FBI: Man slain in shootout was gang leader
Authorities say activities involved drug, gun and sex trafficking
Authorities say the man who opened fire on an FBI agent before being killed in a shootout on Wednesday was a suspected leader of a prominent gang in Southeast Albuquerque involved in drug, gun and sex trafficking.
Search warrant documents unsealed Thursday lay out the FBI’s monthslong investigation into Marquez Floyd, alleging that the 31-year-old sold drugs and guns and dabbled in prostitution in recent years.
The investigation began 20 months ago as federal and local authorities started looking into two Bloods-affiliated gangs, Kirk Town Piru and Tha Firm, which generally operated out of neighborhoods around Kirtland Air Force Base, according to the documents.
Federal authorities also allege that the 31-year-old Floyd, a leader in the gang, promoted a fellow gang member accused in the high-profile slaying of a University of New Mexico baseball player in Nob Hill in May 2019.
The investigation ended Wednesday morning — in a hail of bullets outside a strip mall in Northeast Albuquerque.
FBI spokesman Frank Fisher said the suspect, identified by relatives as Floyd, was armed and shot at FBI agents as they moved in. One agent was wounded when gunfire struck his bullet proof vest and Floyd was shot and killed.
Ursula Floyd said her son is not a violent
person and she “doubts very seriously” that he was leading a criminal enterprise.
“It’s not right, they shouldn’t … it’s just not right. Something is wrong here,” she said of the allegations. “I just can’t really wrap my head around it right now because I’m not getting any kind of information and that’s making this a lot harder to deal with.”
Ursula Floyd said she had never heard of the Kirk Town Piru but Tha Firm Fam Organization is part of Floyd’s kennel, where he breeds and shows off American bullies. She said part of the organization was helping people who were imprisoned, like Floyd had been, to “get out and do better.”
“Marquez was in a lot of trouble growing up, when he was younger …,” she said, adding that he had moved on from that. Ursula Floyd said the FBI raided the home where her son was living in the hours after the shooting.
“The babies were there and that’s not cool, that’s not cool. The babies shouldn’t have to deal with anything like that,” she said, referring to Floyd’s young son and twin girls.
Confidential informants
Many of the accusations against Floyd come from confidential informants with their own criminal records and alleged gang ties — one of them paid thousands by the FBI.
When agents searched Floyd’s home after the shooting, they seized multiple laptops, body armor, a pistol, ammunition, cash, unknown pills and a pill press. They also found gang-related documents and notes in a notebook.
At another house, referred to as the “stash house,” investigators seized multiple rifles, including an AR-15, AR-15 pistol, two shotguns, two pistols, ammunition and two jars of marijuana.
According to a search warrant affidavit filed in U.S. District Court:
Authorities say Floyd was a leader in Kirk Town Piru and “self appointed leader” in Tha Firm. Those groups were believed to be responsible for 22% of gang-related shootings resulting in injury in Albuquerque in 2019 — the highest percentage among criminal elements in the city.
Marquez allegedly promoted Darian Bashir, a leader of Kirk Town Piru, to the rank of general in Tha Firm after Bashir was charged in the killing of University of New Mexico baseball player Jackson Weller.
Authorities believe the promotion was made so Bashir would have “some criminal bonafides” while behind bars, suggesting the promotion after the murder “was a thing of value.”
In August 2020, Floyd sold a gun to an undercover agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms. In May 2021, Floyd “negotiated pricing” of an AR-15 rifle with an undercover agent with State Police but never made the sale.
A confidential informant — who has prior felony convictions and was paid more than $6,700 by the FBI — told agents that Floyd was a gang member who trafficked drugs through social media.
The informant said Floyd claimed to be out of the trafficking business in October 2020 but still offered to get guns and drugs or collect debts “for a fee” for the informant.
Three members or associates of Kirk Town Piru and Tha Firm, who had known Floyd for years, told agents he had offered to sell them guns or drugs in the past year.
In February, one informant working with the FBI arranged to buy a gun and cocaine from Floyd but was arrested for violating supervised release terms that same day and the operation was called off.
Another informant and fellow gang member told agents about the gang’s recruitment, philosophy, rules communications and even detailed recent violent crimes.
The informant said Floyd was a leader of Tha Firm, “shot caller” of Kirk Town Piru, and used Snapchat to discuss gang business, including drug buying and selling, as recently as February.
In May 2021 the FBI executed a search warrant on Floyd’s Snapchat account and documented at least three messages related to drug, gun and human trafficking between November 2020 and March 2021. The affidavit includes pictures of numerous pistols and rifles, extended magazines and ammunition.
In two messages, Floyd appears to negotiate the price of a gun and pills. In another he appears to tell a woman how much cash he expects her to bring him daily as her pimp and how she should conduct herself.
Within the last 12 days, FBI investigators had received a tip that Floyd posted multiple guns for sale, including AK-47 and AR-15 rifles.
In the months leading up to the shooting, agents began to follow Floyd.
Investigators say he often traveled from his home near Constitution and Wyoming to a double wide trailer near Central and Tramway with a “robust surveillance system common of stash houses.”
A week before his death, agents saw Floyd, another man, and a juvenile outside the trailer. Floyd was seen tending to several dog kennels outside the trailer before the men went to McDonalds to get food.
“When the search warrants are executed, agents will attempt to interview Floyd about his affiliation with Kirk Town Piru, Tha Firm and any other violent street gangs,” an agent wrote in the affidavit.