Federal immigration and criminal charges are pending on residents of Mexico and Central America involved in an Eagle River bar fight January 20.
Eagle River Police Chief Mark Vander Bloomen says they were called to a bar fight at BBT's tavern in downtown Eagle River. An Eagle River man was engaged in a fight with four men, with one of them allegedly pointing a .45 caliber handgun at a person.
Vander Bloomen says this evolved into more than an investigation into a bar fight. They followed tire tracks to a residents at 906 Walnut Street.
Two men taken into custody were identified as 31 year old Alex Vazquez-Jimenez from Mexico and Grinde Aristides Bartengena from El Salvador. Vander Bloomen says all four men were in the U.S. illegally and he says one of them has deep criminal connections..
".....one of them was confirmed with Immigration and Customs Enforcement(ICE) to be affiliated with the Surenos 13 gang out of El Salvador and had previously been deported...."
Vander Bloomen says federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers confirmed the identity of the men. Bartegena is facing gun related charges in Vilas county and Vazquez-Jimenez has been charged with battery. Both men are being held on $100,000 cash bond. Vander Bloomen says federal charges are also pending.
