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An L.A. 'most-wanted' gang suspect caught in Guatemala
By Richard Winton and Patrick McGreevy, Times Staff Writers
10:47 AM PST, February 28, 2007



Angel ZevallosAn alleged 18th Street gang member named three weeks ago as one of the Los Angeles Police Department's 10 most wanted gang members has been captured in Guatemala and deported back to Texas, officials said today.

Angel Zevallos, an alleged 18th Street Westside member who goes by the name "Spanky," was captured last week and deported by Guatemalan authorities, said Chief Inspector John Clark of the U.S. Marshals Service in Los Angeles.

Zevallos will appear before a judge in Texas and then face extradition back to California to face an attempted murder charge, Clark said.

Police Chief William J. Bratton confirmed the arrest as the first success of a new program in which the department released a list of its 10 most wanted gang members.

The listing of gang fugitives and of the 11 worst gangs is part of a new campaign to reduce gang violence, which increased more than 15% citywide last year. Bratton has redeployed more than 200 officers to the crackdown on gangs.

Zevallos allegedly wounded a man in a bar fight in Los Angeles.

"He was captured in Guatemala," Bratton said. "This is part of what we discussed at a recent conference about improving relationships with those countries. He is an attempted murder suspect, so they don't have problems about giving him back to us because there is no death penalty involved."

Bratton said further coordination with the U.S. Marshals Service will be required for others on the top 10 list, "a lot of these people, we believe, are out of this country, and those not wanted for murder we have the ability to get back."

Many countries will not extradite suspects to the United States if they face the death penalty.

Bratton said Zevallos' place on the list will not be empty long.

"We will be putting a new person on the list," the chief said.


richard.winton@latimes.com

patrick.mcgreevy@latimes.com