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VISIT HEYSOCAL.COM
MONDAY, APRIL 13-APRIL 19, 2026
NO. 271
VOL. 14,
County pays $8M to settle lawsuit over ‘Banditos’ gang within Sheriff’s Department
LA County board OKs $300M in bonds fire restoration, flood protection
By City News Service
By Staff
T
he county Board of Supervisors agreed Tuesday to pay $8 million to settle a long-pending lawsuit by multiple sheriff’s deputies who claimed they were pressured to quit or leave the East Los Angeles station by an internal deputy clique known as the Banditos. The Los Angeles Superior Court suit filed by plaintiffs Art Hernandez, Alfred Gonzalez, Benjamin Zaredini, David Casas, Louis Granados, Mario Contreras, Areila Leums and Oscar Escobedo had been scheduled to go to trial early last year, but attorneys filed court papers just prior to trial indicating a settlement had been reached, although no dollar figure was announced. After months of review at the county level, the Board of Supervisors approved the $8 million settlement amount on Tuesday. Hernandez resigned from the department in September 2023 after disciplinary action was taken against him related to, among other things, two drunk-driving arrests in four years, according to county court papers. The plaintiffs’ suit was originally filed in September 2019 and deals in part with the events that allegedly occurred during a September 2018 training session at Kennedy Hall — an East Los Angeles event venue where the plaintiffs maintain the
Clockwise from left, the “Banditos,” “Executioners” and “Vikings” are three of several LASD deputy gangs identified in recent years. | Photos courtesy of LMU Loyola Law School
alleged Banditos “suckerpunched” Hernandez and “knocked him out cold,” then kicked him while he was unconscious and unable to defend himself. The suit alleges the assailants also grabbed Escobedo from behind twice and choked him unconscious in a manner that could have killed him. The plaintiffs were threatened and bullied in attempts to get them to conform to a “corrupt culture,” were denied needed backup on dangerous calls and were “shaken down” and ordered to pay taxes to the gang, according to the suit. The plaintiffs also allege they were given excessive calls, sent hostile messages, forced to perform unpaid overtime and denied promotions and transfers. County attorneys argued in their court papers that the county was not responsible for anything that allegedly happened to the plaintiffs at Kennedy Hall. “The county cannot be
held liable for the fight since none of the people involved were acting within the scope of their employment with the department, not the plaintiffs or the individual defendants,” the county attorneys stated. “The party was voluntary — LASD did not require anyone to go. It was planned and funded by the deputies. None of the attendees were on- duty. And it took place at a site not owned or operated by the county.” The county put the individual defendants on administrative leave, investigated the incident and then fired the individual defendants for their involvement, according to the attorneys’ court papers. The plaintiffs alleged the Banditos are an all-Latino gang that targets young Latinos for harassment, but the county lawyers stated in their court papers that the plaintiffs cannot show they heard a single comment or insult about their ethnicity.
The Banditos actually admitted members of all races and treated all nonBanditos the same, regardless of race, and the plaintiffs were harassed only after they spoke out against the Banditos and not because the plaintiffs themselves are Latinos, the county lawyers stated in their court papers. During Tuesday’s board meeting, Sheriff Robert Luna insisted that a series of measures have been or were being implemented to prevent deputies’ participation in internal cliques or gangs. “I require all new deputies to sign a pledge that they will not join a law enforcement gang or behave in this manner,” Luna said. “I also meet with all the new supervisors to ensure they understand their responsibilities in ending this issue. I’m meeting regularly with department executives to reinforce my position that I will not tolerate participation in such activity. “A question is now asked to captains and above if they are going through the promotional process if they have participated in this type of activity, or if they have a station tattoo,” he said. Luna noted that the department’s Civilian See Banditos Page 27
Strong storms brought tons of sediment and debris into the San Gabriel Reservoir during the winter after the 2024 Bridge Fire. | Photo courtesy of Los Angeles County Public Works
T
he Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday approved up to $300 million in revenue bonds to finance flood control and water conservation infrastructure at the San Gabriel Reservoir, including repairs to damage from the 2024 Bridge Fire. The first round of funding from the bonds will support completing this year the San Gabriel Reservoir PostFire Emergency Restoration Project Part 2. In 2027 Bond funds will also launch the San Gabriel Reservoir Restoration Project for Bridge Fire fixes. Supervisors approved the request from LA County Public Works, authorizing the agency’s Financing Authority to issue the bonds in multiple series, according to a county staff report. The first bond series will not exceed $100 million in principal and will generate approxiSee San Gabriel Dam Page 28
mately $100.2 million in total proceeds. The Bridge Fire raged between September and November 2024, scorching over 56,000 acres in and around the San Gabriel Mountains, including about 37,940 acres of the watershed that feeds into the reservoir. Public Works officials estimate the fire dramatically increased the potential for debris flows into the reservoir by an additional 6.6 million cubic yards of sediment. Such volume could bury the dam’s intakes, disable its outlet works and trigger uncontrolled spillway flows, creating serious risks of floods for communities downstream. The county’s estimate for total construction costs for both projects combined is $243 million. The LA County Flood Control District anticipates removing up to