Woman Charged With Perjury In Nortenos Case

A Dodge City, Kansas woman has been indicted on a charge of lying to a grand jury during an investigation of the Nortenos gang, U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom said today.

29-year-old Petra Garcia-Martinez of Dodge City is charged with one count of perjury.

She also is charged with one count of aiding and abetting her husband, Hector L. Martinez-Ramirez, who is not a citizen of the United States, in the unlawful possession of a firearm by an illegal alien, one count of aiding and abetting him in the unlawful possession of ammunition by an illegal alien, and one count of misprision of a felony.

On the perjury count, the indictment alleges that on May 25, 2011, Garcia-Martinez testified falsely before a grand jury when she was questioned about her brother, Peter Garcia, also known as Pedro Garcia.

The indictment alleges Garcia-Martinez was aware Peter Garcia was a member of the Nortenos street gang. Peter Garcia was one of 23 defendants charged in a racketeering indictment announced May 11 in Dodge City.

The perjury crime carries a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison and a fine up to $250,000.