Joint investigation into San Bernardino street gang nets 180 arrests, firearms, drugs

A yearlong probe into a San Bernardino thoroughfare gang’s transgression enactment has netted 180 arrests, shuttered 30 amerciable gambling operations and resulted successful the seizure of much than 100 battle weapons and handguns, authorities announced Thursday.

San Bernardino constabulary past twelvemonth began investigating amerciable firearms income involving Westside Verdugo, a Latino thoroughfare pack rooted successful the metropolis for astir 70 years.

But aboriginal connected successful the investigation, constabulary realized they were dealing with thing overmuch bigger than conscionable illicit weapon sales, Police Chief David Green said during a quality league Thursday astatine the San Bernardino Police Department, wherever dozens of battle weapons and handguns seized by constabulary during the probe were dispersed crossed a table. Also connected show was a ample physics gambling machine.

“As they started doing much investigation connected these cases, they were recognizing it was a small much coordinated and a small much important than what they initially realized, and that’s erstwhile they started pursuing it arsenic much of a conspiracy benignant of investigation,” Green said. The probe and consequent arrests extended into Orange and Los Angeles counties, helium said.

Several agencies enlisted

In June, the probe ramped up erstwhile the San Bernardino Police Department asked the authorities lawyer general’s Special Operations Unit to articulation in. The Santa Ana Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and the California Highway Patrol besides assisted successful the investigation, which culminated Wednesday erstwhile officers fanned retired crossed San Bernardino County, serving 34 hunt warrants, arresting 31 radical and seizing 11 firearms astatine aggregate locations.

During the people of the investigation, coined “Operation Westside Jenga,” constabulary seized 92 handguns, 19 battle weapons, much than $295,000 successful currency and hundreds of pounds of methamphetamine, marijuana, heroin and fentanyl. Several imaginable shootings and equipped robberies were thwarted, and grounds collected by investigators during the probe assisted successful the closure of 2 homicide cases, constabulary said.

Additionally, investigators infiltrated and unopen down 30 amerciable gambling operations and seized much than 100 high-end gambling machines. The facilities were linked to 5 homicides, 4 attempted murders and different crimes successful 2021, authorities said.

Gambling operations

The gambling operations — which housed high-end gambling machines, astir of them acquired connected the achromatic marketplace and imported from China — were bringing successful tens of thousands of dollars a week and were operated retired of backstage residences, warehouses and closed businesses, Green said.

He said the gambling facilities were a joint-enterprise betwixt Westside Verdugo and the Mexican Mafia, the patriarchal situation pack that receives a stock of profits from cause income and different illicit concern carried retired by Westside Verdugo and different Latino thoroughfare gangs successful the signifier of “taxes.” Some of that gross was reinvested into the gambling operations.

“It has a hierarchy. It has its ain concern model. It’s an illicit concern model, but it’s 1 that’s precise lucrative nonetheless,” Green said.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the radical of San Bernardino “can spell to furniture contiguous knowing their assemblage is safer.”

“We’re putting superior criminals down bars,” Bonta said, adding that helium was arrogant of the results of the probe not lone arsenic lawyer general, but besides arsenic a father. “Every kid successful California deserves to turn up successful a harmless vicinity — a vicinity that is escaped from violence, a vicinity without weapon violence.”

Feds not involved

Green said authorities opted to grip the prosecution locally without the assistance of the national government, which often takes down specified ample transgression enterprises utilizing the Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations Act, referred to arsenic the RICO Act.

“We’re not pursuing a national prosecution successful this lawsuit due to the fact that we person the section District Attorney’s Office that we consciousness is going to beryllium capable to springiness america a palmy prosecutorial outcome,” Green said. “But these types of cases are often handled by national prosecutors nether that RICO statute.”

San Bernardino County District Attorney Jason Anderson said his bureau has truthful acold charged 45 defendants with assorted felony offenses, which see a full of 57 firearm enhancements and 41 pack enhancements. Six of the defendants are facing 3rd strikes, Anderson said.

“Our relation is twofold successful this peculiar instance. Number 1 is we are going to punish these individuals arsenic severely arsenic we perchance can, and fig two, we’re going to abstracted them from an different law-abiding assemblage for arsenic agelong arsenic we can,” Anderson said.

More transgression charges are expected, authorities said.

“Many of these cases are inactive nether review, and we are expecting galore much charges to beryllium filed,” Green said. “Some of them volition beryllium tried jointly, and immoderate of them volition beryllium parsed retired separately.”