Three Arrested in Multi-Agency Gang-Related Sweep in Palm Springs
Three Arrested in Multi-Agency Gang-Related Sweep in Palm Springs
by Contributing Editor
Three people were arrested Wednesday during a multi-agency sweep targeting a Coachella Valley street gang thought to be involved in dozens of shootings and three homicides reported in Palm Springs in recent months.
More than 100 law enforcement officers served search warrants at a dozen locations in and around Palm Springs early Wednesday targeting the Barrio San Rafael gang, according to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office.
The gang was targeted by law enforcement in response to a violent feud with a rival in and near the Desert Highlands Gateway Estates neighborhood which Palm Springs Police Department Chief Bryan Reyes has said is responsible for an uptick in crime.
The three arrests — two men and one woman — stemmed from an unspecified assault with a deadly weapon case being investigated by Palm Springs police. The two men are documented gang members, while the woman is not, according to John Hall, a public information officer with the District Attorney’s Office.
“The purpose of the operation is an effort to quell the gang violence between rival gangs based on a rash of shootings and to collect evidence of crimes committed by gang members,” a statement by the District Attorney’s Office reads.
The operation was orchestrated by the Riverside County Gang Impact Team, which includes law enforcement personnel from various local, state and federal agencies, in conjunction with the Palm Springs Police Department.
No weapons were seized during the predawn operation, but the District Attorney’s Office said stolen property and items related to gang activity were collected.
Gang violence in and around Desert Highlands Gateway Estates has led to at least three deaths over the summer and dozens of shootings, according to authorities.
The last publicized fatality was a 15-year-old boy who was shot and killed in the 300 block of Avenida Cerca on Aug. 26. Two others were also injured in the shootout.
On July 31, two people, ages 17 and 21, were fatally wounded in the area of Palm Vista and Granada Avenue in Palm Springs. They died a short while later at a hospital.
Authorities say Barrio San Rafael was connected to each of these drive-by shootings.
Police in September announced the arrests of three teenagers accused in the gang violence in northern Palm Springs, including one boy subsequently charged with murder.
The arrests of two 16-year-olds and one 15-year-old occurred in Desert Highland Gateway Estates and the Santiago Sunrise Village Mobile Home Park over two weeks.
Additional information, including whether the murder charge was tied to one of the three gang-related shootings attributed to Barrio San Rafael, was unclear.
This is not the first a large law enforcement raid in northern Palm Springs tied to the feud in recent memory.
More than 100 law enforcement personnel served search warrants in Desert Highland Gateway Estates and the Santiago Sunrise Village Mobile Home Park on Aug. 6, the culmination of a nearly yearlong investigation into two dozen confirmed shootings in and around those neighborhoods dating to October 2019.
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All credit goes to Contributing Editor
Originally published on https://mynewsla.com
