Results tagged “gangs”

It's been a week of mourning in Long Beach after the death of 16-year-old Melody Ross between last week's Homecoming football game and dance at Wilson High School. She was an innocent bystander when two alleged 16-year-old gangmembers shot bullets into a crowd meant for two men who were wounded. Those teens were identified today--Tom Love Vinson and Daivion Davis--because they were charged as adults, according to the LA Times.

Big operation in South L.A. this morning. The LAPD along with the FBI conducted an 18-month investigation leading up to todays sweep called Operation 40 Ounces to Freedom. 46 of the 75 gang members sought have been arrested, according to ABC7.

Fearing that she would turn him in, Joe Saenz kidnapped, raped and murdered the mother of his child, leaving her body at his grandma's house. That was in 1998, just days after he killed two rival gang members on the Eastside.

Last month was a tragic one for the Van Nuys community. Andrew Garcia, just four months old, was killed when bullets flew into the car where he was being fed. Two others were wounded. The two suspects in the case got away until last Thursday when one of them was arrested. Alfonzo Landa, 17, will be charged with the murder of Garcia and the attempted murder (with a shotgun, no less) of six others in the September 27th shooting in Van Nuys.

It was baby Andrew Garcia's baptismal celebration the morning he was shot in the head. Earlier and just a few blocks away, a large party was held for the 4-month-old child. At around 1 a.m. on Sunday on Kittridge Street in Van Nuys, Andrew, his mother and a friend, who is pregnant, were sitting in a parked car outside a friend's house. The friend, 28-year-old Anna Contreras, was feeding Andrew while the father and Eric Ramirez, 18, stood outside. Two young men walking by got into a verbal exchange with them, which escalated with several shot gun rounds fired at the family.

A large 3 a.m. inter-agency operation descended upon a Northeast L.A. neighborhood this morning, picking up dozens of Avenues gang members for crimes from graffiti to murder. As of 5 a.m., about 43 of the 88 members sought had been arrested, mostly in Glassall Park, according to the LA Times.

On September 19th, Reverend Jeff Carr, the City’s Director of Gang Reduction and Youth Development, will become Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's new Chief of Staff. Carr, who has been charged with the successful (or not?) anti-gang Summer Night Lights program, has been at the city for two years after years of service in the nonprofit sector. "Insiders say Carr will likely have a more demanding style than [current Chief of Staff Robin] Kramer, who is widely respected and well-liked among City Council members and has been considered a major influence in helping the mayor get his policy initiatives approved," notes Rick Orlov at the Daily News. "Kramer's departure and the ascension of Carr gives Villaraigosa an opportunity to reinvigorate his mayoral agenda - and his political future - now that he has decided against running for governor in 2010." Full info from Villaraigosa's office is below.

With less than a week left, there have been 18 gang-related homicides this month in South LA. That's already six more than July meaning close to 40 deaths in two months for one region of the city. That said, the LAPD and other agencies announced an effort today to flatten that trend. "Every spike in crime is a clue for preventative measures," said Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese, Commanding Officer, Operations-South Bureau.

As this year's lower murder rate closes in on last year's and after an especially bloody weekend (and deadly July that left around 30 dead), Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and LAPD Chief William Bratton will release a plan today that is supposed to put the damper on an increase in gang violence in central and South L.A.

The weekend left five dead in separate shootings, but one in particular caught the attention of civil rights leaders in the Hyde Park neighborhood of South LA. 17 year-old Brandon Jamal Perry was shot in the face after an occupant stepped out of a vehicle with a rifle and began shooting at him and others standing in front of a house late Saturday night. Three others were injured, but Perry died at the hospital.

Last week, the nation's largest anti-gang program was looking at their own financial crisis. After Friday, Homeboy Industries would have been out of money, thanks to the economy that blew a $5 million hole into the nonprofit's budget this year. For a place with the slogan "nothing stops a bullet like a job," they were considering furloughs.

Members of two rival gangs clashed last night at an Arco station at the corner of Laurel Canyon and Vanowen in North Hollywood, resulting in a shootout that left one teenage boy dead, according to the Daily News.

Taking on the next challenge, Homeboy Industries has expanded their breakfast and lunchtime eatery, Homegirl Cafe, to include Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights for dinner, says Ed Fuentes at blogdowntown. The cafe provides job experience for former gang members and at-risk youth and includes an organic garden, classes and an art gallery. The new dinner menu includes a Mexican salsa pasta, a vegan mole tofu dish and a cucumber avocado salad. Homeboy Industries also assists people through other programs like Homeboy Maintenance and Homeboy Bakery.

It was about 10:35 a.m. yesterday when Jeremy Burrell was approached by several male black suspects while walking on a sidewalk in the Hyde Park neighborhood in South LA. "More than one suspect drew a handgun and began firing at Burrell," said the LAPD. "Burrell was hit multiple times and transported to a local hospital for treatment. He was pronounced dead a short time later." The suspects got away in a van and police are calling it a gang-related shooting. Detectives are asking for anyone with information about this incident, which took place on the 3400 block of West 63rd Street, to call the detectives at (213) 485-1383. During off-hours, call 1-877-LAPD-24-7 (527-3247). Callers may also text “Crimes” with a cell phone or log on to www.lapdonline.org and click on Web tips. When using a cell phone, all messages should begin with “LAPD.” Tipsters may remain anonymous.

It was another one of those situations where witnesses say the suspects approached the victims and ask that scary gang-related question, "where you all from?” That's what happened Saturday night at Normandie Avenue and 29th Street in West Adams, near USC, when 18-year-old Martha Cruz, two cousins and a friend were waiting for a red light to turn green. A light colored four-door sedan with tinted windows pulled up next to the driver’s side of their car when the the front passenger asked the fatal question before opening fire on the car. Cruz, who was in the back seat, was hit and later died at the hospital. Detective do not have many details at this point, but if anyone knows something, contact info is below.

After a four year search, police have finally caught up with a suspect for a July 2005 gang-related shooting death in South LA. Dion Hays, known as "Solo" on the streets, was arrested on June 29 in Lancaster by LAPD and US Marshals working together on a task force. The 2005 incident left Andre Williams dead in an alley near the 700 block of East Florence Avenue. Apparently, he was chased down by two people, Hays allegedly being on of them, and was shot several times, leaving him dead. Hays, a 79 Swan Family Blood gang member, has bail set at $3 million.

After years of gang-related activity around Fremont High School in South LA, the state and city filed an injunction last Friday, seeking to restrict four gangs from the area for the majority of the day. “These brutally violent street gangs have indiscriminately terrorized students who simply wanted to travel to and from school,” said Attorney General Brown, who filed the case with LA City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo. “This first-of-its-kind injunction would create a gang-free zone around Fremont High School that shields students from violence, intimidation and drug trafficking.”

Around 20 Rolling 60s gang members were arrested early this morning during a birthday party at Platinum Live on Ventura Boulevard, which was rented for the event. "They're one of the larger gangs in South Los Angeles," said LAPD Sgt. Dan Horan. "They're well established. There was a gang injunction against them in the neighborhood that they claim. That area around there is Slauson and Crenshaw in South Los Angeles. They are large in number and notorious in their activity."

At least that's what U.S. Atty. Thomas P. O'Brien said this morning at a news conference about this today's large sweep that indicted around 150 members of the Varrio Hawaiian Gardens gang (only some were actually arrested). The operation was part of a racketeering indictment, 476 “overt acts” in all, that includes crimes ranging from drug dealing and murder.

       

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Whether they were gang members or innocent bystanders, that's a high number of deaths over the last ten years for Los Angeles County. But with an estimated 1,000 gangs and over 80,000 gang members, is this any surprise? Yesterday at a panel on gang violence, LAPD Chief Bill Bratton, Sheriff Lee Baca and community advocate Connie Rice called gangs a "public health disaster of epidemic proportions," as the Daily News put it. The panel said they want to expand a 2003 summer program called "Summer of Success" that put at-risk youth into activities. Homicides dropped to zero and violent crime was down 20% during those nine weeks, they said.

GOOD Magazine is examining transportation issues at tonight’s “Transit and The Community” panel discussion and interactive workshop at the GOOD space on Melrose at 7 pm. Top planners, transportation designers and public officials will be in attendance to discuss how to transform LA's transit infrastructure. Attendees will then be invited to join in an interactive workshop to help articulate transportation and land use ideas. On the panel: John Chase, West Hollywood Urban Designer; Simon Pastucha, LA Design Studio; James Rojas, METRO planner; Michael Lejeune, creative Director Metro Design Studio; Mike Feuer, California Assemblyman, 42nd District; Ming Fung, Graduate Director SCI-Arc; and moderator Alissa Walker. You must RSVP for this event by 5 pm today.

nights and weekends.

An investigation launched last fall into an East Los Angeles drug operation netted 48 arrests of gang members during raids yesterday morning conducted at 38 different locations, the Press-Telegram is reporting. The raid, according to Sheriff Lee Baca "put a heroin ring out of business."

A few minutes before noon, one man was injured in a possible gang related drive-by shooting near Little Ethiopia on the 5600 block of Pico Blvd. The preliminary investigation revealed that the injured man got into a verbal dispute with the assailants before the shooting, according to LAPD Spokesman Richard French He was shot in the stomach before running into Headmaster Barber Shop where he collapsed inside.

Students in LAUSD schools in Highland Park are already under a lot of pressure to do well, from test scores to less-than-ideal classroom environments. But the neighborhood is experiencing an increase in gang-related violence, mostly via gunfire, and that is making getting an education even harder, explains the LA Times' Steve Lopez.

"There is no strategic plan or vision which could result in an ineffective use of resources over the long-term," City Controller Laura Chick wrote in her summary findings released today (.pdf) on the city's strategy for fighting gang violence. A year ago she recommended (.pdf) that there be "a single point of accountability... a centralized, empowered entity--directly under the Mayor--" to oversee the millions of dollars being spent. But "a majority of these dollars are still strewn throughout City departments," which means there's "a risk that the City will continue to have disjointed programs resulting in duplicated services and an inefficient process," she wrote.

The stepmother of a 7-year-old girl who was shot in her South LA home Tuesday night has been arrested along with two others in connection with the shooting. The girl was home with her grandparents around 7:30 p.m. when bullets from the street flew into the house hitting her in the chest and arm.

A South LA 7-year-old girl was shot and injured last night when two people, suspected to possibly be gang members, pulled up to her home and fired shots inside. "The shooting took place around 7:30 p.m. yesterday in the 300 block of West 47th Street while the girl was inside her home with her grandmother and grandfather," explained the LAPD in a statement. "A white minivan with paper plates pulled up in front and a gunman wearing a white hoodie got out of the passenger side and blatantly fired several shots inside the residence." The girl is currently at the hospital listed in stable condition. The police have few leads and are seeking any information from the public.

A 21-year-old man was killed in a gang shooting last night and another man was shot in a botched drug deal at a grocery store early this morning.