Dozens arrested in raids targeting gang linked to LAPD officer killed while house hunting

FBI agents and Los Angeles County deputies fanned out across the city early Tuesday, raiding 30 homes linked to the South L.A. gang Florencia 13, which was responsible for the 2022 killing of a Los Angeles police officer.

Hours after the arrests of about two dozen Los Angeles gang members, prosecutors unsealed indictments charging 37 people associated with Florencia 13, alleging a series of crimes, including fentanyl trafficking, extortion and three slayings — including that of a man beaten to death outside a bar in the gang’s “territory.�

The gang, which dates back some 70 years in South L.A., gained notoriety after the shooting death of LAPD Officer Fernando Arroyos, who was off-duty and house hunting with his girlfriend when they were targeted in an armed robbery on Jan. 10, 2022.

Three Florencia 13 gang members — Jesse Contreras, Luis Alfredo de la Rosa Rios and Ernesto Cisneros — pleaded guilty in 2023 to federal racketeering charges for their roles in the robbery and fatal shooting of Arroyos. The men were sentenced to long terms in federal prison — 50 years each for Cisneros and Rios and 35 for Contreras. In their pleas, they admitted killing Arroyos as part of gang activity perpetrated by Florencia 13.

Tuesday’s takedown included the arrests of 23 members and associates of Florencia 13 who are expected to be arraigned on 11 indictments in U.S. District Court in downtown Los Angeles. Six of the defendants were already in state or federal custody, and authorities are searching for eight others, including several believed to be fugitives in Mexico.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna, from left, Los Angeles Police Capt. Raul Jovel and other law enforcement leaders walk into a news conference to announce the unsealing of federal grand jury indictments charging a total of 37 members and associates of the South Los Angeles-based Florencia 13 street gang Tuesday.

(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

As part of the investigation, law enforcement seized about 21 pounds of methamphetamine, 9 pounds of fentanyl and 6½ pounds of heroin. Authorities also seized 25 firearms and about $70,000 in cash.

Over the years, demographic and social shifts have weakened many street gangs and caused some to die out. But Florencia — named after the east-west thoroughfare that runs through the heart of South L.A. — did the opposite, law enforcement officials say, absorbing smaller gangs and expanding its extortion and drug-dealing rackets.

“We are talking about murder, and we are talking about robbery and extortion,� Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said at a news conference Tuesday. “Every time we mention those words, there is at least one victim, if not multiple victims.�

U.S. Atty. Martin Estrada said that “this gang has been extremely destructive in South Los Angeles.�

“Through murder, drug trafficking, violent robberies and other criminal behavior, street gangs bring devastation upon our communities,� Estrada said while showing a poster of the 37 gang affiliates’ names in the indictments. “We must stand united against gang violence. Today’s arrests and seizures demonstrate that we will be relentless in combating these criminal organizations.�

Estrada said the indictments target those who run the gang from outside prison. In one instance, gang members are accused of beating a man to death outside a bar in October 2022 in the Florence-Firestone area. Estrada showed an image from a security video of the deadly attack, in which he said the defendants “kicked [the victim] and stomped on him and ultimately beat him to death with a baseball bat.�

Akil Davis, the assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles field office, said 19 of those indicted were arrested at their homes and four at an illegal underground bar.

“Florencia 13 is known for its barbaric tactics, which, tragically, resulted in several murders alleged in the indictment,� Davis said. “Residents of the community in which Florencia 13 operates deserve to live their lives without fear from violence and extortion, and this joint investigation demonstrates our shared commitment to that goal.�

Among those indicted is 30-year-old Celerino Jaramillo, identified as a shot-caller and leader of one of its cliques. Prosecutors allege that on June 19, 2023, Jaramillo and another man — 30-year-old Oscar Hernandez — shot and killed a member of the gang for violating its rules.

As a reward for his assistance in the killing, Hernandez was inducted into the gang, prosecutors say. The following month, Jaramillo and Hugo Armando Pineda, 36, were accused of killing another fellow gang member who was in “bad standing.�