Thread: CA: 8 Gang Members Rounded Up For Santa Monica Crimes

http://cbs2.com/topstories/local_story_040202937.html

Feb 9, 2007 5:26 pm US/Pacific

8 Gang Members Rounded Up For Santa Monica Crimes
(CBS) SANTA MONICA, Calif. Santa Monica police rounded up eight gang members suspected of committing violent crimes throughout the city, including two homicides.

The eight were primarily arrested Wednesday and Thursday in the West Los Angeles and Venice areas, Santa Monica police Lt. Alex Padilla said.

Two of the suspects arrested were juvenile males and a third was a juvenile female.

Those taken into custody were:



Jose Zapien, 18, charged with two counts of murder and nine counts of attempted murder and gang conspiracy

Andres Castillo, 18, arrested on suspicion of conspiracy and gang conspiracy

Jon Carrillo, 19, charged with attempted murder and gang conspiracy

Victor Torres, 24, arrested for conspiracy and gang conspiracy

Noah Farris, 22, charged with a count of assault with a deadly weapon and gang conspiracy.


The eight are suspected in several crimes, including a shooting across the street from an elementary school, a car-to-car shooting of a couple, the drive-by shooting of a young woman as she walked into her apartment complex, the fatal shooting of 15-year-old athlete Eddie Lopez and the fatal shooting of Miguel Martin as he walked with his friends along a sidewalk in front of a park two days after Christmas.

The Los Angeles Police Department's Gang Enforcement Team and the county District Attorney's Office assisted Santa Monica police detectives with the investigation, Padilla said.

While the article doesn't say if this children were illegals or anchor babies, it is a shame that criminal gangs have crept into the hispanic community so much that they are involving children.