Gang Member Sentenced for Violating Injunction

In the first case against an 18th Street gang member for violating a recently approved civil injunction, a Los Angeles man pleaded no contest Monday to a misdemeanor charge of publicly associating with another member of the group.

Sal “Bago” Valdez, 18, was sentenced to 60 days in jail and placed on 36 months’ probation. He was arrested earlier this month after being seen in public with another known 18th Street gang member in a crime-plagued area of the Pico-Union district west of downtown.

The preliminary injunction, approved in August by a Superior Court judge, bans two or more known members of the gang from standing, walking, sitting, driving or appearing anywhere in the square-mile target area. Gang members are also prohibited from acting as lookouts and possessing guns, beepers, cellular phones, drugs and drug paraphernalia.

The injunction--which named 50 18th Streeters--affects more gang members than any previously approved in California, authorities say, and includes the most severe restrictions to date on gang members’ freedom to gather in public view in Los Angeles.