Hawaiian Gardens gang named in racketeering indictment [Updated]

Federal authorities today unveiled a sweeping racketeering indictment accusing a southern Los Angeles County street gang of a litany of crimes, including killing a sheriff’s deputy and committing hate crimes against African Americans in order to rid them from their turf.

The indictment, along with several related ones, charges more than 100 members of the Varrio Hawaiian Gardens gang with murder, attempted murder, drug trafficking, weapons trafficking, extortion, kidnapping and witness intimidation. U.S. Atty. Thomas P. O'Brien, speaking at a news conference this morning, touted it as the “largest gang takedown in United States history.”

[Update at 12:20 p.m.: An earlier version of this post said the gang was named Varrios Hawaiian Gardens. The correct name is Varrio Hawaiian Gardens.]

The gang investigation began in 2005 after sheriff’s Deputy Jerry Ortiz was fatally shot while conducting an interview in Hawaiian Gardens, a gritty, largely Latino city east of the 605 Freeway and north of Long Beach.

The shooter was a Varrio Hawaiian Gardens gang member with devils' horns tattooed on his forehead. He has since been convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Authorities said the gang was formed in the 1950s or early '60s and today has more than 1,000 members spanning several generations, many of them with connection to the Mexican Mafia.

Although the gang started out with street robberies, drug dealing and turf wars with other gangs, it has since escalated its level of violence, authorities allege. The gang is accused of particularly brazen acts, such as scrawling “187,” the California penal code designation for homicide, on a Sheriff's Department patrol car.

The indictment details several alleged attacks on African Americans, most of them shootings. In one incident, a gang member is accused of using a racial epithet against an African American, yelling at him to “get out of town” and then attacking him with a garden rake. The indictment says one gang member was heard bragging about the slaying of Deputy Ortiz, saying the killing of a cop had put the gang “back on the map.”

The gang members, with monikers such as “Slasher, Shady, Diablo and Menace,” boasted about being racist, referring to themselves as “The Hate Gang,” according to 193-page indictment that outlines the racketeering case. “VHG gang members have expressed a desire to rid the city of Hawaiian Gardens of all African Americans and have engaged in a systematic effort to achieve that result by perpetrating crimes" against them, the document states.

The indictment details 476 “overt acts” that prosecutors say gang members committed as part of the alleged racketeering conspiracy between 1996 and 2009. The alleged crimes include the dealing of methamphetamine, heroin and crack, and the slaying of a fellow gang member suspected of cooperating with law enforcement.

-- Scott Glover

Comments

[Bobby]

Latino- Black crime has been present in South Central for decades. The only differnce is that Latinos do not speak out agianst crimes partly becasue of langauge issues and lack of advocates. Also, immigration fears to some extent. No news, this is one sided news.

[todd]

This is too bad!!

[Nick]

Use this scum for compost.

[Charles Lino]

This is a joke. About a 2 weeks ago, a group of blacks shot at a group of Hispanics at a taco stand, but the crime was not considered a hate crime because the shooters were black. There have been reports in CA of blacks going on "Amigo Shopping" and killing and robbing Latinos of their money. Gangbangers have been evenly killing each other.

There have been many instances of black killings Hispanics, but these attacks are not classified as biased crimes. Attacks on immigrants have been happening all over the country. I've lived in many areas of the country and there has been a similar pattern present:

CHARLOTTE, N.C.-- Authorities are questioning a man and a woman they believe stabbed four out of five people they robbed or attempted to rob across Charlotte on Friday.

Three of the victims are ice cream cart operators.

The alleged crime spree began just before noon in northeast Charlotte and continued through east and south Charlotte until the couple’s car was stopped at the intersection of Idlewild Road and Independence Boulevard in east Charlotte shortly after 2 p.m.

Police said the two black suspects were likely about to hit another apartment complex. Nearby neighbors were relieved.

==========

ROBERT K. GORDON
News staff writer

Hispanic immigrants who enter the American job market are often targets for criminals because they carry large amounts of cash and are less inclined to put their money in a bank or go to the police, law enforcement officials say.

Hispanics are often robbed on the weekends after they've been paid, Jefferson County Sheriff's Sgt. Randy Christian said.

Sheriff's investigators say most of the robbery victims in Lipscomb and Brighton - both majority black cities - are now Hispanic, rather than black. Recent incidents bear that out. Sergio Romero Cuevas, 26, died March 1 at UAB Hospital after he was shot during a robbery at Holiday Mobile Home Park in Brighton.

A Hispanic woman was shot in February during a home invasion while she was cooking at Woodward Estates trailer park in Lipscomb. The woman, who was released from the hospital soon after the shooting, was able to throw hot grease on the assailant. Investigators say the perpetrators were black.

"It seems the bad guys believe that the Hispanics are easy targets. Many of them do not have bank accounts so there is always a good chance they have cash on hand," Christian said.

"The thugs also rely on the fact that many of the Hispanics are here illegally and will not report being a crime victim. Those two things I believe are making them sitting ducks for these criminals."

==========

Hispanics have become the prey of choice in crumbling neighborhoods here in one of America’s most crime-ridden cities, racial friction between the newcomers and longtime black residents has moved close to the surface.

Many bluntly assigned a racial component, saying that it was “los morenos”— their colloquial term for blacks — who were after them.“When we are leaving here after work, we have to go on foot,” Mr. Billado said, speaking through an interpreter.“The blacks are waiting for us. They’ll beat you up. They’ll take your money.”

Roger Cruz, from Honduras, said:“A lot of people don’t know how to defend themselves. There’s racism of blacks against Latinos.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/16/us/16hispan...

[inland empire native]

this really isnt about race..the government was looking for a way to hit this gang after they killed Deputy Ortiz....once a gang kills a law enforcement official, its on..here comes the rackeetering indicment....remember Vineland Boys

[Alext Tan]

Where are all the Latino political leaders? Blacks have been killing immigrants and nobody raises their voice. Latinos should counter-sue for violation of civil rights.

[Sean K]

The people posting on here whining that "blacks kill latinos too" aren't getting the point. Those are isolated incidents in which the black gang members would have committed the crimes regardless of what race their victim was. Unlike the latino gangs, they don't make a point of targeting a specific race with the intent of widespread intimidation and 'getting them out of their city'. If Hispanic immigrants are being targeted, it's probably not so much a hate crime as a crime of convenience, since everyone knows they won't report it. I used to know a bunch of mexican thugs who were born here in America who used to rob immigrants for the same reason. Personally I'm sick of Latinos rallying around each other, even when the ones being criticized are violent murderers with a racist agenda.

[JD]

Why should it take the shooting of a deputy for a gang crackdown?

[MDR]

Your right this indeed had to do with the death of a Sheriff deputy. This was just one incident of many that showed how the city government throughout the past couple of decades refused to address the gang problem in their city. The gangmembers relatives are all indirect members of the city politics or local businesses. Do you really think they want to lock up their own kids, grandkids, newphews? Everyone that knows anything about gangs, will clearly explain it to you - among the Mexican Mafia founding fathers were members of HG. We, the people of Hawaiian Gardens needed this - its about time. Thank you

[Avril]

Charles Lino, your an idiot. The bottom line is that mexicans have to realize that they are not the only race of people in existence. The sooner they understand this, the better. People can and should work to improve their race, but not to the detriment of another's. Irregardless, African-Americans are resilient people and we don't allow other races to bully or intimidate us. Nice try.....

[LJ]

All gangsters think they are so tough, but they are all basically cowards who can't do anything without their guns, pit bulls, and backup.

[John W. Horton III]

Racial crimes are unacceptable no matter who has committed them.
The problem in the Latin community is leadership. Where are the Latin leaders in their communities educating their people about racism?
When ever there is a racial issue in Los Angeles African-American leaders are vocal and visible.
Also, this is about ignorance because if you understand what a Latino is then you'll know that their are three influences on Latin culture, European, African and Native American (indigena). If you are a Latino, you are more or less of these three racial groups.
So, African-Americans and Latino's have more in common than they have differences but we focus on the differences.
If you look at Latin television you will find a lot of people running away from their racial identity, with fake blond hair and bleached skin. They act Afro-centric when it is convenient.
Latin's should protest against the governments from which they came, who do not support them. It's easy to protest against the U.S., you can do that here! Latin American countries can't take care of their people. White skin does not make you "White," in the U.S. , you're "White," in the U.S. if you are European!
Lastly, Latin American studies should be a part of the U.S. educational curriculum, which is explains why many African-Americans are ignorant about Latin culture.
Peace!

[Sal]

I can guarantee you that the majority of this thugs are illegal aliens. The defenders of illegal immigration alway defend these people as hard working mexicans that are just trying to earn a living. At a time when California is broke we are spending billions to aprehend, jail, and feed these scum. Lets send them to Mexico asap and protect our borders so they don't come back.

[windu]

It's a crying shame this took so long. I remember hearing as long ago as 1991-94 about this gang targeting blacks in Hawaiian Gardens. You can probably find the story in the LA Times archives. The police didn't care until one of their own was killed. I guess the lives of average citizens don't matter. Over 15 years those black people have been living in terror of this gang.

[fatso]

Talking about the pot calling the kettle black! I have seen and been victim of innocent racial violence at the hand of Hispanics, been standing next to them and hear the most appalling things in spanish they have said about blacks, so by no means is this a passive, loving every race group. Remember, even if California was Mexico before, there were blacks in those neighborhoods before the influx of Hispanics in the 90's. Who signed Mexico over to the United States? Also, racism is taught, you are not born with it. The majority of Hispanics come from Mexico with pre-existing racism from Mexico because of a family member. That is not to say all Latinos are like this, as surely I have met some racist blacks that are more racist than most white people, but I have Latino friends that confirm this. So don't take this as one-sided, but there needs to be dialogue with people that want to do something about it, and I mean thinking people.

[NT]

Amazing how all kinds of gang defenders showed up all of a sudden. This has nothing to do with being Latino or being black. Who cares about whether blacks killed Latinos before, and whether Latinos killed blacks before that? This is about being filthy gang members. Each and every gang member in LA should be taken through a Guantanamo experience. They're all guilty until proven innocent - which they are not. Napalm the cockroaches out of every nook and cranny.

[Charles Lino]

Avril, you're an uneducated moron. Blacks are one of the most racist groups in the country. Don't attempt to play the race card here and claim to be the victim, because you won't succeed. I've lived in South Central, and I know how blacks operate. In the East Coast, blacks have also been attacking Latinos based on their ethnicity. Funny how blacks justify these racist acts by saying these violent crimes a matter of "convenience." Right...

Here's another murder of a Latino, a crime of "convenience" committed by blacks:

The police on Wednesday arrested a black man in the December killing of an Ecuadorean immigrant who was beaten with a bottle and a baseball bat in Brooklyn by men who yelled anti-gay and anti-Hispanic slurs at him.

“The sad part of this case for me is that these two brothers were apparently caressing each other because they were cold on the way home and the cretins that were charged with the attack mistook them for gay people,” Charles J. Hynes, the Brooklyn district attorney, said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/26/nyregion/26arrest.html

[Banderman]

Racism is a two-way street, and I, for one, am tired of the story always being told that Blacks are always the 'victims' and everyone else is always the 'racist'. Get real; no ethnic group is so wonderful that not at least ONE of their own are racists. Many more, no doubt, but we'll never hear the truth told or the truth revealed - the truth is the enemy. Blacks spew racially insensitive garbage publicly every day of the week and offensive remarks. Jamie Foxx recently called some female actress a 'white bi**ch' and it was played off and he was not held accountable for his offensive remarks (as if he is entitled to make racial remarks). I wouldn't go see him or his movies if they gave me free tickets. The racial hypocrisy raging in this country is pathetic and intelligent people are not falling for it.

[Mr O]

If you even look like a "cholo" you should be thrown in jail.. because just looking like one is the start. They are the scum of the earth! the problem is not leadership.. the problem is the parents and the hands off approach.. Stop sending your kids to learn morals and values.. not to mention the free lunch!!!!!
GREAT JOB LACS!!
It's no secret that Hispanic, Latino .. (what ever) Cholos are very racist and anyone that thinks differently are living in a bubble!!

RIP Jerry Ortiz!!!!

[MAYTE]

The truth is that gang menbers are all scums regardless their race. Gangs are the main source of all types of crimes and the goverment in all levels have spend enough resources trying to eradicate them but have been unsuscessful because they are outnumber by all this pieces of crop

[Wrong Wrong]

I was in Hawaiian Gardens and saw a article about Gangs killing Blacks who are not in Gangs... I saw a local TV news show showing Mexican Gangs openly saying to kill Blacks... They didn't say crip or Bloods they said Blacks. This is HATE HATE.. I never see Blacks saying kill hispancis or Latino.. Most Latinos are Black or have some Black heritage.. So Mexicans are not Latinos.... Get that straight. Cuba, Puerto Rico, and so on all respect their Blackness.. This is a Gang punk problem... Stop saying Blacks like all blacks...

[Wrong Wrong]

Non-White Hispanics have the bigger issue... Take a look at the people who are trying to work here... They have dark skin Black hair.. Take a look at the Punk Gang members who are running the Mafia... White Hispanics... Spaniards... Check your history... Mexicans have exploited native people of these lands for decades... Spainish is not the native Mexican Language.. Mexican is not even the real name... Do some research and see why these cowards have no soul... Now they are Slaves to the very land they claim to protect.... Stupid losers...

[James]

The media has always had great interest in the issues that affect African Americans. What about the thousands of crimes committed against Latinos in South LA, Watts, Compton, and Long Beach from the 60s to the late 80s? Who got prosecuted for those crimes that were directed on Hispanics? What about caucasians in the Inland Empire that have been driven into hate groups as a result of the violence directed to them by blacks?
Time and time again, the media spreads the idea that African Americans are naturally not racist. Every race and nationality has someone who is racist. It is time to not prosecute every hate crime from both sides!

[RM]

Alext Tan wrote:
"Where are all the Latino political leaders? Blacks have been killing immigrants and nobody raises their voice. Latinos should counter-sue for violation of civil rights."

Really? Then maybe the United States should sue Mexico for their citizens who constantly violate of our federal laws by entering our country illegally, abuse our welfare system, clog up our prisons and ruin our medical and educational systems in border states.

With all the laws that illegal immigrants break in the USA, I would suggest they shut up about their rights. They get far too many benefits and leniency already.

It would be great if someone's allegiance in this state was to this country and not south of the border.

[brettstrodamus]

To quote Colonel Kurtz, "Exterminate the brutes".

[anon]

this incident has caused a lot of tension within Cypress Hill...

[Tara Murphy]

The blacks in Hawaiian Gardens have been under racist attacks from Latino gangs and hispanics in general since the mid-90's. The preferred method of getting blacks out of housing was to throw fire bombs through their windows. Same thing in Venice. Mexicans should look in the mirror and admit their racism. Who runs Mexico? the light-skinned. who gets screwed in Latin America? its dark-skinned indigenous people.

[O'Dawg]

This is why I don't go to Hawaiian Gardens. I see a lot posters want to make this gang on gang crime, but this "problem" has been in existence well before the 1980's. I have known for over two decades that places like Westchester, Hawaiian Gardens, Whittier and Azusa were not Black-friendly.

Unfortunately, those stories were not about gang on gang crime. They were normal people who woke up in the morning or came home from work to find their house, yard, and/or car vandalized, and their children and pets targeted for attack.

I do agree with a previous poster who remarked that this correction only happened because of an attack on a cop. In some of the aforementioned references, I never heard any follow-up story suggesting anyone had been caught...or that the victims stood their ground and didn't leave the area. Because of this, there was actually no proof that gangs were even involved.

Those of you who talk about lack of leadership need to realize that this type of behavior is sanctioned at the LOCAL level, and LOCAL means MOM and DAD. "Latino leadership" can say whatever it wants, but this problem starts in the home.

[Roger]

There was a time when Blacks were considered the minorities. Now they are recognized and called African Americans. Now the spotlight is on the the next group of minorities, Latin Americans. Hold on, oops my bad, should I say Latino or Hispanic? I mean they are not considered a majority yet, are they?

[JohnnyACE♠ GRAND MASTER SEN$Ei {{-_-}}™]

I am black and I live in Cerritos, just a mile or two north of Hawaiian Gardens. In 2006, I almost lost my life outside of a party in Southeast Lakewood because a member of VHG shot at the back of my car 8 times. It's sad that such corrupted communities are so close to such a peaceful suburb as the City of Cerritos. The LA County Sheriff's Department should have been doing a better job at stopping this infestation a long time ago.

{{-_-}}

[JohnnyACE♠ GRAND MASTER SEN$Ei {{-_-}}™]

Sal, please don't use this topic to promote racism against Latinos. They have just as much right to come here and work for citizenship as the Pilgrims did (or the slaves were FORCED to). Some of those HG gang members ARE legal U.S. citizens. This is not an issue of immigration.

{{-_-}}

[Warren]

In politics and sociology, divide and rule (derived from Latin divide et impera) (also known as divide and conquer) is a combination of political, military and economic strategy of gaining and maintaining power by breaking up larger concentrations of power into chunks that individually have less power than the one implementing the strategy. In reality, it often refers to a strategy where small power groups are prevented from linking up and becoming more powerful, since it is difficult to break up existing power structures.

[Tzone]

Hispanics gang members feel like they are better than blacks, this is nothing new. Remember the avenues gang, 204th street gang. These people just don't like blacks, they get orders from prison to kill blacks, so it's good the cops are coming down on them.

[Louweegie272]

What if Police were able to question known Gang Members and ask them if they were in the country illegally? That way you could remove any and all illegal immigrant Gang Bangers quickly and easily. Why do we still need Special Order 40?
Jamiel Shaw died in exactly this type of hate crime and the City of LA tried to make him out to be a Crip or Blood when he was just an innocent kid. Terrible.

[SUSANM, ABINGDON MD.]

COMMENT:

THIS IS THE WAY I LOOK AT THIS, AS NOTHING IS BEING DONE ON ILLEGALS? WHEN ILLEGALS START AND KILL BLACKS, ''SOMETHING WILL BE DONE. AS THEY CAN KILL THOUSANDS OF WHITE, NOTHING IS SAID. YOU WILL SEE A CHANGE, WATCH AND SEE.

[Mary aka "Spider"]

I don't care what the news says about us!!! Hawaiian Gardens ROCKS!!! I'm a gangmember for life because I'm too old to get jumped out and I dare anyone to try---BUT---I don't live my life committing crimes...I've turned my life into something POSITIVE and matured from the gang mentality. I love my "homies", and I always preach to them that the hood is just a small speck of what their WORLD can be....I believe it!!!

I am a community leader now and I thank God for second chances in life. I volunteer, raise kids, go to college, and mentor. I hope everyone reading this prays for all the "bad guys" they got today in Hawaiian Gardens and everywhere else in the world. Some of us can learn from our mistakes with the help of friends, family, and a caring, helping hand from those who don't judge you by your past. We have to reach out and try to make lemonade out of some lemons!!!

[Manuel]

Where is the police crackdown when its Mexican-on-Mexican and Black-on-Black gang murders? Both communities have internalized racist views of themselves because of 500 years of White Supremacy. Apparently it is ok for Brown and Blacks to kill their own race, no huge crackdown will happen for that. I'm willing to bet most of the arresting officers were White.

[no sanctuary]

At least the illegal alien gang criminals in LA can take solace that they do not have to worry about LAPD with Mayor Villaraibozo's and stooge Chief Bratton's SO 40 Sanctuary City policy.

Thanks to US Attorney O'Brien's Feds, LA County Sheriff's and other law enforcement for taking on these gangs.

[Manuel]

I would like to know when the Feds are going to start arresting the biggest, most racist gang around: The US Military. Right now, US military members are killing and bombing innocent civilians in Afghanistan. They've already killed thousands upon thousands of innocent people in Iraq. All these old racist white guys posting here are hypocrites: they support the killing of Middle Easterners, yet they pretend to stand on the soap box of being against racism.

[Steve]

While all men are created equal, not all raids are.

[syscom3]

How come the govt cant use RICO to shut down the other gangs?

[MayaB]

My suggestion to curb gang activity is to identify a few of the worst and making them "missing". Maybe drop them out in the middle of the dessert and let them fend for themselves.

[Blank]

They arrested 99 of them and the other 48 are on the loose and know they are "wanted."

Ridiculous. I hope they are all running back over to the other side of the border now.

[adi]

Sal (number one comment) u immediatly assume that the people are Mexican, don't forget there are Salvadorians, peruvians, chilean's , colombians, puerto ricans, and cubans and all kinds of people that can be illegal here, not only mexicans, get it right!! im mexican and that pisses me off! because if thier illegal u have to assume that their mexican.

[Alex Tan]

RM, maybe Mexicans should sue the US for illegally invading Mexican land, California and the Southwest, when it was under Mexican control. The land and property of Mexico was outright stolen. Don't attempt to play the "illegal alien" card when the US was founded on the illegal invasion of this territory. Mexicans are mostly a Native American population, whose ancestors have been in this continent for thousands of years, long before there was a US. And the majority of them are US citizens, or are here legally. They have always been part of this land. If you don't like it, go back to Africa or Europe.

BTW, why do you assume the people arrested are illegal immigrants? You like to play the illegal alien card at every turn, don't you? Also, the majority of people on welfare have always been white. Despite the fact that illegal immigrants people billions of taxes each year, there not eligible for welfare. So do and so try to shove that prejudice on somebody else who will willingly swallow it.

[Alex Tan]

Sean K wrote:

The people posting on here whining that "blacks kill latinos too" aren't getting the point. Those are isolated incidents in which the black gang members would have committed the crimes regardless of what race their victim was.
===============
Oh really? Is it too much that people "whine" about senseless murders? These black perpetrators have specifically targeted Latinos, but apologists like you will always play the race card only when it concerns others.

[HG Resident!!]

This was a pretty dumb reason for why police raided! I live in HG, I live next door to African americans.. Now yes there's gang members living across the street from us and they don't bother forceing out my neighbors! That's a pretty lame excuse why they started this raid. I have lived in this neighborhood all my life and yes it WAS bad but as of now it's a safe place to live! People of all different races live here! White, black, Mexican, salvadorians, Indians, every race thinkable!! Nobody is driveing anyone out! Times change people change. Yes re police have a rite cracking down the drug dealers but to go in and use racism as an excuse is lame!!! Some of those people wer inocent ppl changeing their lives.. That was their past and this is their future! The police only took their new beginning away! Shame!! So to all u ppl that think mexicans are at fault who are u to judge?.. The majority of residence here are mexicans, yet cerritos Asian/ white, Compton black. Every city has their problems. So don't act like this city is a huge problem! There's problems like this in every city not just here!! So before u start judgeing and talking about Mexicans like their a problem realize ur just being a hypocrite! U eat our food, use us for ur gardening and lawn service, vacation on our beaches! So think before u speak!!! I'll pray for u!

[Sean K]

Alex Tan: When the article, the evidence and statistics show that the killing and targeting of blacks by latinos is overwhelmingly more widespread that the reverse, then yes, you are a whiner.

[sandra]

The LAPD is dicrimnating on everyone who lives in Hawaiian Gardens. After the sherrif was killed the LAPD dicriminated on ANYONE who lived in Hawaiian Gardens, wether you were female, male, young or old the police treated you like a criminal giving you NO RIGHTS. The LAPD SHOULD BE LOOKING FOR COLD BLOODED MURDERS NOT INNOCENT PEOPLE!!! There were many people arressted that were trying to get there life straight & do good. This is unfair and not right, HAWAIIAN GARDENS NEEDS HELP FOR ALL THE INNOCENT PEOPLE THAT WERE ARRESTED & FOR ALL THE FAMILYS SUFFERING THIS DISCRIMINATION EVERDAY..... This is not going to stop till some one helps this community of minorities! WE NEED HELP!

[HG resident]

I have lived here for 10 years after growing up in nearby Cerritos because of cheap rent. It actually has been less crime over the past few years, in my opinion due to the housing boom. Demographics shifted from renters on section 8 to homeowners in many parts.

I have experienced several auto thefts and auto break-ins but those have not occurred frequently in the last few years. It is extremely disappointing that the parents of these young, ignorant youth pass on a culture of crime, prejudice, hate and lack of opportunities outside of the gang.

I hate living here because of the fact that I cannot walk the streets safely in this city. There are so many kind, caring, normal people and families where I live. It is too bad that it only takes a few idiots to ruin the quality of life for a town of people. Go to nearby Cerritos and you will see many people walking the streets for exercise in the evenings. You will not find that in Hawaiian Gardens.

As far as the black, latino issue. People who point the finger on specific ethnic groups, have issues themselves. The point is that a danger or threat to any innocent persons life should be a concern to all of us. What happened about caring about others no matter what the ethnicity of the person?

I know that the racial hatred against blacks has been going on for a while in HG. How would you like walking across the street to your home, in the afternoon after work, and two people approach you with a gun and start yelling racial slurs at you threatening your life because of your ethnicity?

That is how it has been to be an African American male in this city. And I am not African American, nor male. THINK PEOPLE!

[GARDENS]

THAT'S A STUPID REASON WHAT THEY ARE USING. THE GANG INJUCTION IS ANOTHER STUPID THING THEY HAVE EVER CAME UP WITH. I ALWAYS GET STOPPED BY COPS, GET FOLLOWED AND ASKED FOR MY ID AND TO CHECK IF IM IN THE GANG INJUCTION. NOT EVERYONE IS A GANGSTER JUST BECAUSE THEY LIVE IN HG OR JUST FOR BEING A LATINO.

[Sean K]

When your writing skills are as atrocious as these people's, maybe you should keep your illiterate opinions to yourself.

"THE GANG INJUCTION IS ANOTHER STUPID THING THEY HAVE EVER CAME UP WITH"....

"The LAPD is dicrimnating on everyone who lives in Hawaiian Gardens"...

"THIS IS THE WAY I LOOK AT THIS, AS NOTHING IS BEING DONE ON ILLEGALS?"...

[Cynthia]

wait a minute who said anything about this gang being illegal immigrants? The article said nothing about them being illegal only that they were Latino. The thug who killed the officer didn´t kill the officer for being black because the officer was also LATINO, not black. Second, all gangs should be dealt with harshly. There is black violence against whites and Hispanics and visa versa. However, I want just one of those who mentioned illegal immigrants to go back and reread the articles on this gang and show me where a single one says this guy was an illegal immigrant or that the gang members arrested were illegal immigrants...the gang has been in operation for over fifty years..most of them are Chicanos...

[missing linq]

i do believe that if the police been investagating this gang since 2005 that our tax dollars are being wasted big time.you mean to tell me these guys are so smart that they did not commit any serious or arrestable offences in that time frame.sometimes you have to chop a tree down branch by branch.if you let it continue to grow you have a harder job and a messier clean up.im willing to bet all those man hours only produce a few se4rious charges and multable minor ones.and these guys will be right back at it.the raid was just a media photo op.

[C-LoK]

im a resident of hawaiian gardens and let me tell you aint nothing gonna change in this city unless they put every single gangmamber on death row because this gang has been going on for generations and theres members going in and out of jail, they take 100 today by summer 200 come out so thats just how it is and i will stay that way.

[Victoria]

Lets just make this simple, this is police revenge for the killing of officer ortiz. I understand. But this is an old gang with major ties to the mexican mafia, one take down wont do.