1 00:00:03,699 --> 00:00:05,701 - I'd received a phone call. 2 00:00:05,744 --> 00:00:08,007 "You need to turn on the television." 3 00:00:08,051 --> 00:00:10,053 And there was one of our partners 4 00:00:10,097 --> 00:00:12,099 on a gurney, having his chest pumped. 5 00:00:13,230 --> 00:00:17,060 And he was obviously not going to make it. 6 00:00:17,104 --> 00:00:19,236 - 35-year-old, Jerry Ortiz, 7 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:21,412 shot and killed in the line of duty Friday night. 8 00:00:21,456 --> 00:00:23,240 - Executed is the way I would describe that. 9 00:00:23,284 --> 00:00:25,329 - Following the murder of Deputy Ortiz, 10 00:00:25,373 --> 00:00:27,984 the Sherif's department sought Federal and Local assistance 11 00:00:28,028 --> 00:00:30,508 to help destroy the Hawaiian Garden's gang. 12 00:00:30,552 --> 00:00:33,642 - They said, "We'd like you to handle the investigation." 13 00:00:33,685 --> 00:00:35,470 And I said, "I'd be honoured." 14 00:00:35,513 --> 00:00:38,342 - You're talking about creating a task force 15 00:00:38,386 --> 00:00:40,083 that has a singular mission. 16 00:00:40,127 --> 00:00:42,042 And that mission is to bring them to their knees. 17 00:00:42,085 --> 00:00:44,696 - We knew that a representative from the FBI was coming in there. 18 00:00:44,740 --> 00:00:46,220 And to tell you the truth, we needed it. 19 00:00:46,263 --> 00:00:48,091 - Thank you very much, everybody. 20 00:00:48,135 --> 00:00:49,919 - We realized, 21 00:00:49,962 --> 00:00:53,053 "Man, we're looking at over 1000 law enforcement officers." 22 00:00:53,096 --> 00:00:55,620 - When we picked that spot and we showed up, 23 00:00:55,664 --> 00:00:57,753 we thought, "This is going to be huge." 24 00:00:58,797 --> 00:01:02,279 - This is the thin blue line. This is what it looks like. 25 00:01:02,323 --> 00:01:04,238 - FBI! Open the door! 26 00:01:07,328 --> 00:01:10,157 [narration]: In the FBI, we make a lot of headlines. 27 00:01:13,160 --> 00:01:17,338 Drug busts, mob stings, 28 00:01:17,381 --> 00:01:19,949 terrorist takedowns. 29 00:01:19,992 --> 00:01:22,256 [indistinct communication] 30 00:01:22,299 --> 00:01:25,259 [narration]: We understand why people want to tell stories about us. 31 00:01:25,301 --> 00:01:26,825 - Freeze! - FBI. 32 00:01:26,869 --> 00:01:28,479 - FBI! - Action! 33 00:01:28,523 --> 00:01:30,045 - But they don't know the half of it. 34 00:01:31,700 --> 00:01:33,396 What really goes down, 35 00:01:33,441 --> 00:01:36,183 we save that for each other, 36 00:01:36,226 --> 00:01:38,315 when we're talking agent to agent. 37 00:01:41,710 --> 00:01:44,321 This is FBI True. 38 00:01:46,193 --> 00:01:49,109 [tense music] 39 00:01:49,152 --> 00:01:53,200 - The Varrio Hawaiian Gardens is a gang out of Southern California. 40 00:01:55,550 --> 00:01:58,814 And even though Hawaiian Gardens the city is one square mile, 41 00:02:00,032 --> 00:02:03,471 he did have at least 1,200 documented gang members out of there 42 00:02:03,514 --> 00:02:04,863 and at least 200 affiliates. 43 00:02:04,907 --> 00:02:07,605 - Gary Sloan worked as a Deputy 44 00:02:07,649 --> 00:02:11,218 with the Los Angeles County Sherif's Department for 30 years. 45 00:02:11,261 --> 00:02:16,223 17 of which he worked as a homicide investigator and gang detective. 46 00:02:16,266 --> 00:02:18,225 - I have to stop you. So it's one square mile 47 00:02:18,268 --> 00:02:20,009 and you have how many documented gang members? 48 00:02:20,052 --> 00:02:23,230 - 1200. - Okay, that's unbelievable. 49 00:02:23,273 --> 00:02:27,190 - Kristy Kottis is a 24-year veteran of the FBI. 50 00:02:27,234 --> 00:02:30,324 She worked gangs, crimes against children 51 00:02:30,367 --> 00:02:32,543 as well as human and drug trafficking. 52 00:02:33,283 --> 00:02:35,764 - Multiple murders, multiple robberies. 53 00:02:35,807 --> 00:02:39,028 The whole fear within the community 54 00:02:40,769 --> 00:02:43,598 was exactly textbook when it comes 55 00:02:43,641 --> 00:02:47,776 to what the gang life is truly, truly all about. 56 00:02:47,819 --> 00:02:49,603 And that's to put the fear into the community, 57 00:02:49,647 --> 00:02:51,345 take what you want when you want. 58 00:02:51,388 --> 00:02:53,173 Believe it or not, 59 00:02:53,216 --> 00:02:55,740 the rules of the street are actually set in State Prison. 60 00:02:57,177 --> 00:02:59,353 And the State Prisons are segregated. 61 00:02:59,396 --> 00:03:01,268 Blacks do not get along with Hispanics, 62 00:03:01,311 --> 00:03:03,661 Hispanics do not get along with Blacks. 63 00:03:03,705 --> 00:03:05,533 [eerie music] 64 00:03:08,275 --> 00:03:10,625 And that tone then trickles down 65 00:03:10,668 --> 00:03:12,496 into the street when it comes to etiquette 66 00:03:12,540 --> 00:03:14,281 and when it comes to rules. 67 00:03:14,324 --> 00:03:16,065 Mexican Mafia... 68 00:03:18,372 --> 00:03:20,939 who is going to run all of Southern California's Hispanic street gangs 69 00:03:20,983 --> 00:03:25,117 sets the tone as to what you can and can't do. 70 00:03:25,161 --> 00:03:28,251 And not only are you going to retaliate against an African-American 71 00:03:28,295 --> 00:03:30,384 who is involved in a criminal street gang, 72 00:03:30,427 --> 00:03:33,822 you're also going to target any African-American 73 00:03:33,865 --> 00:03:37,565 because they are not allowed within their community. 74 00:03:37,608 --> 00:03:40,785 - Police say Latino gang membes were looking for a Black perso, 75 00:03:40,829 --> 00:03:44,180 any Black person, to shoot and they found one." 76 00:03:44,224 --> 00:03:48,837 On the day she was killed, Cheryl Green was 14 years old. 77 00:03:48,880 --> 00:03:51,579 - And this is what brought it to another level for all of us. 78 00:03:51,622 --> 00:03:54,886 We felt that, you know, this isn't one criminal against another criminal. 79 00:03:54,930 --> 00:03:58,281 - Maureen O'Connell grew up on the Southside of Chicago 80 00:03:58,325 --> 00:04:01,545 and comes from an entire family of first responders. 81 00:04:01,589 --> 00:04:04,983 She was a special agent with the FBI for 25 years. 82 00:04:05,027 --> 00:04:07,682 She worked white-collar crimes, violent street gangs, 83 00:04:07,725 --> 00:04:09,901 and major narcotics. 84 00:04:09,945 --> 00:04:12,295 - This is a bunch of predatory thugs 85 00:04:12,339 --> 00:04:15,037 against innocent citizens in our community. 86 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:16,995 And that's something we're not standing for. 87 00:04:17,039 --> 00:04:19,259 - They were known as the "Hate Gang." 88 00:04:19,302 --> 00:04:22,218 This is a self-proclaimed name that they gave themselves. 89 00:04:22,262 --> 00:04:25,308 The reason being is because they targeted African-Americans. 90 00:04:25,352 --> 00:04:28,659 - The victims in Hawaiian Gardens, the black victims, 91 00:04:28,703 --> 00:04:30,879 they were not gang members. 92 00:04:30,922 --> 00:04:32,924 We're talking about just civilians 93 00:04:32,968 --> 00:04:35,275 who wanted to just live in the city. 94 00:04:35,318 --> 00:04:37,277 - Michael S. Lowe was a prosecutor 95 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:40,323 for the U.S. Attorney's offices in Eastern Pennsylvania 96 00:04:40,367 --> 00:04:42,630 and the Central District of California, in Los Angeles 97 00:04:42,673 --> 00:04:44,936 for 25 years. 98 00:04:44,980 --> 00:04:48,113 - That's one of the reasons that VHG called themselves "The Hate Gang" 99 00:04:48,157 --> 00:04:50,725 because they had an avowed mission 100 00:04:50,768 --> 00:04:52,553 to rid Hawaiian Gardens of Black people. 101 00:04:52,596 --> 00:04:56,687 By the time we were involved in our investigation, 102 00:04:56,731 --> 00:04:59,081 there were very few Black people living in Hawaiian Gardens. 103 00:05:03,303 --> 00:05:05,522 - Orozco was... He was a gang member 104 00:05:05,566 --> 00:05:08,699 and had been since he was 11 years old. 105 00:05:08,743 --> 00:05:11,441 [tense music] 106 00:05:11,485 --> 00:05:13,661 He's wanted for attempted murder 107 00:05:13,704 --> 00:05:15,837 and assault with a deadly weapon. 108 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:18,796 Orozco had shot an African-American 109 00:05:18,840 --> 00:05:21,059 who had been hired to do some yard work. 110 00:05:21,103 --> 00:05:22,365 I'm here to tell you right now, 111 00:05:22,409 --> 00:05:25,455 if you have ever, ever met pure evil, 112 00:05:25,499 --> 00:05:27,109 this is pure evil. 113 00:05:28,110 --> 00:05:30,547 - He had devil tattoos on his forehead. 114 00:05:32,636 --> 00:05:35,639 - Deputy Sherif Jerry Ortiz was doing a standard patrol. 115 00:05:35,683 --> 00:05:37,598 He was going to all these targeted areas, 116 00:05:37,641 --> 00:05:39,643 and sure enough, he saw Orozco. 117 00:05:39,687 --> 00:05:41,645 And they locked eyes 118 00:05:41,689 --> 00:05:43,604 and Orozco took off running down an alley 119 00:05:43,647 --> 00:05:46,737 that was just adjacent to this apartment complex. 120 00:05:47,869 --> 00:05:50,306 Jerry got out of his car, 121 00:05:50,350 --> 00:05:53,308 he walked up to the open door threshold there. 122 00:05:53,353 --> 00:05:57,531 He saw what possibly could have been the suspect 123 00:05:57,574 --> 00:06:00,272 and he asked that person to come over 124 00:06:00,316 --> 00:06:03,624 and talk to him at the threshold of the door. 125 00:06:03,667 --> 00:06:05,408 Jerry asked for the ID of the person 126 00:06:05,452 --> 00:06:07,671 and the guy cooperated. 127 00:06:07,715 --> 00:06:11,458 Also, sitting there was two young little girls. 128 00:06:11,501 --> 00:06:14,243 There were right around seven and nine years of age. 129 00:06:14,286 --> 00:06:15,592 - Little ones, right. - Yes. 130 00:06:15,636 --> 00:06:17,028 Unfortunately, 131 00:06:17,072 --> 00:06:19,422 Orozco was standing behind the door. 132 00:06:19,466 --> 00:06:20,728 - Ugh... 133 00:06:21,859 --> 00:06:24,775 Between the door frame and the door, there was a small little crack. 134 00:06:24,819 --> 00:06:28,082 He raised a .38-caliber pistol... 135 00:06:28,126 --> 00:06:29,824 [gunshot] 136 00:06:36,308 --> 00:06:41,096 Orozco had fired one round that struck Jerry in the side of the head. 137 00:06:41,139 --> 00:06:43,359 And Jerry was dead before he ever even hit the ground. 138 00:06:46,188 --> 00:06:48,103 - It's so horrible. Murdered, assassinated. 139 00:06:48,146 --> 00:06:50,322 - Executed. - Yeah. 140 00:06:50,366 --> 00:06:51,715 - Executed is the way I would describe that. 141 00:06:51,759 --> 00:06:54,675 One of those girls tried to tend to Jerry. 142 00:06:54,718 --> 00:07:00,420 And as that person that Jerry was initially speaking to was leaving, 143 00:07:00,463 --> 00:07:02,334 he looked back at the girl and said, 144 00:07:02,378 --> 00:07:05,207 "Don't help that [bleep] pig." 145 00:07:06,164 --> 00:07:08,993 - Friday afternoon, hundreds of officers descended on this neighborhood 146 00:07:09,037 --> 00:07:12,780 after investigators say 27-year-old Jose Orozco, 147 00:07:12,823 --> 00:07:14,782 known as a gang member, 148 00:07:14,825 --> 00:07:18,568 shot Deputy Jerry Ortiz point-blank in the face. 149 00:07:18,612 --> 00:07:22,354 - So basically, within 24 hours of the murder of Ortiz, 150 00:07:22,398 --> 00:07:24,487 we're executing search warrants for arrest... 151 00:07:24,531 --> 00:07:26,794 - Correct. - ...on Orozco. 152 00:07:26,837 --> 00:07:30,101 - ...here on Norwalk and Carson and much of Hawaiian Gardens tonight 153 00:07:30,145 --> 00:07:32,147 is on a virtual lockdown 154 00:07:32,190 --> 00:07:35,237 as they search door-to-door for the suspect. 155 00:07:35,280 --> 00:07:39,937 - They were able to find Orozco, cowardly. 156 00:07:39,981 --> 00:07:41,722 And I say, "cowardly." - Yeah. 157 00:07:41,765 --> 00:07:44,420 Lying down in a bathtub 158 00:07:44,464 --> 00:07:48,032 trying to, you know, resist arrest. 159 00:07:48,076 --> 00:07:49,904 He was handcuffed, taken out of there. 160 00:07:49,947 --> 00:07:51,732 - You're forgetting an important part. 161 00:07:51,775 --> 00:07:54,474 Mr. Tough Guy wet his pants. 162 00:07:57,302 --> 00:07:59,000 - Jerry was just married three weeks prior. 163 00:08:03,178 --> 00:08:05,441 [emotional music] 164 00:08:15,146 --> 00:08:18,498 Thousands of people showed up to his funeral. 165 00:08:31,598 --> 00:08:34,514 - Without ever having met Jerry, 166 00:08:34,557 --> 00:08:36,472 I went to the funeral 167 00:08:36,515 --> 00:08:38,429 because I would not have missed that funeral. 168 00:08:38,474 --> 00:08:41,390 Having suffered a few duty deaths in my own family, 169 00:08:41,433 --> 00:08:43,523 I cried for him like he was my brother that day. 170 00:08:47,570 --> 00:08:49,746 - So after Jerry Ortiz was murdered, 171 00:08:49,790 --> 00:08:51,052 the Sherif's Department, 172 00:08:51,095 --> 00:08:54,446 they saw a lot of overt pride 173 00:08:54,490 --> 00:08:57,145 being demonstrated for the murder. 174 00:08:57,188 --> 00:09:00,540 Shrines to Orozco found during search warrants. 175 00:09:01,584 --> 00:09:03,238 "HG kills cops," 176 00:09:03,281 --> 00:09:05,719 these are graffitied on Sherif's patrol cars. 177 00:09:08,286 --> 00:09:11,115 "HG kills pigs," "Rest in Piz, Ortiz." 178 00:09:14,336 --> 00:09:16,686 The Sherif's department eventually went to my office. 179 00:09:16,730 --> 00:09:19,689 And they said, We want to create a task force. 180 00:09:19,733 --> 00:09:22,779 Let's invite every Federal Agency to participate. 181 00:09:22,823 --> 00:09:27,392 And then we'll use every Federal Law, Criminal Law, we can. 182 00:09:27,436 --> 00:09:31,483 And we'll take as many of these gang members off the street as possible. 183 00:09:31,527 --> 00:09:33,660 - And the reason why we named this operation "Knockout" 184 00:09:33,703 --> 00:09:37,141 is because Jerry was a boxer on the Los Angeles County boxing team. 185 00:09:37,185 --> 00:09:39,100 [clamouring] 186 00:09:41,537 --> 00:09:44,061 - The FBI came along, like, right at the beginning. 187 00:09:44,105 --> 00:09:46,281 - I was thrilled to be on it 188 00:09:46,324 --> 00:09:48,762 because I wanted to be part of the solution. 189 00:09:48,805 --> 00:09:50,981 I wanted to take these people down. 190 00:09:51,025 --> 00:09:53,549 I was willing to go after them with everything I had 191 00:09:53,593 --> 00:09:56,073 and I wasn't going to leave anything on the field 192 00:09:56,117 --> 00:09:58,554 by the time I was done with this case. 193 00:09:58,598 --> 00:10:00,687 - What was your understanding of your role when the Bureau said, 194 00:10:00,730 --> 00:10:02,950 "Hey, look, we need you to go over VHG task force 195 00:10:02,993 --> 00:10:05,082 that the United States attorney is pulling together?" 196 00:10:05,126 --> 00:10:07,781 - They said, "Maureen, see whatever they need 197 00:10:07,824 --> 00:10:09,913 and figure out a way to get it to them." 198 00:10:09,957 --> 00:10:10,871 And I said, "No problem." 199 00:10:10,914 --> 00:10:12,916 I will say that when I walked in 200 00:10:12,960 --> 00:10:16,311 and being the only female in the big conference room, 201 00:10:16,354 --> 00:10:18,574 there may or may not have been 202 00:10:18,618 --> 00:10:22,099 a collective group of eye rolls from him and others. 203 00:10:22,143 --> 00:10:24,014 - I don't remember that at all, I got to tell you. 204 00:10:24,058 --> 00:10:25,668 - Go ahead, Maureen. 205 00:10:25,712 --> 00:10:28,323 - Sergeant Rivera asked Gary to show me around. 206 00:10:28,366 --> 00:10:31,631 He brought me all around Hawaiian Gardens, showed me where everyone lived. 207 00:10:31,674 --> 00:10:33,545 We're driving down the street and he said, 208 00:10:33,589 --> 00:10:36,374 "Now, this guy here, he's been in the wind for..." 209 00:10:36,418 --> 00:10:38,159 it was a couple of months. 210 00:10:38,202 --> 00:10:41,075 So as we turn the corner in his white Corolla, 211 00:10:41,118 --> 00:10:44,948 there's our boy that they've been looking for, for months. - There he is! 212 00:10:44,992 --> 00:10:46,820 - I undid my seatbelt, opened my door, 213 00:10:46,863 --> 00:10:48,952 held it slightly. And he goes, "What are you doing?" 214 00:10:48,996 --> 00:10:51,346 I said, "I'm going to tackle his ass when he comes through this house." 215 00:10:51,389 --> 00:10:54,523 And he goes, "We're going to along just fine." 216 00:10:56,220 --> 00:10:58,570 We were building packets for a takedown 217 00:10:58,614 --> 00:11:00,181 pretty much from the very beginning. 218 00:11:00,224 --> 00:11:01,835 One of the things we did, 219 00:11:01,878 --> 00:11:03,793 which was at the very beginning of social media, 220 00:11:03,837 --> 00:11:08,232 is we went through every single solitary photograph we could find. 221 00:11:08,276 --> 00:11:10,539 Officers were told, 222 00:11:10,582 --> 00:11:12,933 "If you find any gang photos, bring them to us." 223 00:11:12,976 --> 00:11:14,674 We would look at all the FI cards 224 00:11:14,717 --> 00:11:18,373 and we would go from station to station to station to station, 225 00:11:18,416 --> 00:11:21,202 and ask for any FI cards for Hispanic gangs. 226 00:11:21,245 --> 00:11:24,684 We would compare and contrast that with the list that we had in our possession. 227 00:11:24,727 --> 00:11:27,948 - We went up on our first wiretap in December 2005. 228 00:11:27,991 --> 00:11:30,602 - First person that we came across 229 00:11:30,646 --> 00:11:33,605 and thought was going to be the best information for us 230 00:11:33,649 --> 00:11:36,304 was a guy by the name of George Flores. 231 00:11:36,347 --> 00:11:40,743 George Flores was a long-standing Varrio Hawaiian Gardens original gangster. 232 00:11:40,787 --> 00:11:42,266 Called OGs. 233 00:11:42,310 --> 00:11:44,616 All the dope was going to George's house. 234 00:11:44,660 --> 00:11:46,706 [suspenseful music] 235 00:11:51,493 --> 00:11:54,452 - The way these wiretaps - any wiretap generally works - 236 00:11:54,496 --> 00:11:58,065 is you find out who the... who you have access to. 237 00:11:58,108 --> 00:11:59,936 You keep trying to move up the chain 238 00:11:59,980 --> 00:12:02,025 so you intercept the lower phone, 239 00:12:02,069 --> 00:12:04,332 you see who it's calling, you get the phone calls. 240 00:12:04,375 --> 00:12:07,117 - Wiretaps would only last for 30 days. - Right. 241 00:12:07,161 --> 00:12:09,511 - Sometimes, we would re-up on the same person 242 00:12:09,554 --> 00:12:11,992 because the information was so great coming out of it, 243 00:12:12,035 --> 00:12:13,994 but for the most part, 30 days, 244 00:12:14,037 --> 00:12:15,909 we would get our indictable offences, 245 00:12:15,952 --> 00:12:17,258 and we would get our next target. 246 00:12:17,301 --> 00:12:18,912 Sometimes, that turned into two more targets. 247 00:12:18,955 --> 00:12:20,696 - So they just talked on the phone? 248 00:12:20,740 --> 00:12:22,916 - Like you couldn't believe. - In code. 249 00:12:22,959 --> 00:12:25,179 But when you have the level of intelligence, 250 00:12:25,222 --> 00:12:27,137 when you have a few informants, 251 00:12:27,181 --> 00:12:30,271 when you have these years on the streets working with these guys, 252 00:12:30,314 --> 00:12:32,142 you understand what these things mean. 253 00:12:32,186 --> 00:12:35,711 - We had intercepts where he was talking about gang business. 254 00:12:35,755 --> 00:12:38,453 Meetings that would be held, 255 00:12:38,496 --> 00:12:40,542 what beefs were going on 256 00:12:40,585 --> 00:12:43,153 between this gang member and that gang member. 257 00:12:44,807 --> 00:12:49,203 All stuff that helps us establish that this is a real RICO enterprise. 258 00:12:49,246 --> 00:12:52,206 The whole key to RICO is being able to prove that there's a criminal enterprise 259 00:12:52,249 --> 00:12:54,643 through a pattern of racketeering activity. 260 00:12:54,686 --> 00:12:56,950 So it was a really good wiretap. - What happens next? 261 00:12:56,993 --> 00:12:59,822 - We were continuing to make arrests. 262 00:12:59,866 --> 00:13:01,650 Make drug seizures. 263 00:13:03,173 --> 00:13:04,827 Make gun seizures. 264 00:13:06,786 --> 00:13:09,571 We were getting cases charged and convictions 265 00:13:09,614 --> 00:13:12,139 on the Federal side, on the State side. 266 00:13:12,182 --> 00:13:13,836 - At one point and time, 267 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:15,577 we got some people detained 268 00:13:15,620 --> 00:13:17,144 and they said, "When is this going to stop?" 269 00:13:17,187 --> 00:13:19,189 And the homicide detective, 270 00:13:19,233 --> 00:13:21,061 who was in charge of Jerry's murder, 271 00:13:21,104 --> 00:13:23,063 he goes over, he opens up that door, 272 00:13:23,106 --> 00:13:24,586 he looks in there, and he says, 273 00:13:24,629 --> 00:13:26,936 "This is never going to end. Ever." 274 00:13:26,980 --> 00:13:29,591 - We were showing results month after month. 275 00:13:29,634 --> 00:13:32,463 - Now the Federal takedown is coming. 276 00:13:32,507 --> 00:13:34,683 The gang community, they know what's going to come 277 00:13:34,726 --> 00:13:37,381 after there is a police officer shot or killed. 278 00:13:37,425 --> 00:13:39,949 They know it's going to come hard to them. 279 00:13:39,993 --> 00:13:43,779 - Maureen, what's the FBI doing as we plan this takedown? 280 00:13:43,823 --> 00:13:47,652 - We were trying to determine, first of all, the manpower that we're going to need. 281 00:13:47,696 --> 00:13:51,700 And we realized, we don't have enough SWAT teams in L.A. County. 282 00:13:51,743 --> 00:13:54,703 - Right. - We don't have enough in the seven-county A.O.R. 283 00:13:54,746 --> 00:13:56,879 that Los Angels handles. 284 00:13:56,923 --> 00:14:00,535 We had to bring in SWAT from San Diego and San Francisco, 285 00:14:00,578 --> 00:14:03,233 and we had to tap into all of our friends 286 00:14:03,277 --> 00:14:05,670 and all these other smaller departments. 287 00:14:05,714 --> 00:14:08,108 [suspenseful music] 288 00:14:08,151 --> 00:14:10,762 We had all the big federal agencies. 289 00:14:14,375 --> 00:14:17,900 We realized, "Man, we're looking at over 1000 law enforcement officers." 290 00:14:17,944 --> 00:14:19,815 In addition to that, one of my training agents 291 00:14:19,859 --> 00:14:21,991 was a former HRT guy 292 00:14:22,035 --> 00:14:24,385 who was on the FBI L.A. SWAT team. 293 00:14:24,428 --> 00:14:26,169 When I briefed him, I said, 294 00:14:26,213 --> 00:14:28,389 "I need resources and I need a lot of them." 295 00:14:28,432 --> 00:14:31,305 And they said they would love to come and support this endeavor 296 00:14:31,348 --> 00:14:33,350 because this was important to all of us. 297 00:14:33,394 --> 00:14:36,440 And so, now, we've got HRT coming out 298 00:14:36,484 --> 00:14:40,227 and everybody else, and every smaller department. 299 00:14:40,270 --> 00:14:41,881 All the smaller departments wanted in, too. 300 00:14:41,924 --> 00:14:44,144 Because Jerry was their brother. 301 00:14:44,187 --> 00:14:47,756 This is the thin blue line. This is what it looks like. 302 00:14:47,799 --> 00:14:50,367 [suspenseful music] 303 00:14:52,108 --> 00:14:54,110 - This is a logistical nightmare. 304 00:14:54,154 --> 00:14:56,373 And we had to literally write down 305 00:14:56,417 --> 00:14:59,202 every team that was flying in or coming in, 306 00:14:59,246 --> 00:15:01,683 where they were going to stage, 307 00:15:01,726 --> 00:15:03,946 and what route they actually could take. 308 00:15:03,990 --> 00:15:06,079 [suspenseful music] 309 00:15:13,564 --> 00:15:15,740 - We decided that Los Alamitos' military base 310 00:15:15,784 --> 00:15:17,133 would be the best place for us to go. 311 00:15:17,177 --> 00:15:19,266 It's close enough to Hawaiian Gardens. 312 00:15:21,137 --> 00:15:24,575 And it's big enough to house all the big boys. 313 00:15:24,619 --> 00:15:26,969 It's ramped up to a level you can't even imagine. 314 00:15:27,013 --> 00:15:29,276 - This is the largest search warrant 315 00:15:29,319 --> 00:15:31,669 that's ever been written in the history of the United States. 316 00:15:31,713 --> 00:15:33,584 This is going to be huge. 317 00:15:36,413 --> 00:15:38,154 - First of all, thank you very much, everybody. 318 00:15:38,198 --> 00:15:39,982 Thank you very much for coming. 319 00:15:40,026 --> 00:15:44,378 - This is a controlled chaos. 320 00:15:44,421 --> 00:15:48,251 - There are federal arrest warrants for everybody that we're going after. 321 00:15:48,295 --> 00:15:50,471 - Just take into consideration, 322 00:15:50,514 --> 00:15:55,650 this is 150 locations being hit all at the same time. 323 00:15:57,695 --> 00:15:59,219 This is unprecedented. 324 00:15:59,262 --> 00:16:02,135 It will probably never happen again. 325 00:16:02,178 --> 00:16:03,788 - We had to hit at the same time 326 00:16:03,832 --> 00:16:06,835 because we can't let anyone make phone calls. 327 00:16:06,878 --> 00:16:08,706 We can't let anyone get the word out. 328 00:16:08,750 --> 00:16:11,971 We can't let this guy call that bad guy or that bad guy. 329 00:16:12,014 --> 00:16:14,582 Don't think for one second that we didn't think 330 00:16:14,625 --> 00:16:17,367 that another cop could get killed in this operation. 331 00:16:17,411 --> 00:16:19,761 - So you guys were at the front of this group. 332 00:16:19,804 --> 00:16:21,893 And you're looking at your brothers and sisters in Law enforcement. 333 00:16:21,937 --> 00:16:23,852 We're ready to execute. - You could hear a pin drop. 334 00:16:25,985 --> 00:16:27,290 - Sergent Rivera is talking, 335 00:16:27,334 --> 00:16:29,423 "This is what we worked for. 336 00:16:29,466 --> 00:16:32,904 All these years and I want every one of you to understand 337 00:16:32,948 --> 00:16:35,342 that when one of us gets killed, 338 00:16:35,385 --> 00:16:37,735 when these people are operating with this type of impunity, 339 00:16:37,779 --> 00:16:39,607 we will stand tall 340 00:16:39,650 --> 00:16:41,913 and do whatever it takes to stop them." 341 00:16:41,957 --> 00:16:44,220 - We're making a stand against the VHG 342 00:16:44,264 --> 00:16:46,135 who are taking over this small community. 343 00:16:46,179 --> 00:16:49,051 With crime, and murder, and mayhem. 344 00:16:49,095 --> 00:16:51,140 - I'm getting the chills just now thinking about it. 345 00:16:51,184 --> 00:16:53,708 Then we tell everybody, 346 00:16:53,751 --> 00:16:56,189 "This is where you're going to be. 347 00:16:56,232 --> 00:16:57,886 We will not be talking to you anymore. 348 00:16:57,929 --> 00:17:00,367 You go to your staged location." Where we have set them up. 349 00:17:00,410 --> 00:17:01,977 - For officer safety, 350 00:17:02,021 --> 00:17:04,327 one of the crucial things we did, 351 00:17:04,371 --> 00:17:06,763 which brings in the FBI a little more deeply is 352 00:17:06,808 --> 00:17:10,159 I assigned an FBI agent to each location, 353 00:17:10,203 --> 00:17:13,554 for any team that was coming from out of the area. 354 00:17:15,338 --> 00:17:18,819 - And by 4:30 in the morning, 355 00:17:18,863 --> 00:17:21,300 we were able to actually announce 356 00:17:21,344 --> 00:17:23,477 that there's a green light. 357 00:17:23,520 --> 00:17:27,436 [rhythmic music] 358 00:17:27,481 --> 00:17:29,178 Be able to be on the radio 359 00:17:29,222 --> 00:17:31,398 and officially make that announcement 360 00:17:31,441 --> 00:17:35,445 to 1500 law enforcement officers... 361 00:17:35,489 --> 00:17:37,273 [rhythmic music] 362 00:17:40,146 --> 00:17:42,539 Nothing that's ever been done before. 363 00:17:42,583 --> 00:17:45,586 Actually... - Descend. 364 00:17:45,629 --> 00:17:49,024 - Just descend onto this one square mile. 365 00:17:49,068 --> 00:17:52,767 And to hear the sounds of the knocks. 366 00:17:52,810 --> 00:17:54,986 [knocking] 367 00:17:55,030 --> 00:17:57,206 - FBI, warrant, open the door. 368 00:17:59,426 --> 00:18:02,342 - You hear the announcements. 369 00:18:02,385 --> 00:18:05,127 - Anybody else in the house; identify yourself. 370 00:18:05,171 --> 00:18:08,174 - To see the doors being smashed open. 371 00:18:08,217 --> 00:18:09,392 [glass shattering] 372 00:18:09,436 --> 00:18:11,786 - Hallway's clear. 373 00:18:11,829 --> 00:18:13,570 [indistinct communication] 374 00:18:13,614 --> 00:18:15,181 - We got three more coming out. 375 00:18:18,271 --> 00:18:20,708 - Get down on your knees, hands on the back of your head. 376 00:18:20,751 --> 00:18:22,840 [rhythmic music] 377 00:18:22,884 --> 00:18:25,626 - Such a collaboration of such professionalism, 378 00:18:25,669 --> 00:18:27,541 but so much emotions. 379 00:18:27,584 --> 00:18:31,110 We made sure Jerry's wife, Chela, was there. 380 00:18:33,590 --> 00:18:36,724 It was unbelievable to have her there 381 00:18:36,767 --> 00:18:38,987 because all you would hear over and over, 382 00:18:39,030 --> 00:18:42,121 "Code four, target in custody." 383 00:18:44,079 --> 00:18:47,561 "Code four, target in custody." 384 00:18:47,604 --> 00:18:50,041 She sat there and wept the entire time. 385 00:18:50,085 --> 00:18:51,869 She just sat there and cried. 386 00:18:51,913 --> 00:18:54,089 [rhythmic music] 387 00:18:57,266 --> 00:18:59,312 - They found meth everywhere. - Excellent. 388 00:18:59,355 --> 00:19:01,966 - Baggies all over-- Everyone was being punks 389 00:19:02,010 --> 00:19:04,230 so they hooked everybody up and I'm bringing them all back here. 390 00:19:04,273 --> 00:19:07,058 These people are getting walked in, like he said, arrested, 391 00:19:07,102 --> 00:19:09,191 being brought in by the teams. 392 00:19:09,235 --> 00:19:12,934 They're walking into this place thinking, "Holy [bleep]." 393 00:19:12,977 --> 00:19:14,805 "That's my neighbor, that's my neighbor, that's a gangster. 394 00:19:14,849 --> 00:19:16,416 That's a guy I sold to." 395 00:19:16,459 --> 00:19:18,113 We would tell a lot of them, 396 00:19:18,157 --> 00:19:20,202 when they're walking out from being interviewed, 397 00:19:20,246 --> 00:19:22,073 "Look to the ground, do not look up. 398 00:19:22,117 --> 00:19:23,423 Do not look up no matter what." 399 00:19:23,466 --> 00:19:25,903 Part of that was FBI PSYOPS. 400 00:19:25,947 --> 00:19:27,992 So when they walked out, looking down, 401 00:19:28,036 --> 00:19:30,647 the gangsters are like, "Son of a bitch, they talked." 402 00:19:30,691 --> 00:19:33,476 - So during this massive takedown, how many shots fired 403 00:19:33,520 --> 00:19:35,174 or incidents of violence occurred? 404 00:19:35,217 --> 00:19:36,827 - Zero. - Zero? 405 00:19:36,871 --> 00:19:38,829 - No. - Wow, that's unbelievable. 406 00:19:38,873 --> 00:19:41,397 - Everyone one of them went down and complied. 407 00:19:41,441 --> 00:19:43,356 We didn't even have one use of force. 408 00:19:43,399 --> 00:19:45,662 Not one. 409 00:19:50,232 --> 00:19:53,279 - It's being called the largest gang takedown of the U.S. 410 00:19:53,322 --> 00:19:56,064 - Doing something like this is really the only way we can have a major impact. 411 00:19:56,107 --> 00:19:59,285 They've controlled the flow of drugs in that community. 412 00:19:59,328 --> 00:20:02,026 They basically run crime in Hawaiian Gardens. 413 00:20:02,070 --> 00:20:05,247 - Today, we have unsealed five Federal indictments 414 00:20:05,291 --> 00:20:08,076 that name a total of 147 defendants. 415 00:20:08,119 --> 00:20:12,472 This morning, 63 of those defendants named in the indictment were arrested. 416 00:20:12,515 --> 00:20:14,909 - This was the largest gang prosecution in U.S. history. 417 00:20:14,952 --> 00:20:17,085 We charged 212 defendants federally. 418 00:20:17,128 --> 00:20:18,869 - What did Flores get? Do you remember? 419 00:20:18,913 --> 00:20:20,697 - Flores got 30 years on a guilty plea. 420 00:20:22,003 --> 00:20:24,223 - 30 years on a guilty plea? 421 00:20:24,266 --> 00:20:25,920 That's pretty intense. 422 00:20:25,963 --> 00:20:27,661 Imagine, you're pleading guilty to 30 years. 423 00:20:27,704 --> 00:20:29,489 - In Hawaiian Gardens, 424 00:20:29,532 --> 00:20:32,361 they were saying that, first time in years, 425 00:20:32,405 --> 00:20:34,363 first time in memory for some of them, 426 00:20:34,407 --> 00:20:36,278 they could walk down the street 427 00:20:36,322 --> 00:20:38,585 and not be confronted, and just, you know, 428 00:20:38,628 --> 00:20:40,500 treated warmly as a lot of these citizens were. 429 00:20:42,458 --> 00:20:44,765 We also talked a lot about the reduction in crime. 430 00:20:44,808 --> 00:20:46,375 - It was upwards close to 90%. 431 00:20:46,419 --> 00:20:48,682 - You have to feel happy about that? 432 00:20:48,725 --> 00:20:51,467 - It's absolutely huge to be able to have that sort of an impact 433 00:20:51,511 --> 00:20:55,036 on something that these people have been dealing with for decades. 434 00:20:56,994 --> 00:21:02,217 - I was never more thrilled with the results that we got for everyone involved. 435 00:21:02,261 --> 00:21:04,741 From Chela to the vulnerable people of the community 436 00:21:04,785 --> 00:21:06,613 to everybody else. 437 00:21:06,656 --> 00:21:08,354 And the relationships that we all forged 438 00:21:08,397 --> 00:21:10,747 that we hold so dear to this day. 439 00:21:10,791 --> 00:21:12,793 And doing it together 440 00:21:12,836 --> 00:21:15,317 and doing it with people that you really love, respect, and admire. 441 00:21:15,361 --> 00:21:16,666 It was a gift, it was a blessing. 442 00:21:16,710 --> 00:21:18,189 [shutter sounds] 443 00:21:24,370 --> 00:21:26,763 [typewrite clicking] 444 00:21:32,769 --> 00:21:34,641 - After Jerry was murdered, 445 00:21:34,684 --> 00:21:36,860 his wife, Chela, 446 00:21:36,904 --> 00:21:40,081 then put together the Jerry Ortiz Memorial Boxing Ring. 447 00:21:40,124 --> 00:21:43,214 [emotional music] 448 00:21:50,309 --> 00:21:52,920 [clamouring] 449 00:21:52,963 --> 00:21:54,835 - Right hand, Jerry, let it go! 450 00:21:54,878 --> 00:21:56,140 Let it go, Jerry! 451 00:21:59,666 --> 00:22:01,015 - Here's to Jerry. - Here's to Jerry. 452 00:22:01,058 --> 00:22:02,321 - To Jerry. - To Jerry. 453 00:22:09,980 --> 00:22:11,852 Subtitles : difuze