Law enforcement raids Wednesday morning targeted a San Gabriel Valley gang as part of an investigation that began when a member of the gang killed a pair of El Monte police officers in 2022, authorities said.
Officers Joseph Santana and Michael Paredes responded to a report of a stabbing in a case of domestic violence at a motel on June 14, 2022. Justin Flores was found holed up with his wife at the Siesta Inn. The officers rescued the woman, but were shot to death by Flores, who later fatally shot himself in the head.
Ten members and associates of the gang were named in a series of federal indictments stemming from the probe that began with the officers' deaths, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office. Among the crimes alleged in the indictment are the killing of a woman who was fatally shot when a member of the gang was trying to kill a person providing information to law enforcement.
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Authorities said two of the 10 named defendants were arrested Wednesday morning, while four others were already in custody in unrelated cases. Four other defendants remain at large. Several other people arrested during the morning raids on separate local charges, officials said.
The main indictment announced Wednesday alleges two violations of the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization, or RICO, Act. The various indictments also include firearms and narcotics charges against members of the gang, which prosecutors contend is tied to the Mexican Mafia.
The indictments also allege attempted murder of a rival gang member, the death of the woman killed during an effort to kill an informant and the operation of a "casita" that was home to illegal gambling and narcotics operations.
The 2022 killings of El Monte Officers Santana and Paredes has sparked lawsuits filed by the officers' families against the county, alleging mishandling of an earlier criminal case involving Flores that should have resulted him being behind bars.
