The Liberal Gun Club Forum

A Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputy "completely fabricated" a claim that he was shot by a sniper Wednesday while unloading a patrol car in the parking lot of the Lancaster Sheriff's station, department officials said Saturday.

Deputy Angel Reinosa, 21, who admitted in a follow-up interview to detectives that he made up the whole story, will be relieved of his duties and face a criminal investigation, Assistant Sheriff Robin Limon told reporters at a hastily convened press conference Saturday night.

Reinosa copped to cutting his own shirt with a knife to make it look like he had been shot.

For decades, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department has been under pressure to break up tattooed gangs of deputies accused of misconduct. But senior department officials, county leaders and prosecutors have failed to root out a subculture of inked clubs that pervades the nation’s largest sheriff’s agency.

Now, the FBI has opened an investigation of these secret societies that seeks to accomplish what high-powered sheriffs, blue-ribbon commissions and millions of dollars in lawsuits over the last 50 years have not: identify deputies who brand themselves with the matching tattoos and determine whether the groups they belong to encourage or commit criminal behavior.

The FBI probe into deputy gangs spotlights the shortcomings of local efforts, which have mostly been piecemeal, often resulting in investigations that focus on isolated acts of wrongdoing. “I think it reveals that the various county agencies can’t or won’t conduct a thorough, credible, independent investigation,” said Sean Kennedy, a Loyola Law School professor and member of the Sheriff Civilian Oversight Commission.

“The Sheriff’s Department can’t investigate itself. The district attorney doesn’t seem interested in investigating the internal gangs. I would think being a member of an internal clique or gang raises serious questions about testifying deputies’ bias and credibility,” he said. The Sheriff’s Department did not respond to that comment. On Friday, the department issued a statement from Sheriff Alex Villanueva saying he was unaware of any ongoing investigation by the FBI but would fully cooperate with such a probe. Greg Risling, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office, declined to comment.

The Times reported Thursday that FBI agents have been asking deputies about the inner workings of the Banditos, a club of deputies at the Sheriff’s Department’s East L.A. station who brand themselves with matching tattoos of a skeleton with a sombrero, bandolier and pistol, according to three people with close knowledge of the matter.

The agents have been trying to decipher whether leaders of the Banditos require or encourage prospects to commit illegal acts — planting evidence, engaging in unlawful shootings — to gain membership in the group, said the sources, who spoke to The Times on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing. The probe follows allegations of harassment and beatings by members of the Banditos at an off-duty party last fall. The revelations have stoked public outrage about the groups, most recently at town hall meetings last week that were focused on issues at the East L.A. station.

“We have a cancer that is infiltrating the Sheriff’s Department. That cancer is the gangs…. The gangs are coddled and encouraged by the sheriff,” Gil Botello, an East L.A.-born resident, told the oversight commission at a public meeting Thursday. “Enough with the stories. Enough with the dialoguing. We need you to take action.”

Officials and community members have long expressed concerns over secret societies of inked deputies that date as far back as the 1970s with the Little Devils at the East L.A. station. Other groups such as the Pirates, Jump Out Boys and Cavemen have surfaced over the years, with the cliques so enmeshed in department culture that their existence does not strike many deputies as odd. When news emerged in 1990 that a group of Lynwood station deputies known as the Vikings were engaging in street gang behavior, flashing hand signs and addressing one another as “homeboy” or “OG” for “original gangster,” then-Sheriff Sherman Block launched a department inquiry into possible wrongdoing by the group, which sported tattoos of a blond Viking head.

The revelations came after 81 residents in the mostly black and Latino area filed a federal class-action lawsuit accusing members of the station of racism, brutality and trashing their homes. A federal judge in the case concluded in 1991 that the Vikings were a “neo-Nazi, white supremacist gang” that operated under leaders who “tacitly authorize deputies’ unconstitutional behavior.” Though he pledged an investigation of improper conduct, Block made light of the allegations of gangster behavior, saying that “gangs get a kick out of the fact that deputies have their own sign.” He added that the brotherhoods “could be a very positive thing” and a “badge of honor,” according to contemporaneous news reports.

Former Sheriff Lee Baca repeatedly denounced the inked clubs even as his undersheriff, Paul Tanaka, was publicly known to have a Vikings tattoo for years during his service as one of the department’s top commanders. Tanaka is now in prison for conspiracy and obstructing an FBI investigation into deputy jail abuse, a scheme for which Baca was also convicted.

Former Sheriff Jim McDonnell abolished several logos used in the department that he deemed offensive, including an insignia that refers to the East L.A. station as “Fort Apache.” He announced a “comprehensive study” of deputy cliques but took pains to say that it was not a formal investigation and that he was mindful of deputies’ 1st Amendment rights in having the tattoos.

Shortly after taking office, Villanueva [current sheriff] brought back the banned East L.A. station logo, which also features an image of a boot with a riot helmet, the words “Low Profile,” and a Spanish phrase that means “Always a kick in the pants.” Critics say the symbol casts the station as a Wild West outpost of deputies who crack down on locals. The logo arose out of confrontations between law enforcement and anti-Vietnam War protesters during the 1970 Chicano Moratorium rally, according to KPCC/LAist.

Michael Gennaco, who monitored the Sheriff’s Department for more than a decade as head of the Office of Independent Review, which is no longer in operation, said it has been extremely difficult to simply get rid of the internal gangs.

He said officials have struggled to hit the right balance between protecting individual deputies’ rights to freedom of expression and association while stopping the groups from becoming vehicles for improper or illegal behavior.

Some deputies fired for misconduct tied to internal gangs have sued and gotten their jobs back, Gennaco noted.

TrueTexan wrote: Mon Aug 26, 2019 11:28 am An internal gang called the Bandidos. I wonder if they are an affiliate of the Bandidos Motorcycle gang? Would stand to reason why the state and local authorities don’t want to get involved in an investigation. Like the day when the Mafia/mob run certain cities. Investigate and things happen to you.

K9s wrote: Mon Aug 26, 2019 12:28 pm The difference is that this is being investigated. Klan police in red states? Ever hear of real investigations lately?

A sheriff’s deputy who allegedly faked being shot by a sniper and was previously investigated for dishonesty by Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department officials has been fired.

Angel Reinosa, a probationary employee who had been with the Sheriff’s Department for about a year, became the subject of a criminal investigation last week after he said he was shot by a sniper outside the sheriff’s Lancaster Station — a claim that officials said he later admitted was untrue.

Saying he had taken “swift administrative action in the matter,” Sheriff Alex Villanueva announced at a news conference Wednesday that Reinosa was no longer employed by the department or the county. Villanueva declined to elaborate on the deputy’s departure .

“I am disappointed that this incident occurred and upset that one member’s actions has reflected negatively on a department that has a history of service and heroism,” he said.

On his own radio call seeking help, sources say Reinosa sounded too calm for someone who had just been shot, let alone a rookie deputy.

By nightfall, even as a massive manhunt for his purported attacker continued, investigators began scrutinizing Reinosa’s story. Those early suspicions were borne out Saturday night, when investigators announced Reinosa had concocted the shooting.

The department plans to submit the results of its criminal investigation to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. Prosecutors ultimately will determine whether Reinosa will face criminal charges.

Sheriff’s Capt. Kent Wegener said the department is still waiting for forensic evidence, and is looking into how many hours officers spent searching for a suspect and the deployment of other resources to understand the full impact of the false report.

Law enforcement sources speaking on the condition of anonymity said detectives also are investigating whether Reinosa committed perjury, filed a false police report or falsely reported a work injury for financial gain.

Sources told The Times that Reinosa had been investigated in the past in another incident involving allegations of dishonesty documented by his supervisors. The investigation led to discipline, but no recommendation that he be fired. Reinosa had been preparing to move into a job in the sheriff’s detention system, sources said.