LOS ANGELES – One of the leaders of the Hazard street gang –
a Mexican Mafia-controlled criminal enterprise that has been responsible for
criminal activity in and around the Ramona Gardens housing complex in Boyle
Heights for decades – was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for his
conviction on federal racketeering and drug trafficking offenses.
Victor Barrios, 43, a Mexican national who most recently
resided in Boyle Heights, was sentenced by United States District Judge
Christina A. Snyder.
Barrios pleaded guilty on April 26 to conspiring to violate
the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act and
conspiring to traffic narcotics. When he pleaded guilty, Barrios admitted he
played "a leadership role for the gang’s criminal activities," which
included overseeing drug sales, the collection of extortionate "tax"
payments from area drug dealers, and plots to commit acts of violence.
Barrios was one of 27 defendants named in a racketeering
indictment unsealed in December 2014. The 110-page indictment outlined a wide
range of criminal activity, including dozens of drug deals, acts of
intimidation and violence against people believed to have cooperated with law
enforcement, illegal weapons sales, and threats made against African-American
residents of Ramona Gardens. Barrios is one of 18 defendants who have pleaded
guilty. The remaining nine defendants are scheduled to go on trial on November
28.
The investigation into the Hazard gang was conducted by the
Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Los Angeles Police Department; the Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; and IRS Criminal Investigation,
which worked in conjunction with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department
and the Alhambra Police Department.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States
Attorneys Benjamin Barron and Christopher Kendall of the Organized Crime Drug
Enforcement Task Force.
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