23 Arrested, Arms Seized in Asian Gang Sweep

Capping an 18-month investigation into some of the most violent gang activity in Los Angeles County, more than 200 officers from several agencies fanned out across the San Gabriel Valley before sunrise Thursday, simultaneously arresting 23 known Asian gang members and confiscating a cache of their weapons.

Sheriff’s Department gang specialists, homicide detectives, special enforcement units and West Covina Police Department detectives and patrol officers swept through towns from Duarte to the San Bernardino County line to serve 26 search warrants and attempt to arrest dozens of people wanted for violent crimes.

In all, 15 juveniles and eight adults--who have a variety of mostly Asian ethnic backgrounds and live in nine cities--were arrested in crimes ranging from shooting at an inhabited dwelling to robbery, attempted murder and murder. Officers also seized more than 30 weapons, including rifles, shotguns and pistols.

“These kinds of activities are something our community cannot tolerate,” said West Covina Lt. Darrell Myrick. “I believe that message was given loud and clear this morning.”

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The investigation began after a series of shootings and two homicides in West Covina and Walnut at the beginning of 1995. The incidents are believed to be the result of renewed warfare between two gangs, one mostly Filipino and Chinese based in West Covina, and the other mostly Chinese and based in the western part of the valley.

And although they were unsure what started the violence, authorities were certain of the effects.

“These gangs are unusual in the amount of violence,” said Cmdr. Jim Dillon of the West Covina Police Department. “We literally had situations where we had two to three shootings a day [and] several high-speed chases. They fire shots going 90 to 100 mph down residential streets.”

In January, a man was shot while driving a car, resulting in a crash that killed him and led to the amputation of his passenger’s leg. There were 12 retaliation shootings linked to that crime, Dillon said.

During another incident, a father was shot and killed when he refused to call his son for two people knocking at his door.

In a two-week period six months ago, the cities of West Covina, Walnut and Industry reported more than 20 shooting incidents, believed also to have stemmed from the ongoing gang rivalry.

“Most of these kids are good students, they live with their parents,” Dillon said. “These people don’t dress down. They don’t tattoo themselves. But they are very violent.”

On Thursday, the 200 officers mustered at Faith Community Church in West Covina at 4:30 a.m. to receive final briefings.

The troops had been broken into 26 teams, one for each of the residential locations to be searched. Four or five officers and a team leader were assigned to each group with other officers serving dispatch, interpreting and command post functions.

At the church, they reviewed their communications protocol and went over emergency plans. SWAT teams were standing by and each team had a map of the quickest route to a hospital from each location.

Then at 5:30, the teams moved out in two- or three-vehicle caravans. The procedure was to knock on the door, call out the person in question, serve the warrant and make the arrests, all the while reporting on progress to the command post located in the church’s parking lot.

“It went unbelievably smooth,” Myrick said. “With 26 search warrants--going into places where people are wanted for very serious crimes--not having a serious incident is pretty remarkable.”

The large number of officers involved was due in part to the wide swath to be searched.

“If you don’t do this simultaneously, by the time you get to the second or third house, you won’t find anybody,” Dillon said.

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Nonoy Alsaybar, who is working on a doctorate dissertation in anthropology at UCLA on Filipino gangs, says what distinguishes Filipino gangs in the San Gabriel Valley area is that they come from middle-class working families.

“They are different from gangs in the inner cities,” Alsaybar said.

A major reason that young Filipinos join gangs, he said, is because of the problems of adjusting to a new country.

“They find a sense of belonging in the groups,” Alsaybar said. “They tell me, ‘Life is boring.’ They think gangs provide the excitement they want and a sense of accomplishment.”

Investigators involved in the sweep said they hoped Thursday’s arrests would stem future crimes. They added, however, that their work isn’t finished.

“We don’t have everybody involved in these crimes yet,” Dillon said.

Times staff writer K. Connie Kang also contributed to this story.