{"id":27741,"date":"2016-11-02T18:45:31","date_gmt":"2016-11-03T01:45:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=27741"},"modified":"2016-11-02T18:45:31","modified_gmt":"2016-11-03T01:45:31","slug":"13-gang-members-felons-gang-associates-indicted-on-firearms-and-narcotics-charges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=27741","title":{"rendered":"13 Gang Members, Felons, Gang Associates Indicted on Firearms and Narcotics Charges"},"content":{"rendered":"

LOS ANGELES<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0<\/span>Federal grand juries have issued nine indictments that charge a total of 13 defendants with firearms and narcotics violations, authorities announced Wednesday.<\/span><\/p>\n

Law enforcement arrested 10 defendants, two are fugitives and one is in prison, according to officials.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no doubt that removing guns from our streets and arresting criminals who use and carry guns prevents senseless violence in our communities,\u201d said Los Angeles Police Department Chief Charlie Beck. \u201cRemoving even one gun from the streets means one less Angeleno robbed, shot, or murdered. Removing illegal guns is one of the LAPD\u2019s highest priorities and working with our federal partners will help make our communities safer.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

During an early morning operation today, authorities arrested ten of the federal defendants.\u00a0 Two of the defendants under indictment are currently fugitives and one defendant is already in state custody.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Law enforcement \u00a0seized 13 additional firearms, about two and one-half pounds of methamphetamine, about a quarter pound of crack cocaine, and about a quarter pound of heroin.<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to the 13 federal defendants, authorities have arrested eight other defendants who are expected to be prosecuted by the Los Angeles County District Attorney\u2019s Office.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 From February through July, the joint ATF-LAPD operation called Crime Area Gun Enforcement or CAGE targeted violent offenders, gang members and previously convicted felons and their associates who were suspected of being involved in illegal firearm possession and sales, as well as narcotics distribution, in the San Fernando Valley, officials said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Investigators used confidential informants as part of an undercover operation in which ATF agents purchased contraband. As a result of the CAGE operation, authorities have seized approximately 20 pounds of methamphetamine and 40 weapons, including restricted firearms such as short-barrel rifles and silencers, according to authorities.<\/span><\/p>\n

The investigation also uncovered two locations where AR-15- and AK-47-type rifles were being clandestinely manufactured or illegally sold.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u201cThis operation has removed dangerous drugs from the black market and has shut off a source of illegal firearms that can cause so much violence and damage in our neighborhoods,\u201d said U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker. \u201cCriminals who engage in the illegal trafficking of drugs and guns can and should expect to be prosecuted, especially when they have previously been convicted of similar crimes.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>Over the past several weeks, federal grand juries returned nine indictments that charge 13 defendants. <\/span><\/p>\n

Those defendants facing federal charges are:<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n