Deputies who are members have But her attorney, Gregory Smith, says the damage was done. The expanded lawsuit comes amid increasing scrutiny of how Villanueva, who began his career at the East L.A. Station, has addressed the longstanding problem of deputy subgroups. "The Pink Hand's dominance of the management at the East Los Angeles Station was so strong, she was also nicknamed 'the Red Queen,'" the suit contends. When the Internal Affairs Bureau initiated an investigation into the Banditos, lead investigator Jeff Hamil allegedly followed Villanuevas orders to complete a fake investigation. Jefferson Chow, who has been in the department for 26 years, was tasked with investigating a September 2018 fight between deputies at a department party at Kennedy Hall in East Los Angeles. On August 10, 2012, Deputy Troy Krautkramer, who had also been loaned out as a result of Lopezs POE, drove up to her in the rear parking lot of the East LA Station and used his vehicle to spray dirt on Lopez. Many of those men were also members of the Banditos. 'Thank goodness that were in the era of videos,' said the family attorney as they file a federal civil rights lawsuit, In a memo, Chief Michel Moore said extremist groups have hijacked the use of the Thin Blue Line Flag to symbolize their undemocratic, racist, and bigoted views.. The anonymous employee told the panel a gang known as the Banditos still essentially runs the East Los Angeles station, despite Sheriff Alex Villanuevas previous insistence that he cleaned house at the station. One of the deputies who filed the lawsuit said federal agents interviewed him but declined to provide details. Gonzalez filed a lawsuit against the County in April 2016. He was elected in 2018 after running as a progressive Democrat who would reform the department. SEE MORE OF OUR COVERAGE ON LA'S DEPUTY GANGS: Our news is free on LAist. Its author Professor Sean Kennedy said at least seven remain active. The legal action also accuses L.A. County and Sheriff Alex Villanueva of failing to eradicate the Banditos and other problem cliques, which date back decades and whose members have risen to the highest ranks of the department. Im not bothering anybody. Los Angeles Countys top watchdog says in a report released Monday that substantial evidence exists that a secretive group of tattooed deputies at the East L.A. Here's Why It's Especially Dangerous To Hike SoCal Mountains Right Now, How 4 Words Upended A University's Journalism Program, And Stirred A Reckoning Over Race, What A Popular Yoga Teacher's Descent Into Conspiracy Theories Says About The 'Wellness To QAnon Pipeline', Ancient Lung Disease Strikes Countertop Cutters In LA. Your tax-deductible financial support keeps our stories free to read, instead of hidden behind paywalls. Two of the men are veterans with more than a decade on the job. In one of the more explosive allegations, the lawsuit claims Banditos declined to provide backup to deputies they don't like, endangering them and the public. The Top 5 newsletter catches you up with LAs top 5 stories in just 3 minutes. Sources within LASD told Knock LA that the Banditos recently held an inking party to add 10 new tattooed members to their ranks and take membership to 100. A new policy is meaningless if you dont actually enforce it, said Miller, the attorney representing the deputies. She quickly learned there was a power struggle going on between FTOs Hernandez and Valdez, along with the latters Banditos associates. Banditos groom young deputies they are considering for membership in the group, assigning them mentors, the deputy said. It describes members of the group as maintaining control by intimidation of other deputies and control of key positions, including dispatcher, scheduling deputy and training officer. However, he and Deputy Louis Granados reported harassment that they had observed at the hands of Banditos to Captain (then Lieutenant) Richard Mejia. The deputies, who do not want to be identified for fear of reprisal, claim the most prevalent are called the Banditos comprised of mostly Latino deputies who The new court filing does not attach specific allegations to each new defendant. They use word on the yard, a phrase used to explain what is being said among people in prison, according to the lawsuit. Rafael Munoz approached Casas on at least two occasions to ask him to be his eyes and ears in the southern part of the precinct. The deputies who filed the lawsuit include seven men and one woman. Heres everything you need to know about coyotes in Los Angeles County. She was moved to the day shift in an attempt to alleviate the abuse she was facing, but still worked near FTO Valdez and Christopher Valente, who had been implicated in her complaint. The Banditos logo (Courtesy of Vincent Miller). Took his hands and bent them up so far behind his back that you could see his fingers behind his ears and he tore his shoulder. The report falsely described Gray as trying to open the door of the patrol vehicle. Her daughter was born by emergency C-section. Attorneys representing a group of Los Angeles County Sheriffs deputies who claimed to have been harassed and brutalized by the Banditos deputy gang at the East Los Angeles Station have filed a fifth amended complaint naming 17 additional associates of the group. Every weekday, you'll get fresh, community-driven stories that catch you up with our independent local news. Chief Bobby Denham moved to initiate a fake investigation into the attack. Before joining The Times in 2016, she reported on crime and policing for the Glendale News-Press and Burbank Leader. 3:20 p.m.: This article was updated to note that the Sheriff's Dept. People familiar with the schism described it to Knock LA as similar to the movie American Me (1992), which depicts the creation of the Mexican Mafia: Valdez was pushed out of the gang by younger, more aggressive deputies. The timing of this letter suggests Mr. Huntsman is using his public office and resources to campaign against the sheriff leading up to the June primaries.. It forbids department personnel from joining "any group which promotes conduct that violates the rights of employees or members of the public or otherwise encourages conduct that is contrary to department policy.". 17 New Defendants Identified in Ongoing Suit Against the Banditos and LASD, deputy gang at the East Los Angeles Station. Forty-seven Los Angeles County Sheriffs officials were added Monday as named defendants She was not in a good way. Many of the people who violently harassed Lopez are still with the department. Before joining The Times in 2016, she reported on crime and policing for the Glendale News-Press and Burbank Leader. Gonzalez developed high blood pressure and a heart condition which led to her removal from the field. Sergeant Angelica Pink Hand Estrada and John Soria were able to carry out the Banditos wishes with the blessings of station leadership such as Lieutenant Eric Smitson and Captain Ernie Chavez. A deputy came to his home as Gray was moving a car into his driveway. A report by Loyola Law School found Villanueva has said hes the first sheriff to have implemented a policy that prohibits membership in illicit groups. As described by Huntsman, the Executioners On April 10, 2013, Lopez found a dead rat underneath the drivers side door of her vehicle. Aceituno recently did the same thing again and received no consequences from East LA Captain Richard Mejia, according to the complaint. the suit You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. Instead of investigating her claim, the department began investigating her. Thank you for investing in your neighborhood. Munoz, Eldemira Parra, Andrea Villa, and Claudia Perez controlled the calls through dispatch, and would send Granados and other plaintiffs out at the end of their shifts, forcing them to stay past their work time. Before this amendment, alleged members and associates of the gang included; Commander April Tardy; Captains Ernie Chavez (an alleged Vikings gang member), Richard Mejia, and Chris Perez; Lieutenants Eric Smitson, Anthony Easter, Edmundo Torres; Sergeant Angelica Estrada (AKA the Pink Hand); Rafael Rene Munoz (AKA Big Listo); Gregory Rodriguez (AKA G-Rod); David Silverio (AKA Silver); Michael Hernandez (AKA Bam Bam); Vincent Moran; Hector Soto Saavedra, who killed Paul Rea in 2019; Jeff Hamil; Jeff Chow; William Jaeger; Scott Chapman; Raymond Mendoza; Luis Carbajal; Braulio Robledo; Jonathan Rojas, who killed Anthony Vargas in 2018; Eldemira Para; Andrea Villa; Marc Elizondo; Nikolis Perez, who killed Anthony Vargas and Jorge Serrano in 2018; Kelly Porowsky; Woodrow Kim; Juan Sanchez; Aaron Abellano; Silvano Garcia; Joanna Macs Moran; Joanana Palombi; Jose Aceituno; Anthony Pacheco; Soraya Sanchez; Karla Sepulveda; Marcelo Ortega; Diana Woodward; Eduardo Muniz; Rebecca Cortez; Joe Mendoza; Erin Rosario; Jessica Santos; John Soria; Miguel Ortiz; Claudia Perez; Brian Goodwin; Manuel Palacios; Jodi Hutak; Pablo Partida; Noel Lopez; and Christopher Moore. Pushed him up against the police car. You meet up with us when we tell you to! Her answers didnt satisfy him and he told her, Fuck you! and, You are on your own! Around January 16, 2012, Deputy Benjamin Zaredini attempted to knock Lopez to the floor while she was carrying a loaded shotgun. Between 2019 and 2020, Sheriff Villanueva lied when he repeatedly claimed he transferred 36 Banditos out of the East LA Station and directed the Captain to investigate the gang. The Countys deputy gangs also subjected him to an experience that left him traumatized. The list includes 11 deputies allegedly belonging to the Banditos and operating out of the East LA sheriff's station. Tanaka is serving a five-year prison term for trying to cover up jailhouse beatings. Members of the gang are given special privileges, like preferred parking spaces. Going back to 2016, the lawsuit alleges, the Banditos repeatedly denied backup to the plaintiff deputies on dangerous calls, pressured them to quit or leave the station and sent hostile messages on work computers. Eight L.A. County sheriffs deputies allege in a lawsuit that they were routinely harassed by a gang of deputies at the departments East L.A. station who have matching tattoos. Escobedo and Hernandez were treated at a local hospital, Escobedo for "severe neck pain and strain, dizziness, and nausea due to lack of oxygen from being choked out," and Hernandez for a concussion and cuts that required sutures, the complaint alleges. Former Undersheriff Ray Leyva stated in a deposition that Villanueva made a settlement with Deputy Gregory Rodriguez, a Bandito, shortly after Rodriguez was involved in the attack at Kennedy Hall. Guadalupe Lopez started her career at LASD in 2003. Lemus, Contreras, Hernandez, and Escobedo were told they could move to another gang-dominated station, or a station far from their homes. Based on the information that I have, that is incorrect. lawsuit that was first filed two years ago Moore allegedly reported the attack directly to Banditos shot caller Raymond Mendoza. alleging the existence of a criminal gang of deputies called the Banditos at the departments East L.A. Station. 2023 Southern California Public Radio - All Rights Reserved, lawsuit that was first filed two years ago, 18 deputy gangs that have operated within the department, Gangs? Patrelli contacted her again and told her that she would actually be going to the County Services Bureau USC Hospital location. In this role, the FTOs are able to abuse their trainees without any accountability. Orange says that Gray told himhe was beaten by several deputies. The inspector generals new figures add to a growing body of information about the secretive groups, which have existed in the Sheriffs Department for decades. Instead, the defendants face the allegations previously laid out in the lawsuit. Knock LA is a nonprofit community journalism project, originally conceived by Ground Game LA. Lopez was nervous about returning to a hostile environment, so she contacted the Association for Los Angeles Deputy Sheriffs (ALADS) who told her they could not help. In March and April 2018, two of the plaintiffs, deputies Louis Granados and Benjamin Zaredini, were "alarmed by the increasingly hostile and violent nature" of the Banditos' activities, the lawsuit states. But eight deputies now accuse Sheriff Villanueva of allowing a violent group, the Banditos, to thrive in his department's ranks. The memo included an anonymous letter detailing the Banditos wrongdoings. Saavedra also attempted to have Gonzalez investigated for wrongfully sitting in a car with a victim, a claim that the complaint alleges to be completely fabricated. The sheriffs department declined to comment on the allegations. draft a policy regarding cliques The Sheriff's Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. One of the deputies approached him and told him to step back and he said, Im nowhere near whats going on. Did you investigate the Banditos? asked Vincent Miller, an attorney representing the eight deputies, according to a transcript of the deposition excerpts. According to court documents, Villanueva also reinstated Danny Batman Batanero, one of the original 10 Banditos, and made him head of his security detail. Huntsman also said LASD ignored evidence that exists to support the conclusion that the Banditos are a gang-like clique and their influence has resulted in favoritism, sexism, racism, and violence ICIB did not want to delve into the Banditos involvement.. At that point, Lopez informed Barsh about the harassment she had been subjected to by the Banditos. Rodriguez was rehired despite being charged with falsifying the police report concerning the unlawful detainment and beating of Christopher Gray. However Deputy Brian Goodwin, Commander Chris Blasnek, and Commander James Wolak rigged the investigation to support a seven-day suspension of Zaredini, according to the lawsuit. He kicked over a garbage can in front of incarcerated people working there and yelled to Lopez, Hey trainee, why dont you come over here and clean up the fucking mess you made?. Rodriguez also bragged that If [civilians] run from me, I make sure they come back with broken bones. Hector Little Listo Soto Saavedra allegedly drove around solely to attack civilians. LAist is part of Southern California Public Radio, a member-supported public media network. 2023 Southern California Public Radio - All Rights Reserved, assertions made in legal claims filed in March and May, A Los Angeles Family Seeks Answers And Accountability After Black Mom Dies In Childbirth, A Brief History Of Why It Does Occasionally Snow In LA. Lopez went to Area Command to request a copy of the paperwork and discovered it had never been filed. I went to the trial for a day or two and the Deputy DA who was trying the case had no partner. In response to questions from The Times earlier this month, Villanueva said the Sheriffs Departments investigation into the Compton Executioners led to two terminations and 13 transfers out of the station. Instead, it issued this statement: Sheriff Alex Villanueva was the first sheriff in the history of LASD to implement a strict policy prohibiting cliques and sub-cultures, and he has repeatedly demonstrated his commitment to transparency and accountability.. Knock LA is a nonprofit community journalism project, originally conceived by Ground Game LA. The FBI He wrote that the list is based on information gleaned from investigations conducted by the Sheriffs Department. The incident was never investigated, despite it being reported, according to the complaint. Gregory Rodriguez would also allegedly advise the younger deputies to carry a bag with them to plant evidence on suspects. Her case settled for $1 million in 2019. In this latest filing, the plaintiffs have identified 17 additional alleged associates of the Banditos by name: Undersheriff Timothy Murakami (a tattooed Caveman), Sergeant Hugo Reynaga, Edmundo Torres, Hugo Ramos, Mario Castro, Manny Navarro, Nikki Hanamaki, Vincent Choi, James Wolack, Chris Blasnek, Albert Maldonado, Leo Sanchez, Elizabeth Aguilera, Luis Valle, Bobby Denham, and Anthony Rivera. Lopez filed a complaint against LA County in 2014 and eventually settled for $1.5 million, funded by taxpayers. He says that Lopez left California altogether in an attempt to leave the trauma behind. At the end of the call he followed Lopez to her car. According to a complaint, Lopez wasnt given adequate time to prepare administrative paperwork, supervisors at the East LA station refused to sign off on her reports, and detectives didnt file or investigate her cases. She'd gone into the pregnancy with a plan, knowing Black mothers like herself were at higher risk. Smitson, Perez, and Sergeant Estrada informed the Banditos that Granados and Zaredini had blown the whistle. Terms of Use Several videos taken at the scene show him standing several feet away from the car until he is arrested and taken into custody. She was able to maintain control of the weapon but fell backwards into a wall, hitting the back of her head. She was very damaged by what happened, he tells Knock LA. Munoz, Rodriguez, Silverio and Michael Hernandez were all placed on paid leave. Munoz, Moran, and Rodriguez cornered Gonzalez and pressured him to leave the station. Villanueva did not respond to questions about the discrepancies. Will Orange County's Fledgling Clean Power Agency Survive? Mejia also claimed to have forgotten texts and phone calls he received from Deputy Oscar Escobedo reporting the hostile work environment. 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