She had no investigators. Thank you for investing in your neighborhood. Deputy Lemus was overloaded with calls by the alleged morning Banditos shot caller, Raymond Mendoza. 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. Privacy Policy. She quickly learned there was a power struggle going on between FTOs Hernandez and Valdez, along with the latters Banditos associates. The lawsuit alleges Sgt. According to the lawsuit, the deputy detained, battered, and searched Gray without reasonable suspicion or probable cause. 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. Eric Valdez and Veronica De La Rosa were promoted to the rank of sergeant, which they held as recently as 2019. Banditos "intentionally fail to provide back-up during emergency situations and other dangerous calls to purposely place deputies in dangerous circumstances," the suit says. 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 refusal to provide backup created "close calls" that almost got deputies killed, according to the suit. She signed up to take the sergeants exam to seek a promotion in July 2013, but was unable to take it because of continued harassment, despite her not coming into the station regularly. 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. Two of the men are veterans with more than a decade on the job. The pair demanded she immediately resign from her mentoring position, and she was removed the following day. 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. 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. The memo included an anonymous letter detailing the Banditos wrongdoings. ", Villanueva did 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 lawsuit also charges that Banditos shot caller Manny Navaro was hired to be Villanuevas driver, and that Bandito Joe Mendoza was promoted to Commander of LASD Media Relations., The Banditos grip on the station tightened in the months following Villanuevas swearing in. None of them appear to have been disciplined for the shootings. Her daughter was born by emergency C-section. She previously covered the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Department, focusing on accountability stories and writing about failures by officials to comply with transparency laws. Deputies Alfred Gonzalez, Oscar Escobedo, Ariela Lemus, Art Hernandez, Mario Contreras, David Casas, Louis Granados, and Benjamin Zaredini filed an internal complaint with Los Angeles County in March of 2019. 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. Community members speak out at a town hall in East Los Angeles on July 10, protesting the Los Angeles County Sheriffs Departments handling of the Banditos, an According to a lawsuit filed by eight East L.A. deputies and the A.C.L.U., the Banditos gang "controls the East Los Angeles station like inmates running a prison yard." 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. In August, Villanueva announced a zero tolerance policy on deputy cliques/subgroups engaging in misconduct, according to the statement. At East L.A., Gonzalez discovered, there was a shadow government: a secretive group of sheriffs deputies known as the Banditos. Chief Bobby Denham moved to initiate a fake investigation into the attack. The claim charges that Mejia admitted the action was improper, and that Commander (then Captain) Ernie Chavez and Commander Eli Vera (a candidate for sheriff) stated the action was retaliatory. Dear reader, we're asking you to help us keep local news available for all. She even contends that Hish manipulated her score in order to keep her from moving up in rank. He met his wife and the mother of his children in LA. While Deputy Granados encountered other deputies firing guns at a suspect and pulled over his vehicle, he was written up for misconduct by Diana Woodward. 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. Smith says that current Sheriff Alex Villanueva reached out to Gonzalez after taking office and assisted her with study for the Sergeants exam. 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. 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. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Deputy cliques in L.A. 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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 lawsuit contends that even with the new leadership, the Banditos still effectively run the East L.A. station and that it remains a hostile workplace. Its just smoke and mirrors, its just a pretend at reform.. She had no assistants trying this case. 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. Around August 4, 2014, Gonzalez filed a formal grievance against Sergeant Peter Hish, an alleged Banditos member, and Sergeant Joel Flores, an admitted tattooed member of the gang, alleging that she was subjected to gender discrimination. The lawsuit says Banditos are given preferred parking spots at the station and collect taxes from young deputies, including through a recent fundraiser to help four of them pay for legal expenses related to these claims. Mismanagement, Sloppy Hiring Practices, Lack Of Transparency. She was placed on medical leave. 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. Casas also says he received several intimidating messages from the Banditos, including demands to stop working at the station and threats of assault. Lopez filed a complaint against LA County in 2014 and eventually settled for $1.5 million, funded by taxpayers. Mejia later lied in a deposition and claimed he didnt see the letter until 2019. Munoz, Moran, and Rodriguez cornered Gonzalez and pressured him to leave the station. Before joining The Times in 2016, she reported on crime and policing for the Glendale News-Press and Burbank Leader. Huntsman did not name the deputies and said his office has identified additional possible members from other sources. They were "threatened and bullied in attempts to get them to conform to the corrupt culture or leave the station," the suit alleges. It asserts that the special unit members "showed up just in time to kill the perpetrator before he could murder their fellow deputy.". Zaredinis partner worked 12-14 hour shifts because he feared what would happen to Zaredini alone. 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. Once she arrived at Century Station, Lopez was assigned to the Youth Activity League, which significantly impacted her career prospects, according to her lawsuit. The Banditos only recruit young Latino deputies, said the plaintiff who spoke to LAist. Chavez said he left East L.A. station in November 2019 after his promotion to commander. As described by Huntsman, the Executioners The Banditos control the East Los Angeles station "like inmates running a prison yard," the lawsuit alleges. Vincent Miller, an attorney for the whistleblower deputies, says that the gang was looking for Gonzalez, but didnt hesitate to beat up other deputies as well, including: Deputies Jose Fuentes, Art Hernandez, Oscar Escobedo, and David Casas. Banditos meetings are held at the home of Deputy Noel Crook Lopez. Lopez was informed by other women in the department that Valdez expected female trainees to submit to male training officers, meaning she had to drink, party, and provide sexual favors upon request. He wrote that the list is based on information gleaned from investigations conducted by the Sheriffs Department. The sheriff said previously that he cracked down on the Banditos presence in East Los Angeles as one of his first acts upon being sworn in. When Zaredini did not follow the Banditos orders to pressure Gonzalez to leave the station, Mendoza knocked him unconscious behind the East LA Station. She was able to maintain control of the weapon but fell backwards into a wall, hitting the back of her head. While under oath in a deposition, Rauno confirmed that he sent the message to the group. The entire leadership of East L.A. station was turned over, Villanueva said in a social media broadcast last fall. Knock LA is a nonprofit community journalism project, originally conceived by Ground Game LA. He said that Villanueva did not discuss the problems at the station with him. Gonzalez filed a lawsuit against the County in April 2016. Traditionally, once deputy gang membership reaches 100, a new group is introduced. Excerpts of Chavezs testimony were made public as part of a lawsuit brought by eight deputies who say they were routinely harassed by a gang of predominantly Latino deputies who have matching tattoos of a skeleton outfitted with a sombrero, bandolier and pistol. 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. 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 The lawsuit describes in detail how members of the "Banditos" clique allegedly control station operations. Discuss the problems at the station with him with him assistants trying this case backwards... The list is based on information gleaned from investigations conducted by the Department... 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