PHOENIX -- On Wednesday, investigators from the several valley agencies arrested Eduardo Ochoa, 40, and searched the west Phoenix home where he was found.

According to the United States Marshals Service, Ochoa was wanted on a federal warrant for a probation violation. Deputies said they also wanted to question him in connection with several slayings in the Valley in recent weeks.

“I was just in shock,” said one neighbor, who did not want to be identified.

Deputy Marshals confirmed Ochoa is a documented member of the Mexican Mafia, also known as “La Eme.” The Mexican Mafia started as a prison gang, but has long since been operating outside of prison walls -- with the resulting crime and violence sometimes spilling into neighborhoods.

"In the days of old, there were barriers based on the color of a person's skin, or ethnicity, or by what neighborhood or state they were from. Now the only color that matters is green," said Bill Richardson, a former Mesa detective and columnist. "If there's an opportunity for people involved in organized crime to make a dollar -- to peddle drugs to someone's kids, to steal their car, to break into their house, to take advantage of their business -- everybody's a potential victim."

Richardson said when crime stemming from prison gangs bleeds into the community, law-abiding citizens pay the price.

"If crime goes up, insurance goes up. If crime goes up, the cost of public safety goes up," said Richardson.