Multi-Agency Sweep Results in 13 Gang Arrests

U.S. Attorney Melinda Haag joined state and local officials in South San Francisco Thursday to announce the arrests of 13 alleged members of violent Bay Area street gangs who were taken into custody in a multi-agency operation carried out at 11 locations this morning.

Three special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement were shot during a raid in Petaluma this morning in which one member of the 500 Block and C Street gangs -- two separate gangs that work together -- was successfully taken into custody after trying to escape while shooting at the agents, Haag said.

Haag said all three agents were hospitalized but are expected to survive.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the three agents who were injured during this morning's operation," Haag said. "My office is proud to be associated with professionals who put their lives on the line to protect others."

The agents were shot when they served warrants at a home near McNeil Avenue and South McDowell Boulevard in Petaluma at around 4:30 a.m., ICE spokeswoman Virginia Kice said.

A total of 19 members of the Nortenos-affiliated 500 Block and C Street gangs were named in an indictment returned by a federal grand jury in San Francisco on April 24. Four suspects -- Joseph Ortiz, 22, of South San Francisco; Victor Flores, 20, of Petaluma; Justin Whipple, 19, of San Bruno; and Benjamin Campos-Gonzalez, 21, of San Mateo -- are suspected of fatally shooting three men they believed to be rival gang members in South San Francisco in 2010.

On Dec. 22, 2010, Omar Cortez, 18, Gonzalo Avalos, 19, and Hector Flores, 20, all of South San Francisco, were fatally shot in a drive-by shooting at the intersection of Eighth Lane and Linden Avenue.

Three other males between 15 and 20 years old were wounded but survived. All four of those suspects will be eligible for the death penalty if convicted, Haag said.

Sixteen of the 19 defendants named in the indictment have been charged with racketeering conspiracy, conspiracy to commit murder in aid of racketeering, and other charges.

Homeland Security investigations Special Agent in Charge Clark Settles called the operation a success and warned gang members throughout the Bay Area that federal, state and local authorities will keep working to bring criminal gangs to justice.

"Be looking over your shoulder, because there's a good chance we're coming for you next," Settles said.

Fifteen suspects are currently in federal custody and are scheduled to make their initial appearances in San Francisco before U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Spero on Friday.

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