A federal grand jury indictment indicts 68 people and details alleged crimes by a white supremacist street gang, which prosecutors say maintains ties to a Mexican Mafia prison gang. I am doing it.
On Wednesday, FBI officials joined federal prosecutors and law enforcement officials in downtown Los Angeles and announced the arrest of 42 people in connection with the investigation. This includes 29 defendants arrested on the same day in raids around Los Angeles. Those defendants are scheduled to be arraigned later Wednesday in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles, while the remaining 13 remain in custody. A total of 68 people were charged in the 76-count indictment returned by the grand jury on September 26th.
The Peckerwoods of the San Fernando Valley are accused of years of racketeering, large-scale drug trafficking, illegal firearms possession and even COVID-19 loan fraud, according to federal prosecutors. The indictment, unsealed Wednesday, details the seizure of dozens of pounds of fentanyl, heroin and methamphetamine, as well as several illegal firearms.
The gang is said to have collaborated with other organized crime groups based in California prisons.
“As a white supremacist gang, Pecker Woods sometimes receives orders from California’s powerful prison-based white supremacist gang, the Aryan Brotherhood, and has ties to the Mexican Mafia prison gang, which controls most Latino street gangs in California. We remain allies,” the US said. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said in a statement announcing the indictment.
Federal prosecutors allege the gang espouses a violent white supremacist ideology and uses Nazi tattoos, graffiti and iconography such as swastikas and images of Nazi aircraft to do so. .
When prosecutors released an image of the defendant at a press conference Wednesday, the words “Operation Hate One Eight” were emblazoned above the photo. A typical area code for the San Fernando Valley, where the gang is said to be based, is 818.
Federal prosecutors announced on October 2, 2024, the indictments and arrests of dozens of people in connection with an investigation into a violent white supremacist organization based in Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley. KCAL News
“The Peckerwoods’ violent white supremacist ideology and widespread criminal activity pose a serious threat to our communities,” U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada said in a statement, calling the group “a serious threat to our communities.” “destructive power”.
Attorney General Merrick B. Garland said in a statement that the Justice Department “dealt a decisive blow” against the gang through the arrest and indictment of dozens of suspected members and associates.
According to federal prosecutors, members and their associates used social media to communicate with each other about alleged crimes, define gang rules, identify gang members in good standing, and break group rules. It is said that it targeted people. Prosecutors say they do this through private direct messages sent in members-only Facebook groups and online platforms.
The charges listed in the indictment include conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO), bank fraud, conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance, conspiracy to commit bank fraud, distribution of a controlled substance, and aggravated identity theft. , illegal possession, etc. Possession of a firearm and ammunition by a felon, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and possession of 15 or more unauthorized access devices.
Check back for updates on this developing story.
More from CBS News
Marissa Wenske
