LOS ANGELES – More than 400 law enforcement officers this
morning conducted an operation that led to the arrest of 17 members and
associates of the El Monte Flores gang, an organization that takes direction
from the Mexican Mafia prison gang and controls criminal activity in the cities
of El Monte and South El Monte.
Those taken into custody today are among 41 defendants named
in a 167-page racketeering indictment that alleges “El Monte Flores gang
members commit crimes, including acts of violence (ranging from battery to
murder), drug trafficking offenses, robbery, burglary, carjacking, witness
intimidation, kidnapping, weapons trafficking, credit card fraud, identity
theft, and hate crimes directed against African-Americans who might reside or
be present in the cities of El Monte and South El Monte in an effort to rid
these cities of all African-Americans.”
Other gang-related crimes are outlined in the 62-count
indictment, including the execution of a former Mexican Mafia member and the
fatal shooting of four others in an El Monte residence in 1995. The indictment
also outlines an ongoing dispute involving members of the Mexican Mafia who are
attempting to exercise control over the gang. One of those Mexican Mafia
members – James “Chemo” Gutierrez, 52, who is currently in federal custody
after his supervised release following a 20-year sentence in a federal homicide
case was revoked – is the lead defendant in the indictment. Other Mexican Mafia
members serving life prison terms are not charged in the indictment, but they
are listed as co-conspirators.
The gang maintains a significant presence at the Boys &
Girls Club of America – San Gabriel Valley Club on Mountain View Road, where
gang members openly sold drugs, held gang meetings and even held a car wash
fundraiser, according to the indictment. Members of the gang also regularly use
and threaten to use violence to extort “taxes” from drug dealers at “Crawford’s
Plaza” (at Valley Boulevard and Garvey Avenue) and the “Klingerman” apartments,
as well as from fraudulent document vendors who operate at Crawford’s Plaza.
The indictment further alleges several incidents dating back to early 2001 in
which African-American victims in El Monte were attacked, threatened and
subjected to racial epithets.
The investigation into the El Monte Flores gang was
conducted by a task force that included the Drug Enforcement Administration;
the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; IRS – Criminal
Investigation; and the El Monte Police Department.
According to the indictment that was unsealed this morning,
El Monte Flores, which has an estimated 800 members, operated as a criminal
enterprise that used violence and intimidation to exercise authority in the
area it claimed. The multi-generational gang was formed in the 1960s, and since
then it has controlled the drug trade in El Monte and South El Monte.
The defendants named in the federal indictment face various
charges, including conspiracy to engage in racketeering activity in violation
of the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act;
violent crimes in aid of racketeering; conspiracy to possess with intent to
distribute and distribute controlled substances; using a firearm in relation to
a crime of violence or drug trafficking; weapons charges; conspiracy to launder
money; and being an illegal alien after previously being deported.
Those taken into custody today are expected to be arraigned
this afternoon in United States District Court.
An indictment contains allegations that a defendant has
committed a crime. Every defendant is presumed to be innocent until proven
guilty in court.
If they are convicted, all of the defendants would face up
to 20 years for the RICO and potentially decades more depending on which
additional offenses they are charged with. One defendant – Johnny Mata, 33, of
Baldwin Park, California – faces a potential death penalty if he is convicted
of being the shooter in the slaying of a rival gang member in Baldwin Park on
Christmas Eve in 2010.
If they are convicted, all of the defendants would face up
to 20 years for the RICO and potentially decades more depending on which
additional offenses they are charged with. One defendant – Johnny Mata, 33, of
Baldwin Park, California – faces a potential death penalty if he is convicted
of being the shooter in the slaying of a rival gang member in Baldwin Park on
Christmas Eve in 2010.
In addition to the law enforcement agencies who conducted
the investigation, several agencies provided substantial assistance during this
morning’s takedown, including U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s
Homeland Security Investigations, the California Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation, the Irvine Police Department, the Covina Police Department, the
Montebello Police Department, the Azusa Police Department, the Baldwin Park
Police Department, the United States Marshals Service, the Los Angeles
Sheriff’s Department, the San Bernardino Sheriff’s Department, and the Los
Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment