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Home > All News > 2009 News
Outburst of gang violence in El Monte and West Valinda leave two dead, three woundedPosted: 06/19/2009 09:18:21 PM PDT
An outburst of gang violence left two men dead, another critically injured, and two others slightly wounded, authorities said Friday. No arrests have been made, and detectives had little information regarding suspects in any of Thursday's shooting incidents. The spate of shootings took authorities by surprise. "This kind of violence is unpredictable and we are committed to devoting a lot of resources to deal with these situations," said Los Angeles County sheriff's Lt. John McBride. The incidents included: About 1 a.m. Thursday, Sonny Garcia, 20, of El Monte, was killed outside an El Monte graduation party. About 4:30 p.m Thursday, an unidentified man was critically wounded and another slightly in a drive-by shooting near the intersection of Puente Avenue and Amar Road in West Valinda. The gunman shouted out the name of a Baldwin Park street gang, "East Side Bolen," before opening fire. About 8:30 p.m., Carlos Yanez, 18, was killed and his teenaged friend was wounded in a drive-by shooting on Griffiths Avenue near Fellowship Street in Valinda. Stray bullets from the incident struck a home and nearly hit toddlers playing inside, witnesses said. Yanez lived at the home with his parents, who rented from Rocio Robles, 29, who lives in another home on the property, Robles said. Robles was home with her children - a 7-year-old daughter and 4-year-old son - at the time of the shooting. She had gone to her car parked behind the home to get her cell phone when she heard what she thought were fireworks. When she returned, she found her children scared by the sound. She looked out the window that overlooks the porch and saw Yanez lying on his back. She ran to the porch to help him. "I was trying to check his pulse and see if he was breathing," Robles said. "His father came out and pulled me back. He kneeled down and hugged (the victim) and said `They killed my son."' Yanez and his family haven't had any issues with violence in the past, Robles said. She had given them a 30-day notice to move out in months prior when the victim had been throwing parties at the home. The family quieted down and Robles let them stay, she said. The Yanez family had planned to move out, though, and take their son to a new town by the end of August, Robles said. After the shooting, Robles may do the same. "I couldn't sleep," she said. "Cause, oh my God, what if (the shooters) missed?" Detectives had no description of suspects or if more than one suspect was involved in the shooting. Detectives declined to release exactly how many shots were fired or where Yanez was hit except to say it was in his upper body. Hours before Yanez was killed, a gang attack at 4:30 p.m in West Valinda critically wounded an unidentified man in his 30s and another man in his 50s was shot in the leg, sheriff's officials said. A dark Acura Integra or Honda Civic carrying four individuals pulled up to an intersection in the 13600 block of East Judith Street near Millbury Avenue and fired nine shots at the victims standing nearby, sheriff's officials said. Before firing, the suspects proclaimed their gang name and taunted the men, shouting "Say something, fool, say something, fool." Earlier in the day, Garcia was killed at the corner of Fairview Street and Elrovia Avenue in El Monte when shots were fired by one or two suspects outside the party at 1 a.m., Los Angeles County Department of Coroner officials said. The suspects were part of a small group of party crashers, Sheriff's Department officials said. It was neither known what the motive for the shooting was, nor if Garcia was the intended target or the victim of an errant bullet, sheriff's officials said. It was also not known what Garcia's association with the party was. The graduation party was for students from Arroyo High School, but school officials said Garcia had no association with the school. News Topics | Surenos | Home | Research | History | Blood Gangs | Crip Gangs | People | Gallery | Blog | |