In an unprecedented lawsuit, eight Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies Wednesday accused a group of their colleagues at the department's East L.A. station of being members of a secret "criminal gang" that violates their civil rights with a campaign of harassment and physical attacks. But new court documents that include sworn testimony from Chavez raise questions about and at times, contradict the sheriffs claims. 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 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. 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. On September 26, 2018, Deputies Munoz, Silverio, Rodriguez, and Moran apparently planned to attack Deputy Gonzales in order to make an example out of him. 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. The Sheriff's Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It also alleges that the Banditos once secretly removed ammunition from another deputys shotgun. Her case settled for $1 million in 2019. She immediately began to experience chest pains and shortness of breath, and was diagnosed with a stress-induced pre-heart attack condition. in a lawsuit Member activities allegedly include leaving dead rats for enemies and killing teenagers. 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. The suit accuses all four of being involved in the September 2018 attack on some of the plaintiffs. Lemus, Contreras, Hernandez, and Escobedo were told they could move to another gang-dominated station, or a station far from their homes. 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. Villanueva has said hes the first sheriff to have implemented a policy that prohibits membership in illicit groups. According to Lopezs complaint, the employees who had been moved as a result of her complaint were returned to the East LA station on December 27, 2012, without her receiving prior notification. Orange says that Gray told himhe was beaten by several deputies. Once she was out, Wargo began screaming at her. Even Near The Hollywood Sign, Authorities ID Man Arrested In Killing Of LA Auxiliary Bishop David O'Connell As Husband Of Housekeeper, Another Missing Hiker Has Been Found Dead In San Gabriels As Search For Actor Julian Sands Continues, LA Explained: How To Live Safely With Our Coyote Neighbors. The L.A. County Sheriffs Department Inspector General has identified dozens of deputies who are allegedly members of gang-like groups that operate out of the East L.A. and Compton stations. Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva has repeatedly touted what he says was his first act in office in December 2018: removing the captain of East L.A. station, where a group of tattooed deputies known as the Banditos ran roughshod and dictated where deputies would be assigned. 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. The deputy kept hitting him in his testicles and calling him a monkey. 3:20 p.m.: This article was updated to note that the Sheriff's Dept. Alene Tchekmedyian is an investigative reporter at the Los Angeles Times. Once she rejected them, they retaliated against her. In November 2011, Deputy Andrew Hernandez, a Banditos associate, leered at Lopezs breasts in the hallway as she was leaving the womens locker room. Lieutenant Eric Smitson allegedly confronted Hernandez and pressured him to lie and say the attack at Kennedy Hall had been an isolated, drunken two-way altercation. Sheriff Alex Villanueva also repeated that claim to Captain William Jaeger, Chief Kelly Porowski, and investigators Jeff Chow, Vincent Choi, Jeff Hamil, and Scott Chapman. April Valentine died at Centinela Hospital. In May 2019, Contreras was denied backup by Deputies Nikolis Perez and Jonathan Rojas, both Banditos. After taking office in December 2018, Sheriff Alex Villanueva removed the captain and transferred numerous deputies out of the East L.A. station. But eight deputies now accuse Sheriff Villanueva of allowing a violent group, the Banditos, to thrive in his department's ranks. What are you going to do? On December 23, 2011, Deputy Eduardo Sanchez, another Banditos associate, swore at Lopez and demanded that she meet up with him. There were sexual implications to his request and she told him that she would not meet up with him alone. Deputy Christopher Moore, who was on-duty and assigned to the party, stood by and watched the assault. Gray is visible on the tape observing the arrest from a distance. LAist.com/radio. But I dont think she had a choice on this one because the video and the report were all over the news and the internet [she] wasnt interested in winning the case in my opinion. 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. Before joining The Times in 2016, she reported on crime and policing for the Glendale News-Press and Burbank Leader. 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. Lopez went to Area Command to request a copy of the paperwork and discovered it had never been filed. This should be emblematic that policies that allegedly ban deputies from joining gangs will not fix this problem., Solis added that these deputies "cause havoc and harm" and only traumatize the community instead of helping and serving it. Following her complaint to Chavez, Internal Affairs opened an investigation into the matter, resulting in a two-day suspension. He said that Villanueva did not discuss the problems at the station with him. Banditos groom young deputies they are considering for membership in the group, assigning them mentors, the deputy said. . LAist reported in July that She had no assistants trying this case. . Sign up for our daily newsletters 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?. If you're enjoying this article, you'll love my daily morning newsletter, How To LA. We had a captain that was gracious enough to take her in [his unit] and she just hid, says Gonzalezs attorney, Gregory Smith. Thank you for investing in your neighborhood. Some of these goups have been accused of violence and harassment of both residents and colleagues. At the end of the call he followed Lopez to her car. 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.. Halfway through her training, Lopez was reassigned to Field Training Officer Edwin Hernandez. To make sure you get our coverage: At the time, then-interim Sheriff John Scott announced he would share the results of an investigation into claims of bullying by the Banditos, yet the probe has Oct. 3, 2019: This article was updated to include Undersheriff Murakami's denial that he is a member of the Cavemen. The new defendants represent a significant expansion of the civil rights and workplace harassment Her daughter was born by emergency C-section. 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. Your tax-deductible financial support keeps our stories free to read, instead of hidden behind paywalls. In June, Villanueva acknowledged that the Banditos had amassed too much power and influence at the station. The next day, eggs were thrown at her car and someone wrote fuck you on the rear window. Lieutenant Eric Simpson allegedly buried the memo under the orders of Chief Bobby Denham. The Executioners were LOS ANGELES A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy received an alleged "Banditos" tattoo six months after a new policy banned cliques in the They were treating her like a housewife, says Gregory Smith, Lopezs attorney. Valdez appears to currently work as a sergeant at a different station. Deputy Louis Granados claims that his number of calls went up in 2018 after he blew the whistle on the Banditos with Deputy Zaredini. The new court filing does not attach specific allegations to each new defendant. All eight requested transfers out of East L.A. and moved to other stations earlier this year, according to their attorney, Vincent Miller. Mismanagement, Sloppy Hiring Practices, Lack Of Transparency. The new defendants include two commanders, three captains, two lieutenants and 41 deputies, according to plaintiffs 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. The Banditos gang has controlled the East Los Angeles station like inmates running a prison yard, the lawsuit says. During the August 14, 2013, meeting, Romero asked Lopez where she wanted to go. We believe when reliable local reporting is widely available, the entire community benefits. 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. 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