Meth-dealing gang members caught with guns and a rocket launcher, officials say

A group of methamphetamine-dealing gang members armed with rifles, shotguns and at least one rocket launcher was taken down in a pre-dawn operation Thursday morning in the Coachella Valley, officials said.

Participating in what was dubbed Operation Desert Impact, agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement joined Desert Hot Springs police on a raid on several apartments and vehicles in the Coachella Valley while serving 22 arrest warrants on state and federal indictments about 5 a.m. Thursday.

The sweep was the culmination of a nine-month investigation that involved confidential informants wearing wires and around-the-clock surveillance of homes in Desert Hot Springs, court records show.

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In a nod to Henry Lozano, a U.S. Marine killed by a gang member in the area in 2001, authorities announced the results of the sweep at the Henry Lozano Community Center in Desert Hot Springs.

On display on a table were rifles, handguns, shotguns and a rocket launcher. Indictments indicate the people arrested in the sweep had been dealing methamphetamine in the community for years.

One man, Donnie Darnel Dennis, 38, used his daughter as a drug courier between the two apartments where he kept the money and the drugs, according to a federal indictment.

Several convicted felons, including Julio “Spanky” Gomez, Angel “Lil Criminal” Carmona, Steven “Cubs” Gonzalez and Francisco “Toro” Figueroa, were accused of possessing guns illegally and distributing meth, officials said.

Five of those arrested face a minimum of 10 years in federal prison and maximum of life if convicted.

“Drug trafficking involving firearms continues to pose a tremendous danger to our communities,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker in a statement. “Several of these men were undeterred by prior state convictions, so now they must face federal charges and lengthy prison sentences.”

Immigration and housing authority officials were involved because of suspected immigration violations and defrauding of the public housing authority.

For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna.

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