16 Held in Countywide Sweep Targeting Mexican Mafia

Federal and local police agencies took a hard swing at the Mexican Mafia on Tuesday, sending hundreds of officers throughout Los Angeles County to execute search and arrest warrants targeting suspected leaders.

The predawn raids, involving 200 officers, resulted in the arrests of 16 Mexican Mafia members, said U.S. Atty. Alejandro N. Mayorkas. His office spearheaded a joint operation that included the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the Los Angeles Police Department and the FBI.

The raids were intended to cripple the Mexican Mafia leadership, which operates from the streets and from prison, sending orders to terrorize or kill members of other Latino gangs or even to murder their own members who defect, authorities said.

“As long as the Mexican Mafia continues to exert influence and control over gangs in the area, as long as murder is part and parcel of what this criminal enterprise is about, we will act,” FBI assistant director Timothy McNally said. “This is not an isolated aggressive action on the part of law enforcement.”

Eleven indicted suspects already were in state prisons, and three more remain at large, Mayorkas said.

Last week, a grand jury returned two main indictments charging 30 alleged members and associates of the Mexican Mafia with three counts of murder in connection with the Nov. 19 slayings of Richard Serrano, Jose Gutierrez and Enrique Delgadillo.

The grand jury also returned charges of attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder and conspiracy to distribute illegal narcotics.

Among those arrested Tuesday were Frank “Sapo” Fernandez of Palmdale, Jesse “Shady” Detevis of South Gate, and Juan “Topo” Garcia, Marcel “Psycho” Arevalo and Daniel “Sporty” Bravo, all of Los Angeles.

Police found 37 weapons, including an AK-47 assault rifle and a grenade. Officials did not know whether the explosive was live.

Mayorkas said he did not want to name suspected leaders of the gang before court proceedings begin.

The raids were the second in about four years conducted under the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO. The 1995 raid resulted in 12 convictions of Mexican Mafia members two years later.

McNally said the legal phase again will take at least as long as in the first case.

Then as now, there was skepticism about whether the arrests and convictions could weaken the gang.

Both Mayorkas and McNally stopped well short of claiming an outright victory over the gang.

“It’s like any type of criminal organization,” McNally said. “It would be premature to say the group is out of operation.”

McNally said those seeking a quick solution are “looking for instant gratification in an event that’s going to take a long time.”

The two federal officials were joined at a news conference by Helena Ashby, Sheriff’s Department chief of detectives, and Gregory Berg, deputy chief in command of the LAPD’s Central Bureau.

Ashby focused on the “human toll” of the Mexican Mafia’s violence. She reeled off seven previous Mexican Mafia slayings that were unrelated to the current arrests.

“These are the types of violence in our community that we intend to stop,” she said. “We’re taking an aggressive stance against this type of violence so our streets can be secure.”