2 Gang Members Held in Threats on Deputy D.A.

Two Latino gang members were arrested Wednesday for allegedly conspiring to kill a deputy district attorney who is currently prosecuting a third gang member on charges of kidnap and rape.

Authorities said the prosecutor, Linda Bloxsom, 32, was returning to her Diamond Bar home late Tuesday afternoon when a car containing four people pulled into her driveway and the passenger in the front seat pointed a gun at her.

As the man yelled, “Hey, Bloxsom, you’re (expletive) with our (friend) and you’re (expletive) dead,” the prosecutor dove out of range, Dist. Atty. Ira Reiner told a press conference in his office.

The assailants fled without firing a shot.

“This is unprecedented,” Reiner told a press conference in his office. “Threats, assaults against deputy district attorneys prosecuting cases are just unheard of, and it’s going to have to stay that way.

“We’re going to make a hell of an example of these people,” added Reiner, who said he would seek the highest possible prison sentence if the suspects are convicted.

Arrested were Richard Barela, 27, of La Puente, and Joaquin Serna-Vera, 24, of El Monte, both members of the White Fence gang, according to authorities. They are both being held without bail while the district attorney’s office determines what charges to file.

Two other passengers in the car remain at large.

Reiner said Bloxsom recognized Serna-Vera as the man with the gun and Barela as the driver because both regularly attended the current trial of Barela’s brother, Arturo, 38, in Pomona Superior Court. Arturo is charged with 23 criminal counts stemming from an alleged gang-related rape and kidnaping of a 16-year-old girl who had been standing at a bus stop.

The elder Barela has not been charged in the assault on Bloxsom, a district attorney’s spokesman said.

Reiner said that Bloxsom, who is under 24-hour protection and unavailable for comment, returned to court Wednesday, where the jury in the Barela case received final instructions from the judge before beginning deliberations. Bloxsom is scheduled to deliver her closing arguments in the case Friday.

Reiner said that Bloxsom, who had been returning home after walking her dog when the incident took place, was “holding up terrifically.”