AP: FBI arrests head of anti-gang group in Los Angeles
"...An FBI news release said five of the defendants, not including Sanchez, allegedly conspired to murder a veteran detective with the Los Angeles Police Department's gang unit.The indictment also alleges members of the gang were responsible for seven murders and eight conspiracies to commit murder since 1995.
A well-known and respected anti-gang worker, Sanchez has testified as an expert in legal cases, lobbied for better intervention and prevention programs, and spoken to youths about the depressing consequences of gang life...."
LA Times: Federal indictment targets MS-13, anti-gang activist
"...Asst. Chief U.S. Atty. George Cardona said in a news conference that Sanchez was a shot-caller with the Normandie clique of MS-13 and conspired to commit the 2006 killing during the time his organization was taking public and private funds."He took public funds while furthering the gang," Cardona said.
LAPD Chief William J. Bratton said the Sanchez case reinforces the thinking behind the city’s efforts to consolidate and more strongly regulate anti-gang funding."
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A Camp Pendleton Marine and his younger brother have been identified by family members as the two men shot by an off-duty Anaheim police officer after a confrontation in the Angel Stadium parking lot Wednesday night.
Maria Velazquez, who was waiting at UCI Medical Center in Orange with her family, said that her sons – Carlos Velazquez, 25, a U.S. Marine from Camp Pendleton, and Jose Velazquez, 22, of Ontario – were both shot. Carlos was shot in the head and Jose was shot in the upper arm, she said.
Police have not released the names of the two men shot or the officer involved.
Police have talked to witnesses who said the men hit the officer over the head with beer bottles, Sgt. Rick Martinez of the Anaheim Police Department said.
Carlos Velazquez was left paralyzed on one half of his body by the bullet, a doctor told family members.
The family was not allowed to see their sons all night, but shortly after 11 a.m., Maria Velazquez and her husband were allowed a short visit.
Carlos was left paralyzed on one half of his body by the bullet, which hit his spinal cord, they were told this morning by a doctor. His throat will also need to be reconstructed, family members said. Doctors did not know whether the paralysis would be permanent, they said.
Family members said that neither brother has a criminal record of any sort. None of the family members who were at the hospital had been at Wednesday night’s Angels game. The Velazquez brothers were at the game with two friends and a girlfriend.
Three Marines, led by a captain, were at UCI Medical Center today to visit Carlos Velazquez and talk to the family.
The police officer was released from the hospital early this morning, Martinez said. The officer had attended the game with his wife and two small children.
About a half-hour after the game ended at 10:20 p.m., the officer called 911, said Anaheim police Sgt. Tim Schmidt.
“He said there were guys trying to get in his car,” Martinez said. The officer reported that he was choked and that the men wouldn't leave, and then a confrontation developed while the officer stayed on the line, Martinez said.
The officer stopped talking to a dispatcher, but screaming can be heard in the background, Martinez said.
The black pickup driven by the men who were shot was still at Anaheim Stadium early this morning, parked one row over from what looked like two dried pools of blood. The blood was at the front end of the parking space the officer had used, dried on the ground and along a concrete barrier.
The Anaheim Police Department is asking witnesses to call 714-765-1944.
“We’re doing everything we can to fully cooperate with the Anaheim PD and their investigation,” said Angels spokesman Tim Mead.
There are security cameras around the parking lot, and any relevant tapes will be or already have been turned over to police, Mead said. He didn't know whether the incident had been caught on tape.
The shooting is the fourth major violent incident to take place at Southern California ballparks in recent years.
Brian Powers, of Buena Park, died after a fight on opening day 2009 at Angel Stadium in which he was hit in the head from behind during a fight with another man and fell, hitting his head on a concrete step.
At Dodger Stadium, a 30-year-old man was stabbed in a parking lot after an opening day 2009 game against the Giants.
Five years ago, an off-duty San Benito County sheriff's deputy attending a playoff game between the Angels and the Boston Red Sox threw a man down a stairwell after the man bopped him with a thunder stick.
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