Members of the gang are given special privileges, like preferred parking spaces. On April 10, 2013, Lopez found a dead rat underneath the drivers side door of her vehicle. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva says he is working to rebuild the leadership team at the East L.A. Sheriffs station and address denounced rogue activity by a deputy clique called Los Banditos. According to KABC 7, a new captain at the East LA station aims to hold supervisors accountable for behavior that is out of policy. The Banditos logo (Courtesy of Vincent Miller). The same crew also allegedly hatched a plan to overload deputies who did not obey the Banditos with emergency calls. brings new scrutiny to one of the most vexing problems at the nation's largest sheriff's agency: the existence of subgroups that date back decades and whose loyalty is more to the subgroup than law and order. She was assigned to the Los Angeles County Jail until transferring to the East LA Station in 2011 where she began training to become a patrol officer, according to court documents. Deputies who are members have adopted gang expressions, the lawsuit says. 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. During the course of the investigations, the complaint alleges multiple Banditos members and associates lied about their knowledge of the gang and said they did not see the attacks. Prospects are put on a list and Banditos vote on who becomes a member at "roundtable meetings" held at a Bandito member's home, according to the lawsuit. 3:20 p.m.: This article was updated to note that the Sheriff's Dept. Art Hernandezs lawsuit charges that there is a video which shows members of the Banditos gathered at the station following the fight, preparing a cover story together. Soon afterwards, Zaredini was removed as an FTO and lost his bonus pay. Please exercise self-care and check in with yourself before choosing to read. She said it's time the department take the elimination of deputy gang membership seriously.. Inspector General Max Huntsman said that the investigation almost completely ignored evidence of the involvement of the Banditos which led to the assaultive conduct at Kennedy Hall, and that the investigation into the Banditos was a cover up by the sheriff and LASD. The pair demanded she immediately resign from her mentoring position, and she was removed the following day. Cliques? It also alleges that the Banditos once secretly removed ammunition from another deputys shotgun. In December 2018, Banditos "secretly removed the bullets from Deputy Zaredini's shotgun," the lawsuit claims. Bandito FTOs would demand taxes, handing their trainees empty envelopes and telling them to fill them with money, sometimes up to $2,000, by the end of the day. In a retaliation lawsuit filed by a sheriffs lieutenant, a deputy associated with the Executioners testified last month that he had participated in deciding who could get a tattoo and had attended seven so-called inking parties. At least four secret cliques or gangs of sheriffs deputies with names like the Banditos and the Executioners continue to operate and recruit within the L.A. Deputies Alfred Gonzalez, Oscar Escobedo, Ariela Lemus, Art Hernandez, Mario Contreras, David Casas, Louis Granados, and Benjamin Zaredini, the latter of whom was previously accused of being a Bandito, claim to have suffered at the hands of the gang for the past four years. On August 8, 2013, Lopez was taken off of disability leave and cleared to return to work. Deputy gang members, or those seeking membership, have shot at least 19 County residents to death in that time. Moore allegedly reported the attack directly to Banditos shot caller Raymond Mendoza. She was very damaged by what happened, he tells Knock LA. The lawsuit alleges Sgt. Chavez said he left East L.A. station in November 2019 after his promotion to commander. 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. Rosa Gonzalez became the latest target of the Banditos abuses in December 2011, shortly after she arrived at the East LA Station. Sign up for our daily newsletters Christopher Gray, who is Black, is originally from Idaho. Just a few days later she was summoned into the Watch Commanders Office by Sergeants Hish and Florence, who were not her supervisors. Villanueva has generally downplayed the problem, saying cliques are nothing more than "hazing run amok" and "intergenerational rivalry. The other plaintiff deputies continued to face harassment from Banditos associates. SEE MORE OF OUR COVERAGE ON LA'S DEPUTY GANGS: Our news is free on LAist. Your tax-deductible financial support keeps our stories free to read, instead of hidden behind paywalls. Mejia also claimed to have forgotten texts and phone calls he received from Deputy Oscar Escobedo reporting the hostile work environment. Hernandez pointed at her body and turned to another male deputy saying, Look at these! and, What do you think, bro? He said to Lopez, What are you going to do about it? Rodriguez was discharged from the department as a result of the charges, but later was given his job back and returned to the department. To support our non-profit public service journalism: . 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. He was elected in 2018 after running as a progressive Democrat who would reform the department. Lopez went to Area Command to request a copy of the paperwork and discovered it had never been filed. 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. Aceituno recently did the same thing again and received no consequences from East LA Captain Richard Mejia, according to the complaint. Munoz, Moran, and Rodriguez cornered Gonzalez and pressured him to leave the station. Deputy Woodrow Kim, who was listed as a witness, stated Saavedra was lying about the claim in the IA investigation. Knock LA is a nonprofit community journalism project, originally conceived by Ground Game LA. The incident was the focus of two internal Sheriffs Department investigations one of which Villanueva has said led to the discipline of 26 employees as well as a report by the Office of Inspector General. The group embraces the tradition of violence passed down by the gangs that came before them and turns on anyone who questions them. Deputy gangs, or Bandito godfather Sergeant Eric Valdez told Hernandez to tell the truth, as he was horrified with the gangs behavior. Lopez filed a complaint against LA County in 2014 and eventually settled for $1.5 million, funded by taxpayers. Valdez appears to currently work as a sergeant at a different station. Gonzalez said under oath that in the summer of 2013, shortly after being given the day off and mentioning plans to travel to Hawaii, she received a text message sent to a group she was in with Deputy Jose Rauno. She'd gone into the pregnancy with a plan, knowing Black mothers like herself were at higher risk. He ended up fiercely resisting oversight and clashing with watchdogs and the rest of the countys political establishment. The deputies who filed the lawsuit include seven men and one woman. 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, The Groundbreaking Suicide Squad That Tested Early Rockets And Flirted With The Occult. Sheriff Alex Villanueva has downplayed the issue, saying problems associated with the groups are often the result of drunken deputies getting into fights and taking issue with those who refer to them as deputy gangs. Last month, Villanueva sent a cease-and-desist letter to the Board of Supervisors, demanding that they and others stop using the phrase. On March 8, 2012, Barsh filed a Policy of Equity (POE), a practice that prohibits discrimination against County employees on a variety of bases, on Lopezs behalf and told Captain Henry Romero about the Banditos threats and harassment. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva was elected on the promise of reforming the scandal-plagued sheriffs department. In the message, he said that Queen FUPA, meaning Fat Upper Pussy Area, was not going to make it to work today because she was going to Hawaii. She attempted to contact Romero about the status of her transfer request, but he was allegedly unavailable. 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Patrelli refused to accompany Lopez to the meeting or send any other union representation saying, You should be grateful that Commander Romero is willing to meet with you!. Heres everything you need to know about coyotes in Los Angeles County. At at Civilian Oversight Commission meeting in May, Villanueva said the Banditos clique no longer exists at East L.A. station. They use word on the yard, a phrase used to explain what is being said among people in prison, according to the lawsuit. Your tax-deductible financial support keeps our stories free to read, instead of hidden behind paywalls. Youve got people who rigged internal affairs bureau investigations, Miller told LAist. Escobedo and Hernandez were brutally beaten and went to the emergency room for treatment. The Banditos are said to operate out of the sheriffs East L.A. station, and sport tattoos of gun-wielding skeletons wearing sombreros. He met his wife and the mother of his children in LA. A second investigation into the Kennedy Hall incident initiated by Sheriff Villanueva resulted in the termination of Deputies Gregory Rodriguez, David Silverio, and Sergeant Michael Hernandez, all members of the Banditos. Prospects like Deputy Hector Little Listo Saavedra sent texts laughing about the 245 (assault and battery) and advised others to burn and destroy evidence. Huntsman did not name the deputies and said his office has identified additional possible members from other sources. Deputy Louis Granados claims that his number of calls went up in 2018 after he blew the whistle on the Banditos with Deputy Zaredini. Sanchez continued to harass her saying, I dont understand why you dont want to meet up, are you worried about your reputation? When Lopez saw Sanchez two days later, he swore at her again for not going to meet up with him alone. He was a nuclear physics major in college and relocated to Los Angeles to work on some construction projects. Banditos meetings are held at the home of Deputy Noel Crook Lopez. To make sure you get our coverage: Banditos also pressure deputies "to ignore constitutional protections which require there to be probable cause to stop and arrest civilians," which leads to the "planting and manufacture of evidence and other illegal acts," the complaint claims. repeat , and previously named only four former deputies and Los Angeles County. The Banditos gang has controlled the East Los Angeles station like inmates running a prison yard, the lawsuit says. The suit accuses all four of being involved in the September 2018 attack on some of the plaintiffs. Members typically get matching tattoos and go by names such as the Grim Reapers and Jump Out Boys. Several members of the Banditos showed up, which was uncommon, according to court documents. In May 2019, Contreras was denied backup by Deputies Nikolis Perez and Jonathan Rojas, both Banditos. He informed her that she would be put on loan to Century Station pending the approval of her transfer, but refused to give her a copy of the paperwork. When she asked Wargo what was going on, she was told that she was a trainee and to mind her business. 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. 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. At least four secret cliques or gangs of sheriffs deputies with names like the Banditos and the Executioners continue to operate and recruit within the L.A. 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. Anthony Lowe was shot and killed by Huntington Park police on Jan. 26. It was never used on the department at all. On October 25, 2012, her car was vandalized while parked at the East LA Station. Tanaka is serving a five-year prison term for trying to cover up jailhouse beatings. Immediately afterwards, then Banditos prospect Hector Little Listo Saavedra allegedly claimed Zaredini called him a homophobic slur over one year prior. The Cavemen preceded the Banditos at the East L.A. Station. Thirty-one of these allegedly are themselves Banditos, associates, or prospects for the gang, he said. They met with station Lt. Richard Mejia, who initiated an investigation into the Banditos gang and interviewed about 20 deputies who acknowledged the Banditos problem, according to the suit. Lopez told Patrelli that she would go anywhere except for East LA. One of the new named defendants is Sheriff Alex Villanuevas chief of security, and another is his driver, according to Miller. Two of the men are veterans with more than a decade on the job. Villanueva has said hes the first sheriff to have implemented a policy that prohibits membership in illicit groups. The Banditos now ran East LA. Will Orange County's Fledgling Clean Power Agency Survive? Many who are not recruited go along with the gangs requirements for fear of retaliation. Other new Latino deputies have faced similar treatment court documents allege Bandito member Jose Aceituno shoulder checked another employee inside the East LA station. Orange says he doesnt think Lacey was interested in prosecuting police officers. In a letter dated Monday, Inspector General Max Huntsman said his office has compiled a partial list that includes 11 deputies who allegedly belong to the Banditos, which operate out of the East L.A. sheriffs station, and 30 alleged Executioners from the Compton sheriffs station. The entire leadership of East L.A. station was turned over, Villanueva said in a social media broadcast last fall. GET THE BEST OF LAIST IN YOUR INBOXSign up for our daily newsletter to receive the latest on local politics, food, culture and the absurdities of L.A. life. Contreras and the other plaintiffs requested transfers out of the station, which were denied without explanation for weeks. Rodriguez told Contreras that he was going to be assigned to ride along with Munoz. All eight requested transfers out of East L.A. and moved to other stations earlier this year, according to their attorney, Vincent Miller. She contacted the Back to Work Unit but was told they could not help her, and advised her to contact the station Director. In 2014, L.A. County paid $1.5 million to settle a lawsuit filed by a female deputy who said she was bullied and harassed by Banditos. Along with the county, the suit names four Banditos as defendants: Raphael "Rene" Munoz aka "Big Listo"; Gregory Rodriquez aka "G-Rod"; David Silverio aka "Silver", and Michael Hernandez aka "Bam Bam," who the complaint says was assigned to Men's Central Jail. Theyve been called "gangs" because they wear matching tattoos, operate in secrecy, and have initiation rituals. None of them appear to have been disciplined for the shootings. The Banditos And Other LA Sheriff's Deputy Groups Are Now Being Investigated By The FBI, East LA Sheriff's Deputies File Suit Claiming Harassment, Violence By 'Banditos' Clique, Authorities ID Man Arrested In Killing Of LA Auxiliary Bishop David O'Connell As Husband Of Housekeeper, Huntington Park Police Shot, Killed Man Who Had Both Legs Amputated: What We Know So Far, LAPD Chief Bans Thin Blue Line Flag From Police Station Lobbies, Patrol Vehicles, And Uniforms, Mayor And City Council Members Express Concerns After LAPD Releases Footage Of Fatal Shootings, New LA Sheriff Says He Thinks Deputies Are Ready For A Stabilizer. Those tactics were immortalized in a mural of the logo in the East LA Station floor. The new court filing does not attach specific allegations to each new defendant. She quickly learned there was a power struggle going on between FTOs Hernandez and Valdez, along with the latters Banditos associates. But after Captain William Jaeger was named in the lawsuit, the write-up was resurrected and escalated to an Internal Affairs investigation. Mejia opened an inquiry into Munoz and reported it to Lieutenant Eric Smitson and Captain Chris Perez. Those 36 individuals would simply reflect general transfers, Chavez responded. did not have an immediate response. Rosa Gonzalez, a deputy who later sued the station, said under oath that she heard Lopez referred to as The Glob.. In his letter, Huntsman requests that the Sheriffs Department cooperate with his investigation into the groups by providing investigative files and other documents. This method of punishment is known as freeway therapy. Zaredinis transfer was allegedly denied in order to initiate another investigation into him for being stern with the trainee of Regulators associate Deputy Karla Sepulveda, resulting in a two-day suspension. Deputies based at the East L.A. station "have generated an excessive amount of stops and arrests in the community because of the pressure from the Banditos to inflate numbers, to satisfy illegal arrest quotas," the suit alleges. 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. Her daughter was born by emergency C-section. On Sept. 19, 2018, just nine days before the attack at the party, two East L.A. deputies were shot, "coming close to being murdered, because of the intentional failure of the Banditos to provide back up," the suit claims. The other plaintiff deputies would provide assistance, despite the fact they would have to go outside of their respective areas of service. On March 26, 2012, Deputy Zaredini ran Lopezs vehicle off the road. She began training with Field Training Officer Eric Valdez, who deputies called the Godfather of East LA.. assertions made in legal claims filed in March and May Banditos groom young deputies they are considering for membership in the group, assigning them mentors, the deputy said. A new study finds that 16% of L.A. County Sheriffs deputies and supervisors said in an anonymous survey theyve been asked to join a secret clique. 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. Guadalupe Lopez started her career at LASD in 2003. You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times. 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. Donate Now They were detaining and taking Grays brother-in-law into custody according to Grays attorney, Olu Orange. Romero offered Lopez a transfer in response, which she didnt think she deserved as she had done no wrong. The Banditos gang has controlled the East Los Angeles station like inmates running a prison yard, the lawsuit says. The gang also established a culture at the station where deputies work backwards, meaning they arrest civilians then later come up with probable cause by planting and manufacturing evidence. The DAs office didnt put adequate resources into prosecuting the case. Granados reported this to Woodwards supervisor, Sergeant Albert Maldonado, who initially discarded the write-up. A Tradition of Violence is hosted and executive produced by Cerise Castle. July 19, 2021. Deputy Joshua Smilor, a Banditos associate, told her that she needed to call Valdez, Daddy and that she needed to submit to the program of his kids. Deputy Ortega informed her that there were were explicit photos of other women in the department having oral sex with Banditos members working as training officers. FTO Hernandez brought the fake request to Sergeant Jennifer Barsh, who ordered Lopez back to the station. The federal probe follows allegations of beatings and harassment by members of the Banditos, a group of deputies assigned to the Sheriffs Departments East L.A. station who brand themselves with matching tattoos of a skeleton outfitted with a sombrero, bandolier and pistol. The next evening, LASD held a department-sponsored party at Kennedy Hall. "We haven't confirmed or denied any investigation," FBI Spokeswoman Laura Eimiller told LAist. It says this has happened "dozens" of times over the last three years. Deputies Garcia, Rodriguez, Munoz, and Silverio fled the scene in Garcias car and drove to the East LA Station. The Banditos initially attempted to recruit some of the plaintiffs. Twenty-four are currently stationed in East L.A. We are dedicated to providing independent journalism and telling the real story of LA. 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. The new defendants represent a significant expansion of the civil rights and workplace harassment Content Warning: This series explicitly details acts of violence (including murder) carried out by law enforcement officials. According to court documents, Villanueva also reinstated Danny Batman Batanero, one of the original 10 Banditos, and made him head of his security detail. The updated lawsuit cites text messages between a group of deputies after the incident in which one jokes about the 245 at the party, referring to the penal code section for assault. Patrelli instead scheduled a meeting with Lopez and Division Commander Henry Romero, who had been her captain at East LA. Members have gang nicknames and use slang like ese and homes when speaking with each other. And that was on purpose because they had failed in their job to lead the station.. Forty-seven Los Angeles County Sheriffs officials were added Monday as named defendants Part of A Tradition of Violence, an extensive investigation into more than five decades of abuse, terror, and murder carried out by gangs within the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department. In this role, the FTOs are able to abuse their trainees without any accountability. April Valentine died at Centinela Hospital. The Executioners were Chief Bobby Denham moved to initiate a fake investigation into the attack. We believe when reliable local reporting is widely available, the entire community benefits. In 2014, Gonzalez took the exam to become a Field Training Officer, and in July of that year, Master Field Training Officer Angelica Estrada assigned Gonzalez to be a mentor to new deputies. 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 disciplinary letters stemmed from an internal investigation into an East L.A. Sheriff's Station clique called "The Banditos," accused of operating like a gang. Her to contact Romero about the claim in the East Los Angeles County Alex. With more than a decade on the promise of reforming the scandal-plagued department! Zaredini 's shotgun, '' FBI Spokeswoman Laura Eimiller told LAist stationed in East L.A. we dedicated... Was named in the East LA station on, she was removed the bullets from Oscar! 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