The indictment that prosecutors brought in 2018 charges that Florencia-13 members discussed collecting taxes from a marijuana shop. In March 2010, Dorado and Fazah received an order from an incarcerated, senior member of the F13 gang instructing them beat and kill the victim. During this mornings takedown, 14 of the 31 defendants named in this indictment were taken into custody. The sentence imposed by the court removes a drug trafficker and violent offender from our streets and sends a clear message to others who may choose to engage in such criminal activity.. Justice has been served.. Arroyoscollapsed in an alley and died at a hospital. You can also view a larger version of this document. It is alleged that the Florence 13 gang has members in Los Angeles, New York City, East Orange, Chicago, Washington DC, Detroit, Arkansas, Miami, Texas, Atlanta, Sinaloa and Mexico. With the four convictions last summer, a total of 25 defendants have been convicted in the case (one charged defendant died, and the other four remain fugitives). East Coast Crips responded with shootings of their own, often targeting Latinos who were not gang members. The four are charged with violent crime in aid of racketeering in the killing of Officer Fernando Arroyos, who was fatally shot Monday, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of. They called themselves Florencia, after the east-west thoroughfare that ran through the heart of their territory. The Sheriffs Department added about 30 deputies, and last year it brought an injunction against Florencia. On October 6, 2019, four men, ages 20s to 50s, were killed and five injured at KC Tequila, a Hispanic-themed bar and restaurant in Kansas City, Kansas. A second indictment unsealed this morning concerns the Mexican Mafia and its control over the Florencia 13 criminal street gang in south Los Angeles County. If an understanding cannot be reached, the pres from those [cliques] are to set a date for those two to box it out like real Florencianos, the rules say. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, This multi-agency law enforcement effort exhibits the positive community impact of focused, diligent and dedicated investigative work, said ATF Special Agent in Charge Eric D. Harden. The indictment alleges that Laredo ran the street gang from prison with a goal of enriching himself, family members and associates through extortionate taxes taken from drug dealers and businesses in F13s territory. ndiscriminate shootings of Black and Latino residents. Homicides dropped to 10 last year. Various defendants are charged in six other counts in the indictment that allege substantive narcotics-distribution offenses, five of which relate to methamphetamine and one of which concerns marijuana. Powered and implemented by FactSet Digital Solutions. LOS ANGELES Authorities have arrested 11 members and associates of the South Los Angeles-based Florencia-13 (F13) street gang on federal racketeering, narcotics and firearms charges. The indictment alleges that two incarcerated Mexican Mafia members are the leaders of the Florencia 13 gang, and that they directed the activities of the street gang from a California state prison and received payments derived from the gang's illegal activities. Castellanos ordered gang members to stop rampant infighting; to tax drug dealers in their neighborhoods, as well as prostitutes, fruit vendors and vendors of phony ID cards in nearby Huntington Park; and to funnel the proceeds to him and other mafia members. ) or https:// means youve safely connected to the .gov website. Lock Those rules and letters from Castellanos attempted to adhere those prison rules to the street, he said. Rene Enriquez, a former Mexican Mafia leader who is cooperating with federal prosecutors, said Castellanos brazen style suggests he wants to be indicted and sent to federal prison where he can enjoy a host of privileges banned at Pelican Bay, including monthly phone calls and freedom of movement in a general population facility. The Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, DEA & ATF began targeting Florencia 13 gang members for their roles in racially motivated attacks on African-Americans. The former head of Wells Fargo Banks retail banking division has agreed to plead guilty to obstructing a government examination into the banks widespread sales practices misconduct, which included opening A resident of the Westside of Los Angeles pleaded guilty today to federal criminal charges for using websites and apps such as Snapchat to meet and entice children to engage A South Bay man who along with three other accomplices victimized a 15-year-old girl by creating sexually explicit videos of her has been sentenced to 220 months in Central District of California The court heard in disturbing detail at trial how these Florenica 13 gang members lured the victim into an alley and beat him unconscious, said the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Los Angeles Field Division Special Agent in Charge Eric Harden. They allege the protest leaders have a hidden agenda strengthening the hand of criminal groups that control drug and extortion rackets behind bars and on the streets. It was crazy -- really crazy.. Los Angeles Police officers attend a candlelight vigil for fallen Officer Fernando Arroyos, who was shot and killed during an armed robbery attempt outside the Olympic Community Police Station Jan. 12, 2022, in Los Angeles. Its ranks are knitted together by blood. Police say he was with his girlfriend, looking at a house that he was thinking of buying, when two men robbed him at gunpoint of his wallet and jewelry. Running a criminal organization while locked inside one of America's most secure prisons requires imagination, cunning and ruthlessness. Urrutia, a native of Santa Fe, Argentina, is currently the No. In April 2017, one defendant, Samuel Flores Mejia, a.k.a. This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Los Angeles Police Department. Years of violent conflict over that territory with other gangs lent Florencia an identity and reason for being. "We can either address the issue head-on, create awareness and discuss the positive things . The conspiracy charge and the counts related to methamphetamine each carry a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years in federal prison (20 years if the defendant has a prior drug conviction, which may affect about half of the defendants in the indictment) and a maximum statutory sentence of life without parole. Luis De La Rosa Rios, Jesse Contreras, Ernesto Cisneros and Haylee Grisham have been charged in federal court with Arroyos' killing. "It was important that Castellanos not be let out, because he holds sway over gang members to do things they would otherwise not want to do," Hernandez said. [11] Column: Does racism make you too stupid to be a cop? The 2,133 sq. In an indictment brought in 2007, authorities accused the gang of attacking members of rival Black gangs in an attempt to drive them from the Florence-Firestone area. The defendants charged today are: Luis Alfredo De La Rosa Rios, 29, an F13 member also known as "Lil J"; Ernesto Cisneros, 22, an F13 member also known as "Gonzo"; Jesse Contreras, 34, an F13 member who claimed a moniker of "Skinny Jack," but who also may be known as "Flaco"; and Haylee Marie Grisham, 18, who is Rios' girlfriend. Dorado then reported back to the incarcerated F13 Gang member who issued the order: Thats a done deal. Prosecutors alleged Castellanos was a Mexican Mafia member and undisputed leader of Florencia 13 and its associated cliques, and that he received payments from the gangs illegal activities into his inmate trust account. At certain times, Florencia 13 leaders ordered killings of the East Coast Crip gang, according to Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca. Arturo. LOS ANGELES Two key operatives of the Florencia 13 street gang were sentenced this week to life without parole in federal prison. An 11th defendant, Alejandro Rincon, will be retried in April. Theres still some concern, and I would even say some fear, but with a little F -- not fear like there was, Pastor Le Grande said. Then something changed, 7 hospitalized after driver in stolen car runs red light in San Bernardino, police say, Barstow police investigating after officer caught on video hitting man with a baton, Northern California town on edge after second fatal stabbing in a week, Man found guilty of murdering teens who ding-dong-ditched his house, Sacramento, San Francisco mayors take shots at each others city before NBA playoff game. Your IP: Jim Hellmold, supervisor of the departments Century Division, where Florence-Firestone is located. The RICO indictment also alleges that F13 members were responsible for the shooting and attempted murder of a rival gang member in South Los Angeles in December 2016. There were seven members of the Florencia 13 group, including the five arrested and charged, and the two still on the run identified by the initials A.G. and L.M. As revealed by a series of inmate telephone recordings, he participated in the attempt to have a co-conspirator smuggle heroin, marijuana, and methamphetamine through the Los Angeles Metropolitan Courthouse on Hill Street. Officer Fernando Arroyos, 27, was shot to death the night of Jan. 10 near the intersection of 87th and Beach streets. The indictment unsealed today follows a 2007 crackdown on the gang that led to more than 100 members and associates being charged, and five of them receiving sentences of life without parole in federal prison (see: http://www.justice.gov/usao/cac/Pressroom/pr2010/025.html). It is the hoods responsibility to clean the hood of such trash, the rules state. A secret letter allegedly sent from an inmate at Pelican Bay State Prison in Northern California to members of Florencia 13, a multi-generational street gang in south Los Angeles, details a covert network that has enriched the states most powerful prison gang, the Mexican Mafia. Times staff writer Amina Khan contributed to this report. Three years after the Florencia indictment, residents say, a measure of calm has come to Florence-Firestone. "There's a fascination with gangs," said founder Alfred Lomas, a former member of the Florencia 13 gang. Acting United States Attorney Harrington said, The United States Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Washington commends the law enforcement officers with the federal and local agencies who investigated this case. Those arrested today are among 36 members and associates of the F13 gang named in six federal grand jury indictments. Menace, shot and wounded a fellow F13 member to discipline him at one of the gangs casitas, or illegal gambling houses. The verdicts remove these violent defendants from our community and deal an important blow against the Florencia 13 gangs campaign of drugs and violence., Dorado and Fazah alone were found guilty of conspiring to commit a Violent Crime in Aid of Racketeering (VICAR) for a gang-related beating in Huntington Park that ultimately led to the shooting death of the victim. None could be reached for comment, and they have yet to enter pleas. Seven decades ago, Latino youths in South Los Angeles banded together to form a gang. ), At Willie Nelson 90, country, rock and rap stars pay tribute, but Willie and Trigger steal the show, What GOPs plan for Medicaid work requirements would mean, Column: A centrist, third-party alternative for 2024 is a nice idea but a nightmare in practice, Chinese man who reported on COVID to be released after 3 years. Omar Hugo Robles, 30, of Sylmar, an alleged associate of La Familia, who was arrested this morning. In recent years, however, Florencia-13 members have been directed to eschew violent inter-gang rivalries in favor of pursuing new rackets, said a former member of the gang, who spoke on condition of anonymity. They say conditions at Pelican Bay are unconstitutional and amount to slow torture. Earlier this year, Carter had handed out life sentences to Florencia members Jesse Vasquez, 36; Alberto Hernandez, 28; Gilberto Oliva, 41; Manuel Hernandez, 27; and Noe Gonzalez, 28. Two male Florencia members, aged 19 and 20, were arrested for involvement in the incident. These defendants beat and shot a young man to death and increased the flow of illegal drugs into our community, said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. Jose Gonzalez, 36, received a 20-year sentence. The organization is made up of about 140 men, all but a handful of them imprisoned, who rose through the hierarchies of local street gangs and the penal system by displaying a readiness to commit violence or an ability to make large amounts of money, according to law enforcement sources. Have a question about Government Services? U.S. Attorney's Office, Central District of California, Environmental Crimes and Community Safety. Deon Joseph urges officials to stop making police the enemy and invest in crime control on The Story.. Official websites use .gov In August, federal prosecutors in Los Angeles named Castellanos in an indictment alleging a host of narcotics, firearms and fraud offenses, all carried out from his cell at Pelican Bay. All cliques must make sure you dont get infested by rats, P.C.s, or 25-debriefers gang members who cooperate with law enforcement by checking the paperwork, or court files, of every Florencia-13 member coming out of jail. The notes, he said, were written by Arturo Castellanos in his cell at Pelican Bay State Prison, where he was and still is serving a life sentence for murder. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. Any gang member who had an issue with another was to bring it up at the clique meeting. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? Inside a home on 81st Street in South L.A., detectives found taped to the underside of a dresser a list of reglas rules assembled from various handwritten notes that had been pieced together, Velasquez, the sheriffs lieutenant, testified. [8] Court testimony and the judges ruling found that F13 members had targeted African-Americans based purely on race. A California law says yes. The members of La Familia named in the indictment allegedly oversaw the distribution of methamphetamine and marijuana in the Southern California area, as well as provided money and drugs at discounted prices to members of the Mexican Mafia. Luis Alfredo De La Rosa Rios, 29; Ernesto Cisneros, 22; Jesse Contreras, 34; and Rios girlfriend, 18-year-old Haylee Marie Grisham, were charged in federal court with violent crime in aid of racketeering, which carries a potential death penalty and minimum sentence of life in federal prison without the possibility of parole.
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