A new report is shaking things at the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department.
Rolling Stone reported at least half a dozen active gangs and cliques sit at the highest levels of the department. The report gave a recommendation to the new sheriff in town, Sheriff Robert Luna, saying, “It is time to eradicate this 50-year plague upon the County of Los Angeles.” Some of the gang names listed in the report include the Executioners, the Banditos, the Regulators, the Spartans, the Gladiators, the Cowboys, and the Reapers.
The 70-page investigation described a deputy-gang culture rooted deep within LASD, and a threat posed to the public. Deputies are actively seeking out violent encounters with the public, hoping to prove themselves worthy of gang membership.
“Tattooed deputy gang members” ironically have climbed the leadership ladder within the department. The leader at the forefront of the investigation is Alex Villanueva, who recently lost his 2022 reelection bid.Villanueva allegedly promised “reform” by hiring gang members as his right-hand men, but has constantly denied those allegations. Special Counsel Bert Deixler said the reports says otherwise.
“Contrary to the
statements of the prior sheriff, deputy gangs exist and operate in the department, as they have for the last 50 years,” Deixler said, according to Fox News. “They are a cancer.”Deixler said he interviewed several people who claimed to be scared or worried about professional damage.
The timeline of hired leaders doesn’t make things any better. According to the report, Villanueva
promoted Timothy Murakami, an alleged tattooed Caveman, to become Undersheriff, and Lawrence Del Mese, accused of being a tattooed Grim Reaper, as Chief of Staff. The report stated Special Counsel “repeatedly sought” to meet with Villanueva and Murakami, but both refused.Del Mese testified that his tattoos were removed before joining the Villanueva team since they are “a bad look.”