EAST SIDE RIVA

Indictment, sweep targets Inland gang


01:38 PM PST on Wednesday, January 27, 2010

By JOHN ASBURY
The Press-Enterprise

Federal and local authorities handed down a federal indictment today, targeting a generational Riverside street gang with ties to the Mexican Mafia.

FBI and DEA agents carried out arrest warrants this morning throughout the city -- with help from Riverside police and district attorney officials -- on the East Side Riva gang.

Federal authorities indicted 20 gang members, charging them with methamphetamine trafficking and hate crimes against African Americans.

The gang was previously the target of Riverside County's first gang injunction. In August 2007, the Riverside County district attorney's office ordered a "Safety Zone" in Riverside's Eastside neighborhood, an area between downtown and UC Riverside. The estimated 500 members of the gang named in the injunction are still not permitted to associate with each other, wear gang attire or carry out other criminal activity.

Six of the those charged in the federal indictments were arrested this morning, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. Another nine of the defendants charged were already incarcerated when the indictment was issued. Authorities are still seeking the remaining five defendants.

FBI and DEA agents began investigating the gang in November 2008 where Riva members were accused of making payments to the Mexican Mafia -- known as "taxes" or "rent" -- to maintain status with the Mexican Mafia, a largely prison-based organization where prisoners control the drug trade from the inside.

The kingpin of the methamphetamine operation targeted today was Salvador Orozco Hernandez Jr., 45, of Bloomington, who is in state prison serving a sentence on an attempted murder conviction. Hernandez is charged with ordering senior Riva members to collect dues and conduct drug deals in the Eastside area.

Members of the gang indicted include the its suspected leader and president, Robert Zavala Carrillo, 37, of Moreno Valley, who is a wanted fugitive.

Federal authorities also charged what they called "a liaison" between the Riva gang and the Mexican Mafia. Christopher Nevarez, 38, of Riverside, is currently in state prison on a parole violation.

Two men who previously challenged their role in the gang injunction now face federal charges. Ignacio Chavez, 32, of Riverside used to maintain a MySpace page boasting of gang membership and rap music related to the Rivas. He told the judge hearing the injunction case that he was not a gang member, but was a "gangster rapper." He is now in jail awaiting trial on attempted murder charges, accused of shooting at a rival gang member and killing a dog.

Authorities also arrested Nateno Moreno, 32, of Riverside. He previously challenged the injunction, but was ultimately included despite claiming he left the gang lifestyle behind.

U.S. Attorneys officials said members of the gang are known to arm themselves with multiple guns and go "cruising" to rival gang turf to attack other gangsters.

The gang is known to attack African American gang members and those in a predominately black gang known as the 1200 Blocc Crips when they enter Riva territory.

"ESR relies on the possession of firearms to defend and maintain its turf," according to the indictment, "to attack and defend themselves form rival gang members and to create an atmosphere of fear in which witnesses will be reluctant to testify against the gang members out of fear of retaliation."

Reach John Asbury at 951-763-3451 or jasbury@pe.com

DAAAMN THIS IS SUM CRAZY SHIIT.. THEY GOT THE FBI AND DEA ON EM N EVERYTHING, THAT HOOD IS GOING SOUTH, ITS NOT LOOKING GOOD FOR EM ANYMORE

50 arrested in Riverside gang sweep
Thirty-four agencies target East Side Riva, which has wreaked havoc for 20 years in Riverside County and beyond.
By David Kelly
January 28, 2010

Reporting from Riverside - Hundreds of law enforcement officers took part in a massive sweep against the leadership of Riverside's most notorious gang Wednesday, making 50 arrests and confiscating armor-piercing bullets, assault rifles, knives and two caged rattlesnakes.

"The weapons you see are a small sample of what is out there on the street," said Riverside Police Chief Russ Leach, standing by a table displaying guns, machetes and bullets at a Riverside news conference. "The gangs don't run the streets, the citizens do."

Some 650 officers representing 34 agencies, including the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, took part in the raids, designed to decapitate East Side Riva, or ESR, a gang with a 20-year history of wreaking havoc in Riverside County and beyond.

The two leaders, Robert Zavala Carillo, 37, and Mark Alexander Gill, 35, managed to escape, authorities said.

The gang's territory sits between downtown and the edges of UC Riverside. According to the Riverside County district attorney's office, the gang has about 820 members and maintains long-standing ties with the Mexican Mafia, which protects ESR members in prison in exchange for "taxes" on the gang's illegal drug sales.

The gang is also accused of hate crimes against African Americans.

A gang-produced, profanity-laced CD was found during the sweep; on it, gang members rapped about being unfairly targeted by a 2007 gang injunction, then taunted the police to try to shut them down.

"We're still here and still standing tall. . . . The D.A. will never make us small," they rap.

Riverside County Dist. Atty. Rod Pacheco said the rattlesnakes were found in one of the targeted homes.

"I'm told one bite can kill you in about 20 minutes," he said, glancing at the coiled snakes.

Acting U.S. Atty. George Cardona said 19 of those charged face possible life sentences because of the volume of drugs, mostly methamphetamine, they sold.

"Operation Promise" began 15 months ago when Leach and Pacheco grew worried about the growing menace posed by the East Side Riva.

The operational name grew out of Pacheco's promise to residents of Riverside's gritty, often violent East Side to crack down on the gang.

"I'd say 99% of people there are decent, hardworking folks, but unfortunately, 1% are gang members," Pacheco said.

"We did damage today to the top leadership, the folks who sell the drugs."

Pacheco said the gang had engaged in a "race war" against blacks, both those in rival gangs and ordinary citizens.

"The Rivas started it and they have been going after African American males ever since," he said.

"We had a guy getting gas who was shot in the head only because of the color of his skin. A lot of innocent people have been killed," he said.

Pacheco has a history of launching massive, high-profile operations.

Last year he sent in Apache helicopters, armored cars and 700 law enforcement agents against 450 gang members in Desert Hot Springs.

The sweep was dubbed "Operation Falling Sun" and was the biggest such sweep in county history.


I think its funny Pacheco calls the gang members the 1%....thats what the hells angels and all the biker gangs were called in relation to just regular motorcyle riders.

KRAZiE B0i32 wrote:DAAAMN THIS IS SUM CRAZY SHIIT.. THEY GOT THE FBI AND DEA ON EM N EVERYTHING, THAT HOOD IS GOING SOUTH, ITS NOT LOOKING GOOD FOR EM ANYMORE

YEA ITS NOT LOOKING GOOD AT ALL
SAME SHIT THAT HAPPENED TO SSRIALTO SAGE SLOWLY GONNA DIE OUT.... TO MUCH HEAT ON THEM

Hazzard909 wrote:

KRAZiE B0i32 wrote:DAAAMN THIS IS SUM CRAZY SHIIT.. THEY GOT THE FBI AND DEA ON EM N EVERYTHING, THAT HOOD IS GOING SOUTH, ITS NOT LOOKING GOOD FOR EM ANYMORE

YEA ITS NOT LOOKING GOOD AT ALL
SAME SHIT THAT HAPPENED TO SSRIALTO SAGE SLOWLY GONNA DIE OUT.... TO MUCH HEAT ON THEM

YEAH I THINK THIS WAS 2 DIFFERENT SWEEPS WASNT IT?? I DONT THINK THEY'LL DIE OUT BUT THE EAST SIDE WILL BE CALM FOR A MINUTE UNTIL THESE YOUNGSTERS RIGHT NOW LEARN HOW TO DO THEIR THING THE WAY THE OLDER VATOS DID

Hazzard909 wrote:

KRAZiE B0i32 wrote:DAAAMN THIS IS SUM CRAZY SHIIT.. THEY GOT THE FBI AND DEA ON EM N EVERYTHING, THAT HOOD IS GOING SOUTH, ITS NOT LOOKING GOOD FOR EM ANYMORE

YEA ITS NOT LOOKING GOOD AT ALL
SAME SHIT THAT HAPPENED TO SSRIALTO SAGE SLOWLY GONNA DIE OUT.... TO MUCH HEAT ON THEM

Eastside Riva is a real hood, so it's not likely to die out like crews and wannabe hoods do under the same pressure or less. For example, many of the gangs in west San Bernardino and Verdugo Flats have had injunctions on them for a long time, yet are still very active. Just because the neighborhood feels calmer and less violent does not mean that it's inactive.