LOS ANGELES : 7 Held on Suspicion of Shaking Down Vendors
Six men and a juvenile were arrested on charges of extortion after investigators videotaped a shakedown of a street vendor in the Pico-Union district, Los Angeles police said Monday.
The arrests were made Friday after an investigation by anti-gang detectives and agents of the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms.
Several vendors who peddle on 6th and Parkview streets have complained to police that for the last six months, gang members have charged them $20 to $40 a week in “rent,” said Lt. Marlin Warkentin of the Police Department’s Rampart Division.
“It was an intimidation situation, where they were basically threatened and told if they want to stay (in the area), they will need to pay the rent,” Warkentin said.
One suspect, Jose Martinez, 24, faces a federal charge of possessing a firearm used in extortion, police said.
Others arrested and booked on suspicion of extortion were Ramsey Gonzalez, 18; Carlos Diaz, 25; Mario Torres, 18; Carlos Sanchez, 25; Juan Cervantes, 29, and a 15-year-old, police said.
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