Life Sentences for Avenues Gang Members in Los Angeles Civil Rights Case

Strategic Insights -

Three members of the Avenues street gang were sentenced to life in federal prison without the possibility of parole for their roles in a six-year conspiracy to assault and murder African Americans in the Highland Park area of Los Angeles. The defendants, Gilbert Saldana, Alejandro Martinez, and Fernando Cazares, were convicted of violating the civil rights of African-Americans by attacking and sometimes killing the victims. The conspiracy led to the murders of two African American men, Christopher Bowser and Kenneth Kurry Wilson, and numerous violent assaults against African-Americans.

Key Takeaways:

  • The three defendants were sentenced to life in federal prison without the possibility of parole for participating in a six-year conspiracy that led to the assault and murder of African Americans in the Highland Park area of Los Angeles.
  • The defendants, Gilbert Saldana, Alejandro Martinez, and Fernando Cazares, each received two consecutive life sentences for their parts in the murders of two African American men.
  • The conspiracy committed numerous violent assaults against African-Americans, including murders that took place in 1999 and 2000.
  • The jury found that the defendants caused the death of Christopher Bowser, an African American man who was shot while waiting at a bus stop in Highland Park on December 11, 2000.
  • The jury also found that the defendants caused the death of Kenneth Kurry Wilson, an African American man who was gunned down while looking for a parking place in Highland Park on April 18, 1999.
  • Saldana was convicted of being the triggerman in the Wilson murder and is currently serving a life sentence in state prison for another murder.
  • Martinez was convicted of instigating the Wilson murder by using a racial slur and encouraging his fellow gang members to kill Wilson.
  • Cazares was convicted of serving as a look-out during the Wilson murder.
  • A four-year investigation by the FBI and the Los Angeles Police Department led to the convictions.
  • The case was prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office in Los Angeles and the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice.
  • A $20,000 reward is being offered by the FBI for information leading to the capture of the fugitive, Merced Cambero.

Statistics:

  • 6 years: the length of the conspiracy that led to the assault and murder of African Americans in the Highland Park area of Los Angeles.
  • 2: the number of life sentences each of the three defendants received for their parts in the murders of African American men.
  • 2: the number of African American men who were murdered as a result of the conspiracy, Christopher Bowser and Kenneth Kurry Wilson.
  • 4: the number of defendants involved in the conspiracy, with three sentenced to life in prison and one fugitive, Merced Cambero.
  • 1999 and 2000: the years in which the murders took place.

Sources:

  • U.S. Newswire via COMTEX
  • U.S. Department of Justice
  • FBI Los Angeles Field Office
  • Los Angeles Police Department
  • United States Attorney's Office in Los Angeles
  • Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice