Two Local Sur-13 Gang Members Sentenced for 2008 Crime Spree

Two residents of unincorporated Stone Mountain were given prison sentences Monday for a crime spree that spanned five counties and included robbery, carjacking and using a firearm.

The two were among five Sur-13 gang members sentenced by United States District Judge Julie E. Carnes for the series of crimes committed over one weekend in 2008.

Pedro Barrera-Perez, 30, was sentenced to 24 years in prison, and Irma Ovalles, 21, was given 19 years. Both pleaded guilty to armed robbery, carjackings and using a gun during the carjacking. 

The crime spree included robberies in Clayton, DeKalb, Douglas, Fulton and Gwinnett counties and began with the robbery of a Mexican grocery store on Dec. 12, 2008, according to the U.S. District Attorney's Office. Armed with an AK-47 and other weapons, the gang members went on to carjack - or attempt to carjack - seven vehicles. 

"These sentences should serve as a stern warning to gang members whose actions breed fear and violence in our communities," said Brock Nicholson, a special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations in Atlanta, in a statement.

Others sentenced were Gloria Galvan, 21, of Jonesboro, Jerry Arriaga, 22, of Austell, and Francisco Arrellano, 20, of Lithia Springs.

After the first robbery, the gang members beat a man and tried to steal his truck. A child was hit in the mouth with a baseball bat during one carjacking, and the defendants fired an AK-47 at the victims, according to the U.S. Justice Department.

The spree ended after the defendants rolled a carjack truck while being chased by police. One gang member was killed in that accident.