Yearlong investigation targets hate gang, yields seven arrests

A yearlong investigation of a hate gang calling itself the Inland Empire Skinheads resulted Monday in the arrests of seven people, including Riverside County and High Desert residents.

San Bernardino County Sheriff Rod Hoops said the gang, first noticed by authorities in 2002, has more than 30 members but fewer than 100. Members are spread out across the Inland Empire and have ties to a national white supremacist group called the Hammerskins, said sheriff's Deputy Eric Ogaz, the lead investigator for the department's High Desert Crime Impact Team.

The gang uses MySpace and other Internet sources to recruit members, including high school students under 18, Ogaz said. It touts "the need for white people to come together and fight against" people of other ethnic backgrounds, he said.

Hoops and Ogaz declined to release many of the specifics of the investigation, saying that it is continuing and could lead to more arrests. Hoops said gang members have been involved in an unspecified number of murders, attempted murders, murder conspiracies, home invasion robberies, assaults, witness intimidation and narcotics trafficking.

Raymond Williams, 34, a tattoo artist from Perris described by authorities as the gang leader, was arrested at a hospital where his wife was giving birth.

Hoops said deputies learned that two women affiliated with the gang, one of whom was arrested, were pregnant and considering inducing labor so their children could be born on Monday: the 120th birthday of Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler.

Arrested on a range of charges were Williams, Carrie Goodwin, 24, of Hesperia, Jeremy Brower, 32, of Winchester, Thomas Mason, 23, Joseph Mason, 20, and Mark Goslyn, 33, all of Hesperia, and Ronald Proffitt, 27, of El Monte. Offenses included parole violations, possession of weapons and home invasion robbery.