Editors' Corner

6th suspect held in attempted mafia hit
By Fred Ortega, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 12/08/2007 12:40:33 AM PST

A sixth person accused of involvement in an attempted hit orchestrated by the Mexican Mafia has been arrested, police said Friday.

George "Jokes" Bravo, 40, of La Puente was taken into custody without incident early Friday, said Sgt. Chris Bradpool of the Los Angeles County sheriff's Homicide Bureau. He was being held at the sheriff's station.

Bradpool would not provide details about how Bravo was found or where he was arrested.

Bravo and five others were charged Thursday with conspiring to murder two Mexican Mafia associates, Rafael Gonzalez-Mu oz and Ralph Roacha. The plot was allegedly hatched by Maria Delores "Lola" Llantada, 42, of La Puente on behalf of her husband, imprisoned Mexican Mafia member Jacques "Jocko" Padilla.

Detectives discovered the alleged plot while investigating the March 2006 death of Valinda resident Robert Whitehead, who was killed while confronting two men tagging his neighbor's wall. Azusa resident Anthony Castillo, 20, has been arrested and charged in that case, and a second suspect, Robert "Pee Wee" Lopez of La Puente, remains at large.

A third man, Paul "Malo" Salazar, who authorities say was the actual shooter, was shot and killed in July.

Llantada was arrested at her mother's La Puente home Tuesday in a series of raids that netted a total of 18 arrests as well as the seizure of handguns, assault rifles and quantities of methamphetamine, marijuana and heroin.

Sheriff's records show at least four of those arrested have been released. Also released, according to family members, was 24-year-old Doreen Padilla, the daughter of Llantada and Jacques Padilla, though a sheriff's spokesman could not confirm whether she had been released.

The criminal complaint suggests that Doreen Padilla served as a go-between by passing messages from her father, who is serving a life sentence for murder in Corcoran State Prison, to her mother.

Ernie Llantada, Maria Llantada's brother, said Friday that his sister and niece are innocent of the charges and had nothing to do with the Whitehead slaying.

"We think the police are overreacting and that probably some of the charges are false," said Ernie Llantada, adding that no drugs or weapons were found at his mother's house, where Maria Llantada was arrested. "These are decent people with jobs. The police are wasting their time and the taxpayers' money."

He said his sister had made a mistake by marrying Padilla, but that she hasn't had contact with him for more than a year and was not involved in any criminal activity on his behalf.

"(Padilla) has been incarcerated for 16 years and I don't know if he is still involved with the Mafia," Ernie Llantada said. "I don't know why she is still married to him. When my dad was alive he was always telling her, `What are you doing with that guy? Why are you writing him?' "

Also arrested Tuesday and charged in the alleged plot were Yvonne Colleen Montes, 30, and Angelita Martinez, 37, both of La Puente. A fifth suspect, Mexican Mafia member Anthony Palacios, 66, was already serving time in state prison on unrelated charges.

David "Bulldog" Sahagun, 26, of Taft, who investigators believe would have been the triggerman in the assassination attempt, was picked up on the Pomona (60) Freeway on Oct. 31 with an AK-47 assault rifle stashed in his pickup truck, authorities said.

Investigators do not believe the Mexican Mafia was directly involved in Whitehead's death. But his accused killers are suspected of having relationships with members of the crime syndicate, also known as "La Eme," the Spanish word for the letter "M."

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Killing probe leads to 18 arrests
By Fred Ortega, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 12/06/2007 10:33:58 PM PST

MONTEREY PARK - The killing of a good Samaritan eventually led to the arrests of 18 suspected gang members, including five accused in an attempted hit linked to the Mexican Mafia, authorities said Thursday.

In police raids Tuesday, investigators seized an assortment of handguns, shotguns and assault rifles and quantities of methamphetamine, marijuana and heroin, said Los Angeles County sheriff's Chief Richard Castro.

Paul Whitehead, 44, of West Valinda was shot and killed outside his parents' home in March 2006 after confronting a group of taggers spray painting a neighbor's wall.

"(The Whitehead murder) case turned out to have deep roots leading to the criminal organization known as the Mexican Mafia," Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley said at a press conference announcing the arrests.

Several of those arrested were picked up Tuesday in a sweep conducted by Operation Safe Streets deputies, an anti-street gang unit of the Sheriff's Department.

The sweep concentrated on neighborhoods in West Covina, La Puente and Azusa, officials said. Also taking part were investigators from the San Bernardino and Kern county sheriff's departments, Azusa and West Covina police departments, and various state agencies.

Among the arrested were Maria Dolores "Lola" Llantada, 42; Yvonne Colleen Montes, 30; and Angelita Martinez, 37, all from La Puente and Valinda.

They are accused of conspiring to murder rival Mexican Mafia members Rafael "Cisco" Gonzalez-Mu oz and Ralph "Perico" Roacha, sheriff's investigators said Thursday.

Another alleged co-conspirator, 26-year-old David "Bulldog" Sahagun of Taft, was arrested in Montebello on Oct. 31 with an AK-47 assault rifle in his pickup truck. Sahagun was apparently on his way to kill Gonzalez-Munoz when he was arrested, according to court documents.

A fourth suspect, George "Jokes" Bravo, 40, of La Puente, was still being sought by authorities.

Another individual believed connected to the case, convicted Mexican Mafia member Anthony Palacios, 66, of Valinda, is serving a state prison sentence on an unrelated crime.

Arraignment for Llantada, Sahagun, Montes and Martinez was postponed Thursday afternoon. All but Martinez were being held in lieu of $10 million bail. Martinez's bail was set at $5 million.

Several of the suspects' friends and family members attended the 1:30 p.m. hearing in Superior Court.

Prosecutors asked that any posted bail money be examined to ensure it was not criminally obtained. Judge Henry Hall granted the motion.

If convicted, each of the suspects faces life in state prison, officials said. Arraignment was rescheduled for Dec. 13.

Detectives began looking into Llantada after realizing she was connected to several individuals suspected in the Whitehead killing, said Gary Hearnsberger of the district attorney's Hard Core Gang Division.

Anthony Castillo, 20, of Azusa and Robert "Pee Wee" Lopez, 18, of La Puente are suspected of participating in Whitehead's death along with a third man identified as Paul "Malo" Salazar.

Castillo was arrested at an Azusa home in Tuesday's sweep and was being held without bail in the county jail, according to official documents.

Lopez, a suspected member of the "Puente Trece" gang, remained at large, officials said.

The suspected shooter in the Whitehead case is dead, Cooley said. Salazar, 31, of West Covina, who was named as a suspect in the Whitehead killing, was shot dead at his Fairgrove Avenue home in July.

Hearnsberger said surveillance conducted during the 15-month operation revealed that Llantada was allegedly running a drug taxation and extortion operation from her La Puente home on behalf of her husband, Jacques "Jocko" Padilla, an alleged Mexican Mafia member serving time for murder at Corcoran State Prison. The operation allegedly involved protection rackets in Valinda, La Puente, Norwalk and Montebello.

Llantada intended to "rub out" her husband's competition - Gonzalez-Mu oz and Roacha - and conspired with Montes to get information about where Gonzalez-Mu oz lived and worked, said Cooley.

Montes tried to talk to Gonzalez-Mu oz at a birthday party at Margarita Jones in West Covina to find out where he worked, according to the district attorney's complaint.

Investigators said Llantada had been in contact with Sahagun about where Gonzalez-Mu oz lived and worked, and had talked to him about securing weapons and men for the hit.

Charges against the other individuals arrested in Tuesday's raids, including Doreen Padilla, Llantada's daughter, ranged from drug possession to child endangerment.

Seventeen children were taken into protective custody by the Department of Children and Family Services during the operation.

The Mexican Mafia, also known as "La Eme," originated in California's prison system and has grown to control much of the gang and drug activity in Southern California, according to sheriff's Lt. Pat Wilson, who investigated the case.

"It is almost a controlling force over many of the area's Hispanic street gangs," Wilson said, adding that while La Eme was not directly involved in Whitehead's murder, many members of La Puente and Valinda street gangs are allied with the organization.

Wilson said he expects additional arrests in the case.

The district attorney's 17-page complaint contains specific details about conversations between Llantada and her alleged co-conspirators. Wilson would not confirm whether the details were acquired through wiretapping or the use of informants or undercover officers.

"Those details will come out during the trial," he said.

According to the complaint, Llantada and Montes began collecting information about Gonzalez-Mu oz in September and October, including the type of car he drives, photographs and other details. In one conversation on Oct. 19, Montes told Llantada that Gonzalez-Mu oz had "lookouts on his street and a pit bulldog and German shepherd in his yard."

The complaint also details a trip by Sahagun and Bravo from Llantada's home to a house in the 300 block of South Vermont Avenue in Glendora on Oct. 19. Hearnsberger declined to comment on the significance of that visit to the case.

Investigators also allege that Llantada gave Palacios a small, coded note from her husband authorizing the murder of Gonzalez-Mu oz and Roacha. Palacios is the only "made" Eme member to be charged in the case.

Cooley said the case has put a "small dent" in La Eme's operations, and that local law enforcement will continue to use every legal tool at its disposal against the group.

"We are going after these people who order and coordinate violence on our streets, and we are not waiting for a murder to be committed," said Cooley. "This is a large, sophisticated organization that has been around for generations and is extremely violent. But we are sophisticated, too."

Sadly it was an unrelated killing - that of Whitehead - that led investigators to the Llantada case, L.A. County Supervisor Gloria Molina said.

"(Robert Whitehead) had respect, both for himself and his community," said Molina. "He was simply defending his neighborhood - and he paid for his bravery with his life."

Staff writer Ruby Gonzales contributed to this story.