Coalition Praised for Gang Peace Work

A group of gangsters and religious leaders was recognized Wednesday for dramatically reducing gang violence in the San Fernando Valley.

Los Angeles City Councilman Richard Alarcon praised members of Valley United Peace Treaty for their so-far successful effort to achieve peace among 75 Latino gangs. Since the truce began last Halloween, there have been only six gang-related slayings, none of them involving Latino gangs, police said. That is a 70% reduction from the 20 gang-related homicides during the same period the year before, said Lt. Joe Germain, Valley coordinator of the Los Angeles Police Department’s anti-gang unit.

“We don’t like to commend citizens for merely following the law, but we’re supportive of this effort to reduce violence,” said Deputy Chief Martin Pomeroy, the Valley’s top police official.

“And we’re cautiously optimistic that the truce will hold.”

Pressure from a prison gang known as the Mexican Mafia sparked the peace treaty among Latino gangs, including those in the Valley. But non-gang members have joined the crusade, including members of a Christian group called Victory Outreach and William (Blinky) Rodriguez, a Van Nuys businessman whose son was killed in 1990 by gang members. The group holds weekly meetings and operates a hot line to defuse gang tensions, Rodriguez said.