[NewsNationNow] The former leader of a Los Angeles street gang who made national headlines for ordering the murders of members of his own gang was killed in prison over the weekend.
According to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, 47-year-old Ezequiel Romo was stabbed multiple times by three fellow inmates at Centinela State Prison in Imperial County Sunday evening.
Cristian Moreno, 31, Johnny Garcia, 39, and Christian Hernandez, 41, are accused of attacking Romo with “inmate-manufactured” weapons in a dayroom at the prison. Guards issued verbal orders to break up the attack, but those orders were ignored, CDCR officials said, which resulted in multiple deployments of pepper spray to stop the violence.
Romo was taken to an on-site medical facility and was pronounced dead hours later.
Romo had been at Centinela since August 2023 after being sentenced in Los Angeles County to life in prison without the possibility of parole for first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit other murders.
According to a 2023 profile by the Los Angeles Times, Romo was the leader of the Blythe Street gang in Panorama City and was responsible for at least eight deaths after he ordered members of the gang to turn on one another, removing drug addicts, informants, rivals and other people whom he considered “dead weight” from the gang’s ranks.
I guess life without parole makes one dead weight in certain circles.
Prior to being the main shotcaller for the street gang, Romo spent nearly two decades behind bars on manslaughter charges. He was 18 years old when he shot and killed a 19-year-old man during a fight at a fast food joint in the San Fernando Valley in 1995.
In prison, he became a soldier of the Mexican Mafia prison gang and made plans to incorporate Blythe Street into the national crime syndicate upon his release.
When he returned to Panorama City, he took over his old gang, ordered them to sell Mexican Mafia drugs and collect taxes on behalf of the criminal organization in hopes of raising his status.
His return to the streets also led to him ordering the killings of members of his own gang.
Described as a “micromanager” by the Times, Romo ordered hits on members of his gangs for minor infractions like getting an unsanctioned tattoo or getting high and not returning his calls.
“And if you had something Romo wanted, like a kilogram of cocaine, why pay for it? His dealer got the same treatment: a bullet in the back,” the Times wrote.
Romo would eventually be busted with drugs in his car and would be sentenced to prison where he would continue to run the gang from behind bars before returning to the streets again.
He was ultimately linked to several murders committed by members of his gang and went to trial alongside them in 2023.
Romo would be sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after he was convicted of first-degree murder, conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, attempted first-degree murder, and attempted conspiracy to commit second-degree murder.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Chaos broke out in a Washington DC courtroom as a feral teenage girl accused of beating a vulnerable 64-year-old man to death attacked a deputy US Marshal. Brilliant idea, Lakeisha.
The 13-year-old defendant reportedly punched the officer during a hearing on Friday, leading to her being removed from the courtroom on a stretcher, according to reports from Law and Crime. Yay!
Prosecutors also revealed that the group of girls took selfies after recording their fatal attack on Reggie Brown, 64, on October 17, 2023. "Hey! Let's take some pictures! We can post them on Facebook and they can be used as evidence against us!”
Brown, of Northwest DC, was brutally beaten to death by the three girls, age 12 and 13. Well, you know. Girls will be girls.
Officers responded to a call in the 6200 block of Georgia Avenue where they found Brown suffering from brutal blunt force trauma before he died at the scene. "Le's bash his head in widdis rock!:
Shocking video seen by detectives showed the physically handicapped man being kicked and stomped on by the pre-teens. "I jus' be esspressin' my culture..."
Detective Harry Singleton testified that a man in a blue coat threw the 64-year-old to the ground and then the suspect along with the group of girls chased Brown as he tried to escape. "Blood in the water...!"
"Ain't no water!"
"But there's blood!"
After the 1am beating, the girls 'appeared to be in a celebratory mood' as they walked away from the scene of the crime. "Yah! Huzzah! We be bad!"
An autopsy determined that he died of blunt force trauma and was a homicide victim. "What do you think, Doctor Quincy?"
"I think they stomped the poor man's brains out, Sam."
'My uncle really didn't deserve this,' a niece of Brown's said in a statement to News4. Barring a few followers of A.Hitler and P.Pot, and maybe Simon Girty himself, who does?
'He was known in this community for years so for this to happen where he lived for 64 [years] is insane. They have to be held accountable!' I remember a few old codgers who were regarded as bums or crazy back when I was a youth.
Detective Singleton found no connection between Brown and the three girls, who are not being identified due to their ages. Despite their adult crimes...
In a twist of events, the 12-year-old girl linked to the crime was shot in her apartment on Friday at around 4am. Her Peabody Street apartment in the 500 block is only about a half-mile away from the scene of the brutal beating. Old codgers might have relatives? Or even friends?
The gunshot hit the girl in the leg and she was taken to hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. "Ow! My leg!"
Police have not said whether the gunfire came from inside or outside of the apartment - but video of the scene shows a shattered pane of a first-floor window. So either it came from outside or she jumped through her own window. Which is more likely? Occam, your opinion?
A neighbor told News4 that they heard a loud bang and then saw two youngsters jump from a broken window and run down an alley. Brilliant, Occam. Simply brilliant. I'd never have guessed!
Five months after the beating of the 64-year-old disabled man, the three girls have been arrested in relation to Reggie Brown's death. Golly. Only five months!
In March, the 12-year-old and one of the 13-year-olds were charged with second-degree murder, the other 13-year-old was arrested and charged with second-degree murder on Thursday. Meaning the stomping wasn't premeditated?
Investigators took a number of young people into custody and several officers were seen using flashlights to inspect the scene before dawn. Hmmm... Flashlights. Write that down, Legume! It might be important!
All three of the girls involved are resident of Northwest D.C. but it remains unclear how and if they knew Brown or how the detectives built their case against the pre-teens. My guess would be when they posted the vid on Facebook or Instagram.
#5
Wildfires rip through Portuguese region loved by Brits while France and Holland are hit with flash floods and hikers are killed by lightning in Germany and Austria as Europe sees wild weather extremes
[UPI] At least six people died and several more were maimed after a gunman entered a home for the elderly in Croatia and opened fire, authorities said. Some wishes do come true.
The suspect, who bravely ran away but was captured a short time later, remained in jug on Monday, police said. The investigation into the shooting is ongoing.
Authorities said a suspect entered the private facility in Daruvar, about 75 miles east of Croatia's capital of Zagreb, and started shooting.
Croatia's police chief Nikola Milina said five of the people who died were residents at the home along with one employee. He said five died at the scene while the sixth died at a local hospital after they were transported after the shooting.
Six other people were also injured in the shooting.
While the suspect's name had not been released publicly, local media described him as a former police officer and military servicemember who took part in the Croatian War from 1991-1995. The report said that the suspect was a relative of one of the nursing home residents.
"We express our condolences to the families of the victims and hope for the recovery of the maimed," Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic said. "I expect the competent authorities to determine all the circumstances of the terrible crime."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/23/2024 00:00 ||
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A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] Chaos broke out in a 
