Los Angeles District Attorney seeks to shut down gang house
Gang, narcotics stronghold
LOS ANGELES - The residents of a South Los Angeles house are characterized by authorities as a gang and narcotics stronghold. The three men who live in the home on Bahama Ave. have been served with an abatement action, prosecutors announced. Along with the three men, 20 others were also named in the civil lawsuit, which alleges they are allowing sales of rock cocaine and marijuana by members of the Campanella Park Piru gang, according to the District Attorney's Office.
The lawsuit seeks a preliminary injunction that would bar the sale of controlled substances at the location, ban gang members from accessing the property and place it under the control of the Superior Court.
Since 2005, 20 known and documented Campanella Park Piru gang members have been arrested or detained at the house for narcotics possession or sales, and several have also been victims of gang-related violence at the property, according to the District Attorney's Office.
The defendants - who could be assessed a maximum $25,000 civil penalty and be required to pay investigative costs - have 30 days to respond to the court filing, according to the District Attorney's Office.
In the last several weeks local law enforcement officials have been involved in altercations with three African American males that have resulted in two fatalities and another young man clinging to life in a local hospital.
The first incident, involved 43-year-old Inglewood resident, Reginald Andre Linthicum, who according to his family had just been paroled from state prison in June after more than 11 years.
The California Citizens Redistricting Commission, which held meetings in Los Angeles City Hall last Thursday and in the Antelope Valley on Sunday, has a mandate is to redraw district lines, not to disrupt communities but to strengthen them. But how does the Commission accomplish its task when most community spokespersons appeared to be asking the body to maintain the status quo and keep their communities intact?
LOS ANGELES, Calif.—A three-day count of the homeless population in much of Los Angeles County will begin tonight in the San Gabriel Valley and East Los Angeles.
What is billed as the nation's largest count of the homeless is conducted every two years and is headed by the Los Angeles Homeless Service Authority.
Los Angeles police say two suspects have been arrested for the murder of 5-year-old Aaron Shannon, and are being held without bail. Leonard Hall Jr., 21, was taken into custody today (Friday) about at 2:10 a.m. at an apartment in the 200 block of West. 27th Str. Marcus Denson, 18, was arrested Thursday evening by Sheriff’s deputies in the 1100 block of East 83rd Street. Law enforcement officials say both suspects are active gang members.
“More than two decades ago, based on assumptions about crack which are now known to be false—for example, that crack offenders were more likely to be violent, or that crack was significantly more dangerous and addictive than powder—heightened penalties for crack cocaine offenses were adopted. Those penalties required 100 times as much powder cocaine as crack cocaine to invoke equal mandatory minimum sentences. The impact of the disparity fell disproportionately on African-Americans.”
