Undercover Agent, 6 Others Cited for Valor

For six months, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Agent Paul Day worked undercover as a drug dealer and gun runner in Riverside, gaining the confidence of gang members with names such as Danger, Chaos and Godfather.

The men routinely drew their weapons and taunted Day, trying to intimidate him. Once, moments after Day had purchased some rock cocaine, his backup team was discovered by the gang’s members, who engaged in a shootout--and later bragged about it to Day.

The agent’s 150 undercover drug and gun purchases eventually led to the arrest of 23 gang members and helped break up a brutal war between black and Latino gangs in Riverside.

In another world and another set of clothes--this time a suit and tie--Day was honored at the Century Plaza Hotel on Thursday with the Medal of Valor of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Federal Bar Assn. He was part of an awards ceremony that recognized acts of bravery by seven Southern California agents from various federal law enforcement agencies.

Day had volunteered for his assignment after the ATF and Riverside Police Department organized a task force to stop a gang war between rival gangs by breaking up one of the gangs. Day, who is black, was assigned to infiltrate the black gang to develop a case against its leaders and most violent members.

Although his undercover work was dangerous, Day said, the key to his success was acting normal in an abnormal environment. “I didn’t get out there and act like some banger,” he said.

His biggest fear working with the gang was not that the group he had infiltrated would injure him, but that he would be mistaken for a gang member by the opposing Latino gang and shot.

Three months after Day finished his assignment, another undercover agent who had infiltrated the Latino gang was severely beaten by gang members and had to be rescued by his backup officers.

Other Medal of Valor honorees included Postal Police Capt. Ronald Calvin, Postal Sgt. L.T. Tillmon and Postal Officers Joe Vargas and James B. Nickelberry Sr., who foiled the holdup of a Postal Service credit union in Los Angeles by two robbers.

Two suspects had forced their way into the credit union and fired their weapons into the air when the officers arrived.

Fearing that customers inside were being killed, the officers hid behind a pillar and took out their guns. Moments later, one suspect left the building and fired his weapon at the officers. Before fleeing, the robber fired his weapon again at the officers, but his gun jammed.

Vargas followed the suspect to his getaway car, taking down the van’s license plate number. This enabled police to apprehend the suspects later in the day.

DEA Agent Patrick Flodquist was honored for pulling a crash victim out of a burning car on the Ventura Freeway. He was driving near Oxnard when he saw the accident and heard a woman screaming. He reached into the burning vehicle, freed the trapped woman’s legs and lifted her out through the driver’s window.

FBI Special Agent Lionel A. Chavez was honored for a long-term undercover investigation of a crime ring involved in racketeering, drug trafficking and mail fraud.