Latino Gang Violence Against Blacks in Small LA Area City

Over the last month, I have been thinking about this troubling story coming from a suburb of Los Angeles, which just happens to be where I lived for much of my childhood.

Azusa is a small city in the San Gabriel Valley, just 25 miles east of Los Angeles.  It has gang problems and there is even information about gangs on the city’s official website.  Federal prosecutors say for years, the Varrio Azusa 13 gang has monopolized sales of cocaine, heroin and meth and waged a long campaign of violence, fueled not only by drug dealing but by racial animus and hatred,  In June, the U.S. government 51 alleged Azusa 13 members were arrested and charged with federal racketeering and civil rights violations. The indictment alleges that, since 1992, the gang “terrorized” Azusa’s black residents.