News Release
January 13, 2009
Contact: SA Sarah Pullen
Public Information Officer
Phone Number: 213-621-6827

$5 Million Civil Judgement Against Downtown
Los Angeles Street Gang

LAPD Commander Sergio Diaz speaks with the media as LA HIDTA Associate SAC Briane Grey (fourth from right) and Assistant SAC Jon Goldberg (third from right) look on.

JAN 13 -- (LOS ANGELES) Los Angeles City Attorney Rocky Delgadillo, along with Federal and local law enforcement, announced today that the City Attorney’s Anti-Gang Unit had secured a $5 million civil judgment against the Fifth & Hill Street Gang and 11 named gang members as part of a permanent injunction restricting the criminal activity of the gang and their narcotics associates in the historic core of Los Angeles’ downtown area.

“Street gangs bring fear into our neighborhoods through drugs, violence and intimidation,” said DEA Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. Landrum. “The partnership between the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) Southern California Drug Task Force and local law enforcement have resulted in the 5th and Hill gang being taken off the streets of downtown Los Angeles, making our communities safer."

Approved by Los Angeles Superior Court, the permanent gang injunction severely restricts the ability of the gang to commit criminal and nuisance activity including the sale of heroin and other narcotics within the established downtown Los Angeles Safety Zone as defined within the boundaries of 2 nd Street to the North, San Pedro Street to the East, 9 th Street to the South and Olive Street to the West. At the core of the Safety Zone is the northeast corner of Pershing Square, at which 5 th Street and Hill Street converge.

“The 5 th & Hill Gang has long been heavily involved in the sale of heroin in downtown Los Angeles, and we know they have profited from these illegal activities,” said City Attorney Delgadillo. “We are going to work aggressively with our Federal State and local partners to locate and collect their assets – and every penny we strip away from these criminals will be returned to the neighborhoods they have tormented.”

A unique provision of the injunction makes the gang injunction effective not only against gang members but also against the gang’s "Heroin Sales Associates" - defined as anyone arrested twice for possession for sales, or sales where the alleged controlled substance was heroin, and the arrest occurred within the established Safety Zone. This new provision was sought b ecause 5 th & Hill gang members attempt to insulate themselves from criminal liability by using non-gang members to move its product on the street.

In addition to granting a permanent gang injunction, the Court also awarded $4,200,000 in civil damages against the 5 th and Hill gang as well as 12 named gang members. The Court also awarded an additional $857,500 in civil penalties against the gang and the named members for their violations of the Unlawful Business Practices Act.

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