Pubdate: Wed, 20 Jul 2005
Source: Los Angeles Times (CA)
Copyright: 2005 Los Angeles Times
Contact:  http://www.latimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/248
Author: Matt Lait And Scott Glover, Times Staff Writers

RAIDS TARGET VIOLENT VALLEY GANG

Touting their effort to crack down on a violent San Fernando Valley 
street gang linked to the slaying of a Burbank police officer, 
authorities announced Tuesday the arrests of nearly two dozen people 
whom they said were "associates" of the Vineland Boyz gang.

But after the news conference at which the arrests were announced, 
several law enforcement officials close to the case said the success 
of the operation had been overstated and disputed the number of 
suspects who actually had ties to the street gang.

Briane Grey, a spokesman for the Drug Enforcement Administration, 
said only one of the 22 people arrested in the predawn raid has any 
known connection to the gang.

Linking the others to the Vineland Boyz "would be a stretch," Grey 
said. He characterized the suspects as "a cell of mid-level drug dealers."

"These were not Vineland Boyz," said another federal law enforcement 
source, speaking on condition of anonymity. "They're just drug dealers."

A third federal official, who also asked not to be named because he 
is involved in a continuing criminal investigation of the gang, said 
as many as four suspects had some ties to the Vineland Boyz because 
they either communicated with known members or supplied them drugs.

A press release by the multi-agency task force investigating the gang 
had described the case in far more sweeping terms: "21 members of San 
Fernando Valley Street Gang Named in Second Federal Indictment," the 
release stated. "Vineland Boys Street Gang Dismantling Continues in 
Massive Police Action."

Authorities have been arresting and pursuing members of the Vineland 
Boyz for more than a year and a half since the killing of Mathew 
Pavelka, a rookie Burbank police officer, in November 2003. David 
Garcia, whom police have described as a member of the gang, was 
arrested a few days after the killing and has been charged with the murder.

Authorities say the Vineland Boyz evolved from a tight-knit group of 
friends on a high school football team in the late 1980s to one of 
the San Fernando Valley's most violent and highly organized gangs. 
Unlike many street gangs, Vineland Boyz operates like a business, 
trafficking in narcotics and high-end illegal weapons, according to a 
federal indictment made public last month after raids that netted 36 
reputed gang members. Members of the gang are also known for dressing 
sharply, shunning the typical clothes associated with other gangs 
throughout Los Angeles.

The gang absorbed several other street gangs, forged an alliance with 
the Mexican Mafia to boost its narcotics trade, and controlled drug 
traffic in large areas of the San Fernando Valley and Burbank, 
authorities said.

The press release issued by law enforcement agencies Tuesday 
described the early morning raid as a continuation of the effort to 
dismantle the gang. According to the release, 600 police officers and 
federal agents fanned out across the San Fernando Valley, executing 
search warrants at 17 locations and visiting four others.

LAPD Lt. Paul Vernon, who wrote the press release for the task force, 
said he was told that those arrested in the sweep Tuesday were 
"affiliates" of the Vineland Boyz. He said he was unaware there was 
little evidence linking the suspects to the gang.

"If they are not directly involved, I'll accept that," Vernon said.

He said all the agencies involved in the operation read the press 
release and signed off on it.

Dubbed "Operation Swift Intruder," Tuesday's raid was a follow-up to 
last month's "Operation Silent Night" which targeted reputed Vineland 
Boyz members who had been indicted on federal racketeering charges.

Both raids, law enforcement officials said, dealt serious blows to the gang.

"The arrests today are a continuation of our pledge to put a violent 
street gang out of business," LAPD Chief William J. Bratton said in a 
prepared statement. "Yes, this is a labor intensive, expensive 
endeavor, but consider the cost of gang crime in loss of lives, 
property, and the added cost for the tax payers in public safety."

At a meeting of the Burbank city council Tuesday night, that city's 
police chief, Thomas Hoefel, said the raid targeted the narcotics 
wing of the gang's organization. "Clearly, we sent the message: If 
you know or are associated with the Vineland Boyz, you can't hide," 
Hoefel said.

* Times staff writer Wendy Lee contributed to this article.
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