![]() ![]() Many of the recordings, played for jurors, captured the defendants discussing day-to-day drug-dealing matters and bragging about their violent exploits, prosecutors alleged.īut defense attorneys raised concerns about the recordings’ often poor quality and what they considered unreliable interpretations by prosecution witnesses on the meaning of what was said.Ībout 20 people were charged under the state RICO statute in 2013 after a predawn raid. The case centered in large part on a series of recordings made by drug dealer Alex Williams, who cooperated extensively with police in their investigation of the Black Souls. ![]() Prosecutors said the Black Souls operated its drug empire near Monroe Street and Pulaski Road in the West Garfield Park neighborhood in a fashion similar to a legitimate business, with marketing schemes and employees working in shifts. Testifying during nearly two months of the trial were more than 100 witnesses, including police, gang members and a lifelong drug dealer who secretly recorded hundreds of hours of conversations with the defendants. It is designed to give police and prosecutors a powerful tool to uproot violent street gangs. The trial marked the county’s first test of the Street Gang RICO Act, passed by the state legislature in 2012 and modeled after the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organization statute. RELATED: After 5 jurors are replaced, deliberations to start over at Black Souls gang trial “This case demonstrates what we can do when we work together." In this letter, Huntsman said at least 41 Los Angeles County deputies have been identified as being tattooed members of the Banditos or Executioners gangs.Ĭalifornia law requires that law enforcement agencies maintain a policy prohibiting such "law enforcement gangs." Yet numerous reports have shown the existence of these deputy gangs within the county's sheriff's department.Ĭalifornia's legislature has defined law enforcement gangs as "peace officers within a law enforcement agency who may identify themselves by a name and may be associated with an identifying symbol, including, but not limited to, matching tattoos." Lawmakers have said the problem appears to be most prolific in the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.“For over a decade, the Black Souls terrorized their West Side neighborhood through violent crimes to protect their illegal trade,” she told reporters. In a letter sent to Villanueva, LA County Inspector General Max Huntsman demanded documents from the department that are still owed to investigators. The county's inspector general also launched an investigation into the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department this year. The commission aims to determine which stations these gangs operate out of, as well as the scope and impact these groups have had on the communities that deputies are meant to protect. The investigation is set to take five to six months to complete. He wrote, "Not one elected official, or their political appointees, have provided me even one name" of a deputy involved in gangs. Sheriff Alex Villanueva wrote on Facebook that inquiries into his department over alleged gangs are just a "fishing expedition" and "political theater." "Despite years of documented history of this issue, the Department has failed to eliminate the gangs." "Deputy gangs have fostered and promoted excessive force against citizens, discriminated against other deputies based on race and gender, and undermined the chain of command and discipline," said Sean Kennedy, the commission's chair, in a statement. Those problems include claims of discrimination, excessive force and even murder. These kinds of gangs have created decades of problems within the department and with how it deals with the citizens of Los Angeles, according to the civilian oversight board. ![]() Her investigations into LASD deputy gangs continue. "Many stories do not make it into the news," she said. Since her project was released, Castle said, she has seen multiple occasions where LASD deputies, along with the gangs they are a part of, "take egregious actions" against civilians in LA. "It was quite a full-circle moment for me to see that an independent investigation into these deputy gangs is being pursued," Castle told NPR of the news. The announcement of the committee's investigation comes roughly a year after Knock LA published Castle's investigation. This week, the civilian oversight board charged with keeping tabs on the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) announced it's launching an investigation into the prevalence of deputy gangs within the department. ![]()
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