An Illegal Hanging The Silva Gang punished one of its own.

Patricio Maes was a member of the feared Silva Gang around Las Vegas, New Mexico in the early 1890s.  He was arrested for horse theft and decided to give evidence against his pals. Officials let him go, hoping he’d get more information on the gang.  But Silva and others suspected that Maes had turned. The outlaws held a drunken “trial” in a local saloon. Finding Maes guilty, they took him to a nearby bridge and lynched him.  Nobody was ever arrested or tried for the murder.