Bobby Flores, Gang Truce Organizer, Dies at 35

PLACENTIA — Bobby Flores, a leader and spokesman for the United Gang Council which organized a peace treaty last year among Orange County gangs, has died of cancer. He was 35.

Flores was told in late February that he had liver cancer and was not expected to survive more than three months. He died on March 28 at his home and was cremated, family members said.

Flores, who grew up in the Atwood barrio in Placentia, told The Times in a March 9 interview that Orange County had become too violent. He wanted his two children to be able to attend school without fear of being hit by a stray bullet.

“I’ve done some gangbanging when I was young, but never anything heavy-duty. . . . It’s not right,” he said. “Everybody should be able to get along with everybody else.”

Flores went to San Jose State University, earning a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1981.

He moved back to Placentia but became involved with drugs and spent a month in jail on minor drug charges.

When he was released, he vowed he would not “mess himself with drugs” but instead help his community.

Martha Flores, his younger sister, said that last year he found out there was a meeting of all of the gangs in Santa Ana and he decided to see how he could contribute.

“At the second meeting Bobby took all of the guys from Atwood to the meeting,” Martha Flores said. “The whole neighborhood listened to him.”

Bobby Flores was adamant about peace in the barrios and said it was important for all of the young barrio kids to understand that gang-banging was wrong, Martha Flores said.

When one of the United Gang Council leaders was arrested last summer on suspicion of money-laundering, Bobby Flores was the only remaining visible leader.

Last March, the Orange County district attorney’s office released statistics revealing a drop in gang crime. Many local law enforcement and government officials were willing to credit the treaty organized by the United Gang Council as a contributor to the decrease.

“The gang truce is definitely having some effect,” Santa Ana City Councilman Ted R. Moreno said.

Flores is survived by his daughters, Delilah, 11, and Daniela, 4.