Another Vineland Boy sentenced
The gavel came down today in a big way in the Vineland Boys federal racketeering case when a judge sentenced gang boss Rafael "Sneaky" Yepiz to life in prison without the possibility of parole, Eugene Tong writes. Yepiz, convicted of 21 charges, including violating the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, drug trafficking and money laundering, is the last of nine gangsters and associates to be sentenced in one of Los Angeles' biggest gang cases in recent history.
The Vineland Boys, originally a football team, are accused of growing into one of the worst and vicious gangs that had a hold on Burbank, North Hollywood and Palmdale for more than a decade. Their chief business was cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana trafficking. The gang killed people, including rookie Burbank Police Officer Matthew Pavelka, who died senselessly in a shootout with David Garcia, a Vineland Boy, who still faces murder charges.
Update at 4:15 p.m. Here's the United States Attorney's press release.