Officers Make Arrest on Way to Ceremony

Luck played a role in the arrest of a shooting suspect Thursday and may have saved a man’s life, all because a gang-fighting mother of seven was being honored only a block away.

Two officers were on their way to a Sun Valley ceremony honoring Virginia Vibiano Guerra when they saw two men arguing behind a bus shelter. Officers Alice Andrade and Steve Arellano turned on their siren and were about to pull over when one of the men opened fire on the other with an automatic weapon. “We would have had a homicide if we hadn’t been going by,” Andrade said.

As it turned out, the two officers were joined almost immediately by half a dozen others, who were already at Sun Valley Park a block away, where Guerra was being honored by the Sun Valley Rotary Club and a host of local dignitaries. A few moments later, squad cars bearing nine additional officers pulled up, this time from the North Hollywood precinct station.

Police said Ramiro Hernandez, 30, of Pacoima fired through a pillowcase at Pedro Moreno, 23, of Sun Valley. He then fled through the parking lot of the American Pacific State Bank and jumped over a wall to a neighbor’s back yard, officers said.

Police found Hernandez hiding in a tree, and he was caught on the roof of a garage. The weapon was found on the ground nearby, police said.

Guerra, who lives in North Hollywood, was being honored for taking a tough stand against gang members--keeping them out of an apartment building she managed and giving court testimony that sent seven gangsters to prison. She made news in August, when the owner of the apartment building that she managed on Tiarra Street tried to fire her.

Guerra has lived and worked on Tiarra Street for 12 years, but it was only five years ago that she finally decided to start doing something about crime. She began by warning a gang member not to sell drugs to a 9-year-old boy, and went on to join Neighborhood Watch and other groups.

“If everyone was to follow her example we won’t be able to get rid of crime, but we will be able to bring it down to a tolerable level,” said Officer Gene Ferone of the North Hollywood Division.

During the ceremony, Guerra was showered with commendations and recognition from Assemblyman Richard Katz (D-Sylmar), Councilmen Joel Wachs and Richard Alarcon, and the mayor’s office. She thanked the North Hollywood Division for “giving me the strength and courage to go on.”

“I just do it to keep the neighborhood a safe place for my children,” she said.