Bradenton gang member facing new charges

A documented gang member who was released two years ago from prison following a racketeering conviction is now facing new charges after deputies say he was caught driving a stolen car.

Mario “Sleepy” “Dream” Contreras, 25, was arrested Friday night and charged with motor vehicle theft and violation of probation. He is being held without bond at the Manatee County jail

Contreras was among 14 members of the SUR 13 hierarchy arrested in July 2007 as part Operation Tidal Wave led by the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office and prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Statewide Prosecutor’s Office. Of the 14, Contreras was among the 13 who took plea deals to avoid longer prison sentences.

After pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit racketeering, Contreras was sentenced to eight years in prison followed by five years of felony probation. Contreras was released from prison on July 19, 2015, after serving six years and three months of his eight-year sentence.

On Friday, a deputy with the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office spotted a suspected stolen vehicle and initiated a traffic stop, according to arrest reports. As the deputy was approaching the vehicle however, the deputy reportedly saw Contreras lean back in the driver’s seat and then slide into the backseat. A woman in the passenger’s seat then slid into the driver’s seat. As the deputy waited for backup, she stuck her head out of the car and said she had been driving.

“The defendant advised he did not know who the car belonged to, he just had the keys so he was driving it,” the arresting deputy wrote. “He advised he only had a learner’s permit thought and that is why he was scared.”

This is not his first time Contreras has been charged with violating his probation, however. In August 2016, Contreras was charged with violating his probation after getting arrested and also charged with domestic violation for allegations that he got physical with his mother. The domestic battery case was later dropped, but in March Contreras pleaded guilty to the violation and was sentenced to credit for time served after having been in jail for seven months.

This story was originally published August 1, 2017 at 5:54 PM with the headline "Bradenton gang member facing new charges."