Recently in gangs Category

MONROVIA - Prosecutors have targeted two violent street gangs blamed for several racially motivated shootings and slayings over the past three years as part of a proposed gang injunction, according to court documents obtained Tuesday.

In all 17 suspected members of the mostly Latino Monrovia Nuevo Varrio gang and 21 suspected members of the mostly black Duroc Crips are singled out in the documents.

The injunction is being sought by both the Monrovia City Attorney's Office and the Los Angeles County District Attorney.

"MNV and DuRoc members fire upon one another, upon other gang rivals and upon members of opposite races in the community," according to the complaint, which was filed Oct. 9. "Residents hear shots fired in the night and live in fear of shootings and random violence breaking out at any moment on the street, sidewalks, and local parks in their neighborhood."

Here's the Monrovia Gang Injunction- Complaint.pdf naming several gang members and listing some of the activities they are suspected of being involved with.

This from a Department of Justice press release:

Attorney General Holder will hold a press conference at the DEA's Los Angeles field office to announce Recovery Act funds for the administration's Southwest border strategy.  The Attorney General will be joined by Timothy J. Landrum, DEA Special Agent in Charge of the Los Angeles Field Office; Ralph W. Partridge, DEA Special Agent in Charge of the San Diego Field Office; and local law enforcement officials.

Holder needs to be asked about federal efforts to infiltrate gangs working the neighborhoods of suburban Los Angeles. We'll monitor the press conference and address Holder with some local questions that require federal answers.

When gangsters flourished in the Middle America during the Great Depression, none was more cold-blooded than Alvin "Creepy" Karpis. Public Enemy No. 1, Karpis is briefly profiled in the movie of the same name, starring Johnny Depp, as John Dillinger.*

From the Associated Press:

While local public officials continue to deny the existence of brown on black hate crime, the FBI cracked down on a Hawaiian Gardens gang responsible for several heinous crimes.

From the Associated Press:

Federal and local agencies were conducting a series of arrests targeting members and associates of the Varrio Hawaiian Gardens street gang, U.S. Attorney's Office spokesman Thom Mrozek said.

A series of federal racketeering indictments was due to be unsealed later Thursday, detailing firearms, narcotics and other charges related to the attacks, Mrozek said.

Further details were not released, but Mrozek said the indictments would detail the attacks on several black victims.

The indictments mark at least the second time in less than two years that federal authorities have alleged that Latino gang members attacked black residents because of their race. Local officials have tried to downplay any racial tensions.

Something about this case struck a nerve in Covina. I've had tons of phone calls about the neighborhood, which is an apparently drug and gang infested portion of Covina that gets little in the way of daily police attention.

Cops first described the victim Ocie May as a transient, but his family, residents of Covina, insisted that Ocie was anything but a transient.

Witnesses said they called and offered police information after the slaying but were never contacted by detectives.

The suspects' sister insists her brothers are innocent and have been set up.

Here's the story:

COVINA - A pair of brothers have been arrested in connection with the shooting death of a man in a dark alley, authorities said Monday.

Arrested on suspicion of murder were Arnett and Wakeem Ghoston, police said.

Killed was Ocie Daniel May, 26, a Covina resident.

Arnett was being held in lieu of $1 million, according to Los Angeles County jail records. Joaquin had not been booked as of 7:30 p.m. Monday.

"We've got the two in custody," Covina police Sgt. Rick Walczak said.

The arrest of two men in connection with the shooting matches a description provided by a witness to the shooting Monday.

May, 26, was slain in an alleyway in the 600 block of East Ruddock Street. Police said the killing followed an altercation that occurred about 8 p.m. Thursday.

Jennifer McLain and Raul Roa took a ride with Baldwin Park police officers during an early morning raid of suspected gang members and taggers. Among the crews hit were North Side and East Side Bolen as well as KHA and MIK. Their criminal backgrounds included felony vandalism, grand theft and assault with a deadly weapon.

Apparently some of the gang members are involved in weird rituals. There were Oreo cookies sacrificed to statues of the Grim Reaper and tales of Brujo blessings that included cutting the head off a rooster to bless a cocaine stash:

Here's a bit of Jennifer's story:

BALDWIN PARK - Twelve people were arrested Thursday morning in sweep targeting the homes of 32 Baldwin Park area parolees, most of whom were juveniles, and some who had ties to local gangs.

Neither the fog nor the sun had risen yet as officers pounded the door of a 17-year-old parolee.

Around 5:45 a.m., five men shuffled out of the one-bedroom apartment next to the on-ramp of the 10 Freeway as Baldwin Park Police hunted for the teenager who was on probation for tagging and resisting arrest.

They sat, some shirtless, others sockless, and all shivering, on crates and the cold cement as police searched the house for the teen.

After a 15 minute search, cops found him hidden in the closet under a pile of clothes. Police also found two bongs, baggies of marijuana, a drug scale, two cans of empty spray bottles and a tagged bottle of Miller High Life.

A group of about 150 community members marched from a Monrovia church to one in Duarte Saturday in a demonstration of solidarity between the Latino and black communities, church officials said.
The march went from the Immaculate Conception Church in Monrovia, 740 S. Shamrock Ave., to the New Hope Church of God In Christ in Duarte, 742 Euclid Ave., New Hope Church Pastor George Salter said.
Speakers addressed the crowd at the end of the march, he added.
"It was very uplifting," the pastor said.
The march came on the heels of the shooting death of 18-year-old Citrus College student Miguel Sanchez of Duarte, who was gunned down Monday while walking with a friend in the 2500 block of Milbrae Avenue, Los Angeles County sheriff's officials said.
Sanchez was not believed to have gang ties, authorities said, however his assailants are believed to be gang members.
In late 2007 and early 2008, a feud between black and Latino gangs in the area claimed the lives of four people.
On Tuesday, a forum was held for area residents to discuss their concerns about violence with city and sheriff's officials.
Monrovia police officials said there were no reports of incidents related to the march.

 

Today is the 80th anniversarry of the St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Chicago, in which Al Capone's gang famously lined up seven members of a rival street gang and murdered them with Thompson sub-machine guns.

A report in USA Today notes that the FBI claims criminal gangs are responsible for 80 percent of our nation's crime. Here's the story.

No Chargers in Industry this year, at least that's a what a report in the San Diego Business Journal claims.

Local soldier Sgt. Hy Thai, of Monterey Park is profiled on News Blaze, for his work in Iraq.

Detroit cops slow to respond to reports of frozen body in abandoned warehouse, according to the Detroit News and the Associated Press, which cites the indifference of cops there as part of the city's overall problem.

LASO unveils new technology in the pursuit of criminals.

A story that will appear in tomorrow's Daily Bulletin notes that United States immigration officials arrested nearly 2000 gang members in 2008. Here's the meat:

Authorities with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced on Friday that they arrested nearly 2,000 gang members and associates last year in a national anti-gang operation.

ICE officials said more than 850 of them have been prosecuted on state and federal charges, including re-entry after deportation and weapons violations. The remainder, who are considered foreign national gang members, have been placed in deportation proceedings, ICE officials said.

The arrests occurred in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties.

Police believed this shooting was gang related -- perhaps Azusa 13 vs West Covina Mob Pirus. In any event, an arrest was made. Here's this morning's story:

COVINA - Covina police made an arrest yesterday in connection with a shooting that occurred Tuesday afternoon near Las Palmas Middle School, according to officials.

Carlos Pineda, 20, of Azusa was arrested on suspicion of shooting and injuring two young men in the 500 block of Lark Ellen Avenue, according to Covina police Sgt. Dave Foster.

Both men were shot in the leg, fled across the grounds of the school and took refuge in a nearby apartment. A third man with them escaped injury, according to Covina Sgt. David Povero.

No other arrests have been made.

Pineda is in the custody of Covina police. Foster said Pineda will be charged with assault with a deadly weapon

 

 

A pilot program targeting gangs in various county neighborhoods had been initially scheduled to beta test in the Firestone and Pacoima neighborhoods.

The plan was expanded this afternoon by the County Board of Supervisors to include Monrovia and Duarte, authorities said.

The plan utilizes a variety of techniques to track gang members, potential gang members and their families as a way to reduce violence. Here's a copy of a report presented to the board by CEO Bill Fujioka.