Recently in gangs Category

Goddess of Pomona -- responsible for two posts today.  This one is a link to a film called Gang Boy, a 1950s tale of feuding gangs in a very different Pomona. The goddess writes:

The 1954 movie Gang Boy was filmed entirely in Pomona, and was based on a true Pomona story of a truce between gangs.

A 31-year old member of a gang called Brown Brotherhood is taken into custody by a parole agent during a multi-agency sweep at the 8700 block of Nogal Ave. in Whittier on Tuesday, July 15, 2008. A 22-caliber rifle, a crossbow and other weapons were found at the location. The parolee is looking at parole violation and charges, of being an ex-felon in possesion of a gun. Nine locations in Whittier, Pico Rivera and Norwalk were hit simultaneously early in the morning.
(SGVN/Staff Photo by Raul Roa/SWCity)

I got this letter from someone who identified himself as a relative of the man who was shot Sunday near Royal Oaks and Shamrock in Monrovia. The relative makes some interesting points about policing in Monrovia and the overall investigation. I've removed any identifying information. Letter on the jump:

The sexual harassment lawsuit filed against the Monrovia Police Department by former jailer Rudy Ramirez adds fuel to a fire that seems to be consuming the All-America city.

At the beginning of the year, Monrovia found itself at the center of a gang crime spree that included 13 shootings which resulted in three deaths.

Then, a contract dispute between the city's police officers' association and the City Council turned ugly as rhetoric and accusations spilled out into blogs and TV newscasts. As part of its campaign, the POA wanted it known Monrovia was a very dangerous place to live and work. A town that lacks adequate policing.

Then came Ramirez's suit.

The case, filed at the end of May, claims Sgt. Dan Verna molested Ramirez when he was an underage Explorer in 2000. It alleges Verna harassed Ramirez up until 2006 - after the kid got a job as the city's jailer. Perhaps more explosively, it details the alleged release of a member of the Monrovia Nuevo Varrio gang from the city jail at Verna's request.

"Defendant Verna ... proceeded to release the prisoner, personally escorting him out the back door without charges being brought," the lawsuit, filed by former jailer Rudy Ramirez, claims. "The prisoner was a local gang member."

The suit also outlines a second event involving the gang member: "Verna (gave) advice to him about how to beat or get the charges lowered."

What?

Although few arrests have been made, police implicated Monrovia Nuevo Varrio in several of the assaults that occurred earlier this year. All the crimes had racial overtones that detectives believe stemmed from an ongoing prison dispute between black and Latino gangs.

Killed were:

Sanders Rollins, 63, in a drive-by shooting at 1234 Sherman Ave. in Monrovia on Jan. 13. Rollins, a black man, was getting out of his vehicle when a light colored Honda Civic drove by. The gunmen were described as Latino males.

Sammantha Salas, 16, a Latina, was shot to death outside an apartment building in the 2500 block of Peck Road in an unincorporated county area near Monrovia. Salas was killed on Jan. 26. The suspects have been described as two black males. A $10,000 reward has been issued in the case.

Brandon Lee, a 19-year-old black man, was shot while standing on the sidewalk in the 500 block of Almond Avenue on Jan. 29. The shooters were described as two Latino males.

Although things have quieted down, the gang warfare caught the attention of Attorney General Jerry Brown. As a result, he plans to hold a gang summit in San Gabriel on Friday. On the agenda: "Debriefing on Monrovia's recent gang violence."

Among those scheduled to speak is Monrovia police Chief Roger Johnson, named as a defendant in Ramirez's lawsuit.

For now, Johnson has only said an independent agency will examine Ramirez's allegations.

Perhaps Friday he'll explain why a Monrovia police officer allegedly released a gang member from jail and provided some sort of legal counsel to the young man. Perhaps he will also be asked about the billboards, that up until a couple of weeks ago greeted motorists entering the city.

You know, the ones that said: "Caution: You are approaching Monrovia. Higher violent crime. Fewer officers patrolling."

A homicide epidemic claimed the lives of three Baldwin Park High School students in the 2007-08 school year.

Yes, epidemic.

Consider the numbers. There are about 5,100 high school students attending various secondary schools in Baldwin Park.

Between September and June, bullets claimed the lives of three of those students. That translates to a homicide rate which is slightly less than Colombia's.

So what's going on?

"I really wish I knew," said Baldwin Park Unified School District Superintendent Mark Skvarna. "Factions are feuding with factions inside and outside the city. Somebody gets upset and this is the result."

Skvarna agreed the killing of Baldwin Park high schoolers is out of control.

"I would have considered one (homicide) an epidemic," Skvarna said. "I don't want to see our community go through that. The frustration level is off the scale."

Family members and friends identified the most recent victim as 16-year-old Ruben Chavera, a student at the Opportunities for Learning Charter School in Baldwin Park. He had previously attended Sierra Vista High School.

This school-year gun violence also claimed the life of Jose Perez, a 16-year-old Baldwin Park High School student who was shot to death outside a home in the 5000 block of Maine Avenue on May 3.

And, in November, Baldwin Park High student Luis Estrada, 14, and his father, Pedro, were gunned down by four attackers in front

Three teens, all former Baldwin Park students, have been arrested in the Estrada case, officials said. A fourth remains at large.

Gang rivalry apparently motivated all the slayings, authorities said.

Baldwin Park recently hired a new police chief - ostensibly to deal with problems like this. New police Chief Lili Hadsell sent phone calls seeking comment for this story to a spokesman.

Baldwin Park police Lt. David Reynoso, Hadsell's flack, said the city's doing everything it can to cut into the gangs that seemingly rule the night these days.

"We've had extra enforcement, the gang units have doubled," Reynoso said. "There's more officers on the street working toward identifying the people behind these crimes; specifically the murders. But we can't be everywhere."

If Hadsell returned my call, she might say that crime stats are a difficult thing to get a handle on anyway, especially when it comes to homicide.

Look at Pasadena this year. No homicides.

By contrast in 2007, the city counted four homicides between January and June.

Community activists and city officials described the downturn in 2008 as a hopeful sign. Pasadena's acting police Chief Christopher Vicino claimed solid police work was largely responsible.

But what if it was something else?

Consider this: On March 25, three men were shot at on North Fair Oaks Avenue near Washington Boulevard in Pasadena. The men were apparently targeted for "no reason at all."

What if they had been hit? What if they had been killed?

Thankfully they weren't. For now, Pasadena smells like roses.

Baldwin Park on the other hand ...

Detective said Sunday that the 16-year-old Baldwin Park boy killed in a drive-by shooting Saturday afternoon was related to a man and woman targeted in a fatal car-to-car shooting last month.

Ruben Chavera, who died at the scene of Saturday's shooting on Illinois Street near Idaho Street, is the cousin of 22-year-old Richard Pope, who died as the result of a May 20 shooting only a block away at the intersection of Ramona Boulevard and Merced Avenue, a homicide detective said.

Chavera's sister was also inside the car when Pope was fatally shot, but was not seriously injured, officials said.

Investigators believe there's a good chance the two shootings are related.

BALDWIN PARK - A spree of violence culminated in the drive-by shooting death of a Baldwin Park teenager in broad daylight Saturday.
The shooting victim, described as a 16-year-old Latino boy, was walking eastbound on Illinois Street between Kenmore Avenue and Idaho Street about 3:47 p.m. when a black, 1980s model sedan drove up and its occupants opened fire, said Los Angeles sheriff's Homicide Detective Jonas Shipe.
"He was struck multiple times and died at the scene," said Shipe, who refused to identify the victim until detectives spoke to his next of kin.
"It was a straight-up gang thing," said Shipe, adding the dead teen was affiliated with a gang.
The victim, who was identified by residents as Ruben Chavira, had been on his way to visit his girlfriend at her home in the 3800 block of Idaho Street when he was shot, said the girlfriend's sister, Veronica Martinez.
"He was a nice guy - I don't think he was involved with gangs," said Martinez, 27. "My sister knew him since fifth grade (at Kenmore Elementary School)."

Two shots to the chest killed a teenager this afternoon on Ohio Street in Baldwin Park. Few details are available. The killing follows night of violence that saw a robbery and two assaults throughout the town.

It's unclear if the shooting is related to a stabbing that occurred early Saturday morning at the Circle K.

Two males with shaved head in a dark sedan were reported leaving the scene.

*Regarding the first comment below: In case you didn't know 187 is the California Penal Code section defining the crime of homicide. In the categories section of the blog I list several such penal code sections like 187, including 211 for armed robbery and 245 for assault with a deadly weapon.

Hope that clears the confusion.

Kevin Roderick over at LA Observed points out that NPR just completed a four-part series on Los Angeles gangs. Here's what NPR has to say:

Crime in America has been on the decline, but gang violence is increasing. Los Angeles has the most gang members per capita than any city in the world. This series zeroes in on the changing nature of Los Angeles gangs and the innovative tactics law enforcement is using to combat them.

Among the parts:

Targeting 18th Street

Using federal charges

Cops target shot callers

Crack down at MacArthur Park

I've heard so many different versions of this story today that my head is spinning. City News Service got bad information early from Sheriff's Headquarters Bureau and it spread like a virus through local news outlets.

As an example, KFI had to contend with a deputy at the SHB that was completely unfamiliar with the case. There's a whole story to be told about the decimation of SHB, but I'll save that for another day

In KFI's case the result was that Eric Leonard's story alluded to five men being named suspects in the case. In fact it's two men, one teen boy and two teen girls.

KNBC did a nice job with the wanted part of the story but left out the particulars about the other arrests. (They also used a lot of SGV Tribune copy to round out their tale -- thanks KNBC)

Here's AP's first story as it moved:

Date: 05/28/2008 11:45 PM

BC-CA--911 Killing/160
Eds: APNewsNow.
4 teens arrested, 5th sought for murder during 911 call

A few months back we had a meeting with police officials from Baldwin Park and they mentioned that the city had a problem with members of the El Monte Flores gang in their city.

There are already two gangs and a tagging crew that lay claim to the city, so having members of a fourth undoubtedly makes for some headaches.

Turns out that EMF may reach all the way into Covina, at least that's what sheriff's deputies are telling us in the wake of arrests in the Michelle Chien murder case.

Here's a little history of gangs in the SGV courtesy of a site that calls itself "Gangland Express."

Regarding EMF:

El Monte is an old barrio and home to the famous El Monte dance hall wich is gone now. That is were alot of the pachucos' idols would sing songs like, Earth Angel, Night Owl, 18 with a bullet, Duke of Earl, and Sitting in the Park. It is also home to El Monte Flores. This is one of the largest gangs from the SGV, and most spread out.

Text below is from the Sheriff's wanted poster:

On March 19, 2008 (Wednesday) at 1140 hours, Victim Michelle Hsu was shot and killed by intruders in her Covina Hills home.

The victim was on the telephone with a 911 operator when the suspects killed her to avoid capture and arrest.

After a lengthy investigation, detectives have identified Suspect Victor Manuel Maurtua as one of five suspects involved in the murder.

Suspect Maurtua is a known El Monte Flores gang member and was last known to frequent the Baldwin Park area.

*Update: City News Service has finally picked up on this (even though they had a copy of our story since Saturday). But what's being reported is wrong. The Sheriff's Information Bureau told CNS that there are no other suspects identified and no arrests have been made. CNS is working to correct their report.

Melissa Pamer reports that the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Homicide Bureau has released the sketches of two men wanted in connection with a Jan. 14 drive-by shooting in Monrovia in which two men might have been slightly injured.

Here's the sketches at left.

I imagine folks in Monrovia have some questions for officials about certain elements of the story.

Here are my questions and observations:

1. Why is homicide releasing sketches of figures wanted in what is likely to be charged as an assault at best? It's my understanding that homicide detectives only investigate actual homicides.

2. When it comes to the Sammantha Salas slaying, why does homicide Lt. Dan Rosenberg say he's not ready ask for a reward from Supervisor Mike Antonovich's office? Antonovich's flack Tony Bell has said repeatedly that he's talked to detectives about that. Can we infer that these two might be wanted in the Salas case as well? What's the story here?

3. Officials that Pamer talked to said crime tips have decreased as media attention has waned in Monrovia.  It almost sounds as if the media is being blamed for a lack of interest in the community. Truth be told, Monrovia seems to have several pretty active community forums among them FCBLOG, City Hall, North Primrose and Frazgo on MetBlogs. Additionally we've had a section of our Web site exclusively devoted to the shootings.

4. Early on in the investigation, authorities blamed the rising tensions in the community on recently released parolees. Do these composite drawings match the mug shots of actual parolees reportedly released into the community?