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The only thing between me and total happiness is reality.

Adán Valdivia

Stanley Navarejo is a 21 Year Old Male born to a Navajo Native American Father & Mexamerican mother. Being too Mexican for his Native people & Too native for anyone else Stanley has found himself as an outcast in life. His Father moved to San Andreas County before his birth, being apart of a riding club in the Senora Desert made up of both Hispanic, Native & Caucasian members. Being raised around Biker & Road culture Stanley admired his Father and his friends for a long while, unfortunately his Father had his own issues. Addicted to Methamphetamines & Abusive for most of Stanley's younger years, he found himself homeless on numerous occasions, stealing, begging and borrowing to keep himself a float. Like any teenager he found himself involved with Marijuana, Alcohol & Party Drugs which began to sow the seeds of his father's addictive personality. Once Stanley's father had passed away his Mother nosedived into Depression & illness causing Stanley to care for her and become the breadwinner of the home as well as collecting benefits (though most of his money goes on booze, cigarettes and weed). His father did leave him a little something as a parting gift when he died, a banged up old Harley Sportster which Stan can be seen riding around Rancho yet to be robbed of it. Staying mostly out of trouble besides some slaps on the wrist for possession Stan's yet to see the world but his habit for drugs, parties & danger is about to take it's course.

Michael Carrillo photographed with his ex-girlfriend, 2018

(This thread will follow the story of a Mexican teenager Alejandro Cejudo)

Martin Joaquin Ríos Hidalgo (born on August 15th, 1971) is a Mexican-American whom once served as a Sergeant within the U.S. Army and a outlaw motorcyclist who belongs to the nomadic club known as Verdugos MC. Martin's life began in the neighborhood of El Burro, located in the eastern region of Los Santos, San Andreas. He was the only child of his father Joaquin and mother Rosa María, who immigrated from Mexico in their early twenties to seek a better life in America. Being an only child, Martin found it difficult to form the social skills typically developed through interactions with other children within his age group. His father, Joaquin, struggled severely with an addiction to heroin which often drained the family of the little assets they did have. His mother struggled with a language barrier and a lack of formal education, leaving her to chase after small jobs around the neighborhood which barely kept the family afloat. With an unstable and neglectful household, Martin found himself in search for some type of acceptance within his life. He began getting into trouble with other local preteens, committing crimes such as drug distribution, theft, and muggings in order to earn himself respect within his circle, as well as some pocket change to keep himself alive. Martin discovered a sense of completion by associating himself with these cliques of troubled youth, feeling as though he was a part of something tangible, a brotherhood of his peers. Not only this, the gang culture catered to aspects of his budding sociopathic tendencies. He found a real enjoyment in the adrenaline-pumping activities in which he’d participate. By high-school, Martin was an initiated member of El Burro Heights Rifa XIII, a sureño gang which would ultimately become defunct by the early 2000s. The year was 1988 and Martin found himself in his senior year of high school, just barely scraping by the years previous due to his lack of involvement in the classroom and his dedication to the destructive gangland lifestyle he’d began living. The era of the late 1980s was an interesting time in Los Santos. Gang activity had been on the rise since the start of the ‘80s with the crack epidemic, and high school environments had evolved into something more sinister, comparable to the yards of prison. Different cliques of various races formed together and often times clashed on school grounds, while the powers that be on the school board struggled to get a handle on the situation. This environment ultimately caused a media explosion in April of that year, and young Martin would find himself on the headline. During a dispute in Martin’s high school cafeteria, he found himself face to face with a member of a rival African-American gang who had begun uttering threats and racial slurs towards the young man. What started as a verbal arguments escalated in the two getting physically violent, and finally climaxed when Martin struck the teen in the side of the head with a glass soda bottle. The teen fell to the ground, bleeding profusely while Martin continued to kick the student in his ribcage, shattering three rib bones within him. School security broke up the fight and police were brought in to apprehend Martin and some of the other students involved. He was taken to the local police station to be processed and charged with assault. The injured African-American teen was rushed to the hospital where he was emitted into the intensive care unit. A few months later, Martin and three other Hispanic students with ties to the El Burro Heights Rifa XIII faced trial for the savage assault. They stood before a Mexican-American judge who, luckily for them, took some pity on them due to their rough upbringing in a neighborhood where “they didn’t even stand a chance,” as the judge was quoted. The other students in question would receive twelve months probation, and be forced to go through a behavioral correction program while completing hours of community service. Martin was given the same, but due to his deeper involvement in the assault, was made to agree that he would join the army once he became of age. He had no choice but to agree to the ultimatum he was handed. Upon turning 18 in August of 1989; Martin left home to begin basic training at Fort Zancudo. He struggled at first with the strict regiment, routines, and discipline that the drill sergeants demanded of him, but after awhile he conformed and began straightening himself out. He adapted to life within the military and even began to excel in his training. He enjoyed the fraternity in which being a part of a unit provided; something he lacked growing up and chased after in his years of gang activity. Martin would pass his basic training and go on to be stationed permanently at Fort Zancudo, climbing through military ranks to land a position as a sergeant. In 1995 at age 24, Martin was given a bad conduct discharge from the U.S. army after he was caught having an inappropriate relationship with a senior female officer who was in charge of his unit. Martin was immediately made to pack his belongings and leave the military base, ultimately forcing him to return to his old stomping grounds of El Burro. Martin sought out employment with several establishments in the community, all of which turned out to be dead-ends once they heard of his past and reason for discharge. As his finances dwindled, Martin was eventually evicted from his apartment and forced to live on the streets. He began struggling with withdrawal from reality and alcohol addiction, coping once again with his endless need for acceptance and fraternity. It seemed luck was with Martin once again when he stumbled upon a man by the name of Armando "Pepe" Zayas, who took in Martin and helped rehabilitate him. Armando was a patched member of a motorcycle club known as Verdugos, who would bond with young Martin over respect for his military training and their shared culture. Armando helped him seek employment from a motorcycle garage in which he had invested, and began mentoring him in the life of a 1%er. It did not take Martin long before he would fall in love with the lifestyle of belonging to an outlaw MC. He saved up money through his new employment, got himself established, and purchased himself his first bike; a 1992 Harley Davidson Fat Bob Custom. It was around this time he began his prospect phase for Verdugos. In 1997, a year and a half after having embarked on his journey as a prospect, Martin was called upon by Armando, the other patched members and the officers of Verdugos to attend a meeting and their weekly chapter gathering, known in club culture as “church.” When Martin entered the room, he was brought face to face with Armando who beckoned him forward without uttering a word. The president at the time spoke a few words about the club’s roots, and how everyone in that room shared a sacrifice and honor of being bound together as a brotherhood. The president explained that Martin had come a long way in prospect tenure, and that those who stood before him in the room believed he was ready to take the next step. At this time, the president gave a nod to Armando, who squared up and socked Martin in the jaw as hard as he could. Martin tripped backwards and was caught by the patch holders behind him, who straightened Martin up and pushed him back in front of Armando. Armando looked him in the eyes and said in Spanish: “Now make me bleed too, brother.” Martin, obviously confused by the situation, was somewhat hesitant but eventually returned the hit to Armando, causing him to bleed from his lip as well. The president spoke up, and told the pair to spit the blood into their palms and shake hands as men. Upon doing so, he explained that the duo were now bound in blood as family, in the name of the Verdugos MC. Everyone in the room around the two applauded, and Armando embraced Martin before handing him his cut bearing the full patch of Verdugos MC. He was now officially part of the fraternity. As a full member of the motorcycle club, Martin began uncovering another side to the club he had not yet experienced. Although never referred to as a criminal organization, many MCs including Verdugos have members which walk a thin line between lives of criminality, which often comes with the 1%er lifestyle. Under Armando’s wing, Martin was looped into a drug trafficking operation with many other MC affiliates. The operation, which crossed state lines, originated from back in the early days of the club’s formation. Over the years, the smuggling route had become increasingly dangerous as other larger clubs sought to take a piece of the action; upset by Verdugos crossing their states and not sending a cut their way. The tension never erupted into full scale war but did bring casualties along the way, which was why Armando was hoping Martin’s fresh perspective over the situation could prove valuable. Martin’s suggestion? Move away from crossing into other club’s turf, and look for the answer south of border. The MC was no stranger of the Mexican cartels operating a few hundred miles south of Los Santos. Armando had close connection to high ranking members of the Mexican Mafia from his prison stints, and those individuals introduced the MC to numerous shady individuals involved in notorious organizations such as Sinaloa cartel. Martin himself held relation to the cartel through an estranged cousin by the name of Javier Hidalgo, a man who was suspected by DEA and ATF of controlling the San Andreas-Mexico smuggling routes. Martin managed to get in contact with Javier, and offered up his services to the cartel in exchange for protection in their routes as well as steady income for the club. In exchange, Martin had to get the cartel what they most needed - firearms. It is believed the Martin was able to acquire firearms for the cartel by using an existing relationship he had with active members of the U.S. army based in Fort Zancudo. These individuals, with crooked backgrounds similar to Martin, were in charge of keeping track of and documenting all equipment which was owned by the army. Another part of their job was the destruction of weapons which were decommissioned by the military. Many of these weapons, although non-existent on paper, were stashed away illegally outside of the army. Martin would purchase these decommissioned military wares to distribute among the cartel connection and other affiliates with which the club conducted business. In 1999, due to health complications, the long reigning President of the Verdugos motorcycle club passed away. This left a power gap to be filled by a voting of the club’s patched members and officers. Although proper procedure was followed, it was obvious that the one true fit for the role was Armando “Pepe” Zayas, whom had been one of the founding fathers. Armando was nominated, and subsequently voted unanimously by the chapter as a whole. Unlike other clubs of their nature, Verdugos does not hold a vote to decide the positions of Vice President and Sergeant-At-Arms; the second and third in command respectively. These ranks are selected by the President himself, leaving the roles of Secretary, Treasurer, and Road Captain to be chosen by a voting of their peers. With the election of the club’s newest President, it was time for new individuals to step up to the plate to become leading officers of the chapter. Armando decided to select Andres “Flint” Villegas to be his second in command as Vice President, and saw no one else appropriate for the senior enforcer role than Martin Ríos himself. He was patched in as the club’s Sergeant-At-Arms just before the dawn of the new millennium. --- (To be updated.)

The purpose of this thread is to follow Martín Cano's development. Martín Cano was born in Baja California, and raised in Los Santos, San Andreas. His Father an immigrant from Michoacán, and his mother a border child, from Baja California/San Diego. Martín grew up a subject of poverty, along with many other Hispanics within the city, if not the majority. Times were different back then though, being born in the 1980s, you can imagine the atmosphere was completely different to it is now. Martín grew up throughout the 80s and 90s, when gang culture was at it's peak. He got involved with a group of 'paisa' folk, who were from the same background as him. The group would go on to commit petty crime, such as petty theft, low level drug dealing and so forth. Time went on and Martín's father was soon deported back to Mexico after being discovered by immigration, working in the states without legitimate papers nor a greencard. This left a huge impact on Martín's family, now the main source of income had gone. Martín's mother was forced to struggle to keep herself and children alive, she worked many jobs, someone had to put food on the table. Years went by and Martín grew older, he found himself falling and unable to get himself back up in the world of crime. Deeper and deeper, but it's alright, surely he'll be able to get himself fixed up and straightened out before it's too late, right? Who knows. His mother knew that wasn't true, she tried to move out of the state to Texas in order to get herself and her children away from the city disease of gang violence and whatnot. It went well, it was a clean slate, until Martín eventually fell into similar circumstances, however this time in Texas. After spending a while in Texas, Martín returned to Mexico and found himself travelling from town to town. After becoming involved with a biker gang, he eventually became a patched in member after an estimated 7 months of being associated with them, and undergoing his prospect phase. Years went on, and Martín eventually became a nomad. It was then, when Martín decided to return to the states, back to Texas. Martín was soon arrested and charged for possession of an illicit substance and served within a level two state prison. Level two's aren't quite the same as level threes and level fours. Things pop off all the time, people seem more aggressive and easily provoked. This is mainly due to the fact that lower level prisons usually have a less organized system inside as to higher levels, where organizations such as The Mexican Mafia, Nuestra Familia, Aryan Brotherhood, Black Guerrilla Families and so forth operate at a much tighter and constructed level. During Martín's time incarcerated in the state of Texas, he soon became associated with the infamous 'BORDER BROTHERS' organization, an organization which operates both in the USA and in some parts of Mexico. Border Brothers was founded in Tijuana during the 1980s and soon grew greater into the United States, infiltrating prisons in California, Arizona and Texas, along with other neighbouring areas. Time went on, and Martín became an official member of the group. He would soon find himself working his way to a position of power, until he became keyholder on the mainline. Martín was released from incarceration in early 2020, and upon his release, he was tasked with travelling to San Andreas with intentions to support the small number of paisas attempting to create a movement within the state. Martín was met by Antonio De La Garza, a long time friend who had also served time with Martín. Now, it's all in writing, who knows where this story will end.