.
For starters, he wasn’t from Trenton and paid little attention to the Trenton tribe’s tradition. He ratcheted up recruitment and deposed high-ranking members of the gang with others he trusted.
Under Negrete’s leadership, the Latin Kings also became increasingly violent.
“It was more of a street gang,” Rosa said. “It was more violent. After he showed up, we had to fight everybody. Everybody who looked at us wrong, we went to war with.”
Rosa’s testimony was crucial in helping the state prove Negrete was the gang’s unquestioned leader.
Assistant Prosecutor John Boyle directed Rosa through a series of questions about the gang’s inner workings and hierarchical structure, which included “five crowns,” or positions. Rosa likened the gang’s Inca to the “president of the United States.”
But he said Negrete was more of a dictator, snatching up the gang’s manifesto from members and implementing his own rules.
“Nothing happened without him knowing,” Rosa said.
For example, Rosa said, members previously voted for ranking members of the gang. That changed under Negrete, who selected his own sort of executive cabinet. Rosa said he was formerly Negrete’s second in command until he was deposed by Esmeraldo “Esmo” Rodriguez.
“This is who’s gonna be this and this is who’s gonna be that,” Rosa said of Negrete’s decision-making.
Jurors were also read 2009 testimony from Latin King Joey Martinez, who served 10 years in state prison for his role in Dotson’s murder. Martinez previously testified Negrete instituted a policy of “beat on sight,” of rival Netas after Ruiz defected to the Latin Kings, triggering a war.
During his brutal tenure as leader of the Latin Kings, Negrete burnished a reputation as a charismatic carpetbagger, feared and revered, witnesses testified. Jurors were told of a time when Martinez was no longer involved with the Latin Kings, which was in disarray.
Negrete allegedly flashed a nickel-plated gun at Martinez, telling him he had to “get down or lay down,” meaning rejoin or be killed.
Rosa testified about his own problems with the Latin Kings, saying he was jumped by his own brothers. He couldn’t recall an exact date but said it was some time after he and other Latin Kings handed over Ruiz to the Netas for a beating.
The jury was instructed by Superior Court Judge Pedro Jimenez to disregard the testimony since there is no evidence Rosa was jumped on Negrete’s orders.
Rosa was also asked to describe the process of uninitiating Latin Kings. He said members who wanted out were granted a free pass, known as “golden gates,” or beaten. In the most extreme case, he said, “they put you in a box.”