Youths Say Street Gang Is After Them : Complain Deputies Forced Them to Publicly Point Out Suspect

Two teen-agers said Tuesday that they have been subjected to death threats by a street gang after they were forced by Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies to publicly identify a gunman who allegedly shot at one of them.

The two--one 13, the other 19--said deputies took them to a street corner the day after the shooting to identify the assailant. When they did, the teen-agers were seen by gang members who have since terrorized them, they said.

The teen-agers said they have been forced to leave their home in an unincorporated area south of Whittier and go into hiding, staying at friends’ and relatives’ homes. A claim against Los Angeles County and the Sheriff’s Department, seeking $500,000 in damages and additional relocation money, has been filed by attorneys on behalf of each youth.

Faces Kept Hidden

The youths, their mothers and their attorneys talked about the case at a press conference at the Latino Community Justice Center in Boyle Heights. The youths wore red bandannas over their faces in an attempt to conceal their physical appearances.

“If the sheriff’s office wants citizen participation and help (in fighting gang violence) . . . it’s necessary they use the utmost care to protect the people involved,” said Antonio Rodriguez, one of two attorneys representing the teen-agers.

Sheriff’s spokesman Fidel Gonzales said he could not discuss the specifics of the case because of the pending litigation. He said, however, that deputies generally ask witnesses and victims to identify suspects in the field after they have been detained for questioning but not yet arrested.

“We can’t move a detainee (to jail) so, instead, we have to bring the victim or witness to him” in order to identify him and develop enough probable cause to arrest him, Gonzales said.

‘You Won’t Have to Worry’

The 19-year-old said he had misgivings about accompanying the deputies since he already had identified a high school yearbook photograph of the gang member who shot him in the hand with a 12-gauge shotgun Sept. 14. He said he challenged the deputies’ reasoning.

“I asked, ‘What about them seeing us?’ They said: ‘Don’t worry about that. Don’t worry about that. Once we’ve got the guy, you won’t have to worry about that,’ ” he said.

The 13-year-old said he had the same misgivings, especially since his mother was not at home when deputies contacted him. “I told them I don’t think I should go,” said the youth. But he said he went because of his respect for authority.

Within hours of identifying the suspect, “the word on the street that was getting back to us . . . (was) that our families are going to die,” the 19-year-old said.

“That’s not something you want to go through life thinking,” he added.

Rodriguez said he contacted the office of Supervisor Peter Schabarum about their complaint and the need for relocation money and was referred to the Sheriff’s Department.

The Sheriff’s Department response, Rodriguez said, “was essentially, ‘So what?’ ”

Added Rodriguez, “Drug case informants get protection. (So) why shouldn’t they?”

Jorge Gonzalez, the youths’ other attorney, said the suspect should have been identified through pictures or in a police lineup behind one-way glass. The street corner method was, Gonzalez added, a “very insensitive and outrageous act.”

The 19-year-old said he was near his home three weeks ago when he was confronted by 10 members of the gang who thought he may have been the witness leading to their compatriot’s arrest.

He bluffed his way out of the situation for several moments, but when they insisted that he remove a glove that had covered the injury--the scar of a single shotgun pellet to his left forefinger--he fled on foot and escaped.

Family members have also heard the sounds of shotguns being pumped in front of their home, Gonzalez said.

The 19-year-old said he has lost most of his friends because “they don’t want to get shot. The word is (to them), ‘Your friend is dead.’ ”

He said he was shot because “one of my friends was going to be jumped by certain gang members. I wasn’t about to let that happen, so I stuck my nose in.”

The incident occured on his birthday. The assailant left the party and returned with a shotgun, firing it once at the youth, who said he does not belong to a gang.

“My mom told me never to get involved in a gang. I have my own personality. I don’t need to join a gang. People who don’t have personalities join gangs.”