Jun 22, 2021 · In 1991, two Chicano scripts rolled through Hollywood that both centered on the formation and growth of La Eme, the biggest Mexican gang in the California prison system.

Oct 13, 2021 · Young Danny Trejo had just become an adult when he was imprisoned for drug dealing and robbery in 1962. He was 21 years old when he was busted selling four ounces of heroin to an undercover agent. He spent 11 years in total behind bars surviving prison riots, solitary confinement — and a terrifying brush with death row.

Throughout the 1960s, Trejo's life consisted predominantly of intermittent jail stints in the California prison system. [23][24] The accounts of his prison chronology, though, are notably conflicting; by one account, his final term in custody is said to have ended in 1972. [9] .

Jan 15, 2023 · Just two years before the infamous '70 riot at Soledad State Prison, Trejo himself participated in one, according to Texas Monthly. Because he threw a rock at a guard, he was placed in solitary...

Sep 8, 2023 · While incarcerated, Trejo became involved with the Mexican Mafia, also known as La Eme, an infamous prison gang. He has said that he was forced to engage in violence as a member of La Eme, including attacking other inmates.

Oct 12, 2018 · Years before he took up acting, Trejo was actually a violent criminal who'd spent time in multiple prisons. So how did he turn his life around so drastically? Well, put away your throwing knives...

Apr 18, 2022 · Danny Trejo once had to have conversations with a prominent Mexican gangster about a proposed role he was offered, before being given a chilling warning: ‘there’s going to be a lot of problems with that movie’.

Jun 12, 2013 · Trejo, 69, says it wasn’t easy. And it started with hitting rock bottom and a three-month stretch in solitary confinement in 1968 at Soledad Prison where he was doing five years on a drug dealing charge.

Jul 25, 2021 · Once a violent drug dealer languishing in a gangster prison, he was now on a boat in the Amazon rainforest, looking up at a star filled sky – and over at one of the world’s most beautiful women.

Jul 5, 2024 · Trejo, who struggled with drug addiction at the time, was released from prison in 1969 after serving five years of a ten-year sentence. He joined a 12-step sobriety program after being involved in a prison riot and spending time in solitary confinement.