Recently in Gang Category

Back in 2007, when Phillip Michael Dorsett went on trial for the June 16, 2005, shooting death of Jesse Fujino, 18, in Inglewood, it struck us as a strange case of a seemingly rich kid from The Hill who found a life of crime down below. I don't remember but the specifics of why, but I do remember there being a lot of fall-out from Dorsett's family after we ran an article about his conviction (after the jump).

Last month, the 2nd District Court of Appeal upheld Dorsett's second-degree murder conviction, but said the prosecutor did not present enough evidence to support the allegation he committed the murder for the benefit of a criminal street gang. The appellate court said he could not be re-tried on the allegations because doing so would be double-jeopardy. The end result, though, doesn't change things much as far as Dorsett's 40 years to life in prison sentence goes.

No one seemed more annoyed about the delay in sentencing Ricky Sisneros than Sisneros himself. The hold-up seems to be new information received from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation by prosecutors regarding Sisneros' criminal history. Before the 47-year-old can be sentenced, a "priors trial" must be conducted to see if the convictions and prison record attributed to him are, indeed, accurate. The judge must take his history into consideration in deciding penalty - especially if any strikes are involved. The strike issue looks like it will be a point of contention when the two sides get to it at it's new time - next Friday, Jan. 30.

Torrance Superior Court Judge Steven Van Sicklen asked Sisneros if he agreed to the delay. "We're not gonna come back and have something else pop up?" Sisneros asked. He was convicted more than five months ago and now seems eager to know how long he'll spend behind bars. It's not clear what his maximum is for the 10 weapons and drugs convictions, but it did come out in court today that he has 15 convictions dating back to 1980. We had previously only reported on the three that we knew about.

Previously: Did you hear the one about the gang member, the journalist and a bunch of attorneys?

KFI's Eric Leonard reported over the weekend that Marlo Jones, a gang member who accused Councilwoman Janice Hahn of paying gang members in a controversial Fox 11 report, was arrested for robbing a musician at a Universal City hotel last week. (The Fox report is in the KFI's link above).

Previously here: Hahn says report she funded gang was 'outrageous'

From Hahn's blog: Thoughts on the Fox Story and Combating Gang Violence in Watts

It began on Dec. 3 when a process server left a subpoena for me at the front desk at the Daily Breeze for Ricky Sisneros' hearing the next morning. Sisneros is a Torrance gang leader who was convicted of being a felon in possession of weapons. I didn't know what the subpoena was about, but my new attorneys at Davis Wright Tremaine sent a letter to Sisneros' attorney, Caree Harper, and the prosecutor informing them I would not be coming to the hearing and the subpoena was improperly served.

The next day, the prosecutor asked Torrance Judge Steven Van Sicklen to contninue the hearing on Sisneros' motion for a new trial because Harper filed a 50-plus page motion the day before. Apparently, the issue of my subpoena was brought up and, since I wasn't there, Harper asked Van Sicklen to issue a body attachment (basically, an arrest warrant) for me. Since the prosecutor had my attorney's letter, the issue was moot and nothing more came of it.

In the coming days, Harper contacted one of my attorneys, Kelli Sager, to see if she would accept service for me. When Sager asked what this was all about, Harper hung up the phone after telling her I had "opened the door" by publishing articles about her client's case.

On Dec. 15, around 7 p.m., as I unloaded my family from a weekend away in my driveway, a baseball-capped figure appeared with a poinsettia, a bottle of champagne and a subpoena. She told me she had a delivery for me and "it was nothing personal." I took the subpoena - but not the plant and booze.

Last week, my attorneys attempted to get from Van Sicklen's courtroom Harper's motion for a new trial, but was told the judge had it in chambers. They were able, however, to get the prosecution's opposition to the motion - and we were finally getting an idea of what the subpoena was about.

Among the contentions in the new trial motion was that Deputy District Attorney Jeff Stodel engaged in prosecutorial misconduct by giving me Sisneros' rap sheet. In his opposition, Stodel included a sworn and signed declaration in which he said I inquired about Sisneros' criminal history and he directed me to the Information (the filing complaint) filed in court in June.

Which is exactly what happened.

Ricky Sisneros' sentencing hearing was postponed from today until Dec. 23. He is the gang leader convicted by a jury of having weapons in his possession. Here's some of our previous entries about the case.

Yesterday afternoon, a process server left a subpoena for me to appear at the hearing this morning. According to my attorney, Kelli Sager, I was improperly served because it wasn't handed to me personally and it was not served in compliance with the law that requires five days notice for journalists. When, and if, I am served properly, then we'll have to fight it.

No, it's not clear why Sisneros' attorney, Caree Harper, has subpoenaed me to appear at the hearing.

For now, though, Sager has advised that the subpoena issue is moot until properly served. Since I've learned that no warrant was issued for my arrest for failing to attend the hearing this morning, I now feel safe to go run some errands on my lunch break!

A gang member was convicted on today of five counts of attempted murder for shooting into a car full of people in Hawthorne. The Airport Courthouse jury deliberated about a week before finding Edgar Mejia, 30, guilty of all the charges and allegations that the shooting was gang-related and involved guns.

The jury is still deliberating on the same charges against co-defendant Carlos Carcamo, 33.
The Inglewood gang members are accused of shooting into a Cadillac carrying four adults and a toddler on July 5, 2004, in the 11800 block of Truro Avenue.

The perpetrators led police on a pursuit, then ran on foot. Mejia was arrested a short while later hiding in a nearby apartment.

Mejia will return to court Dec. 9 for sentencing. He is facing multiple life terms in prison.

This is 22-year-old convicted killer Benjamin Gonzalez, who came into a Long Beach courtroom yesterday with his fingers all ablaze with a message for the media. It's hard to see in the picture, but his eyebrows are replaced with tattoos that say "Long" and "Beach."

Our colleague, Tracy Manzer at the Long Beach Press-Telegram, has the full story on the sentencing hearing for Gonzalez and three others. Her report is accompanied by video and multiple photographs. The whole package can be found by clicking here.

Out. Of. Control.

That's the only way to describe Judge James Dabney's courtroom Friday morning as Matthew Fletcher, a Long Beach criminal defense attorney well-known for his bullying tactics and clashes with judges, cross-examined an informant who was attempting to implicate his client in a Hawthorne gang-related shooting.

Things got especially heated when Dabney decided to read to the jury the plea deal prosecutors made with the informant, Anthony Cabrera, in exchange for his testimony against two others for the July 5, 2004, shooting. Fletcher continued to interrupt Dabney with objections, arguing that the deal shouldn't be read in the middle of his cross-examination. The attorneys and Dabney continued a heated argument before the jury, speaking over each other and yelling. Several times, the exasperated court reporter shouted: "One at a time!"

When Dabney offered a follow-up, clarifying question to one of Fletcher's, Fletcher told Dabney: "Can I please ask my own question?" During these repeated exchanges, the judge would throw up his hands in aggravation and the prosecutor could be seen looking up to the ceiling and sighing.

Ricky Sisneros' sentencing hearing was postponed from today until Oct. 29, according to a court clerk. He was the alleged La Rana gang shot caller convicted of having a bunch o' weapons in his home.

Previously:

Torrance gang leader convicted

Torrance gang leader trial