LOS ANGELES, Calif.–A judge today granted a preliminary injunction against rival San Gabriel Valley gangs suspected in shootings, robberies and vandalism.
The two gangs are the Puente 13, with about 1,000 members, and Bassett Grande, based in the Valinda corridor with about 300 members, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Los Angeles Superior Court Judge James Chalfant granted the junction at the request of prosecutors.
The injunction legally turns a 16-square-mile area into a “safety zone”–the largest such area obtained by the District Attorney’s Office for a single gang injunction–that includes the cities of La Puente, Industry and a portion of West Covina, along with the communities of Avocado Heights, Bassett, South San Jose Hills, West Puente Valley and Valinda.
With limited exceptions, the injunction bars members of the two gangs from associating with each other in public and possessing weapons, drugs or graffiti tools in the “safety zone.”
The injunction also requires gang members to stay away from Bassett Park and La Puente Park, both in La Puente, and bars them from wearing gang apparel or loitering in public places in the safety zone, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
With the injunction in place, gang members can be picked up and jailed if officers see them doing anything illegal, or doing any of the other normally legally activities spelled out in the injunction.
