Federal indictments charge 14 members of San Pedro-based criminal street gang
LOS ANGELES – As part of a joint federal-state law enforcement action targeting the Rancho San Pedro street gang, authorities this morning unsealed two federal grand jury indictments that charge 14 members and associates of the gang with narcotics and firearms offenses.
The main federal indictment, which charges 13 defendants, outlines a narcotics trafficking conspiracy in which gang members and their associates allegedly distributed methamphetamine, heroin, cocaine and opioids, while using violence and firearms to maintain their drug trafficking territory. The drugs included up to one-pound quantities of methamphetamine, which were distributed in San Pedro.
During this morning’s takedown, United States Drug Enforcement Administration and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents, as well as Los Angeles Police Department officers arrested four of the federal defendants. Seven defendants were already in state custody, and federal prosecutors will seek to have them brought into federal court. Another 10 members and associates of the gang were arrested this morning pursuant to local charges.
The narcotics trafficking indictment alleges that the Rancho San Pedro street gang operates under the control of the Mexican Mafia and often engaged in violence and intimidation in an effort to protect its territory. The gang collected “taxes” from drug transactions, and this money was funneled to three Mexican Mafia members who are currently serving lengthy sentences in state prisons for murder convictions.
The indictment specifically accuses the defendants of participating in a series of narcotics transactions in 2017 and 2018, including a half-dozen sales involving one to two ounces of methamphetamine. The indictment also alleges several sales involving from one-half pound to one pound of methamphetamine.
During the investigation into the gang, law enforcement seized approximately 45 firearms, including semi-automatic rifles and handguns.
“The DEA in Los Angeles will continue to prioritize those investigations which target criminal street gangs that terrorize our communities,” said DEA Los Angeles Acting Special Agent in Charge William D. Bodner. “We stand united with our outstanding federal, state, and local law enforcement counterparts in this endeavor. Because of these efforts and relationships, the Rancho San Pedro gang is significantly weakened by today’s enforcement.”
The seven defendants taken into federal custody this morning are expected to be arraigned on the indictments this afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles.
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