Two years ago, Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department internal investigators learned of a group of Lakewood Station deputies who shared a common tattoo of a shovel with the number 13.
Internal affairs officials told station brass that they sent surveys to a few dozen deputies, asking if the image was a sign of a gang or subcommittee — and all of the deputies said no.
At that time, The Times reported last yearThe department closed the investigation.
But this week, a federal court filing in an unrelated case renewed questions about the tattoo and the department's investigation into it.
In a plea deal filed late Thursday, deputy Eric Chase Saavetra admitted to conspiring with a crypto mogul who paid Saavetra $100,000 a month to serve as his 24-hour bodyguard and sometimes help him commit crimes. At 49 pages, the plea agreement details a series of crimes involving Saavetra and other unnamed sheriff's deputies who allegedly intimidated the crypto mogul's enemies and harassed and threatened people to further his criminal agenda.
The deputy, who was later fired, admitted to lying on a search warrant, writing a fake search warrant and using secret law enforcement databases to find information about the crypto mogul's enemies.
In a single paragraph in the middle of the agreement, Saavetra acknowledged the Lakewood Station tattoo — which he said he got after the other tattooed delegates voted on whether he should be allowed to get it.
The plea agreement does not call the group a sub-gang or subgroup. But behaviors that oversight officials have long shunned — such as voting to allow delegates to get tattoos — are hallmarks of controversial groups.
“Secrecy and exclusivity are prime evidence of gang activity in tattoo groups,” said Inspector General Max Huntsman. “While the department upholds this peace protocol, we have repeatedly seen gang activity similar to that found in this federal case.”
Last year, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department backed off an investigation into the Lakewood group, saying there was “no evidence to support allegations of a gang” at the Lakewood station.
“As we work actively with our federal partners, we have advised law enforcement of the gang issue and have requested that they reconsider any connection to law enforcement gang activity related to this criminal investigation,” the department said in a statement this week. “The sheriff has used and will continue to use all available tools, including law enforcement partners, to identify and remove any personnel engaged in such conduct.”
On the steps of the federal courthouse Friday morning, U.S. Atty. E. Martin Estrada said that while court filings indicated that Saavetra had a station tattoo, prosecutors “did not allege that he was part of any sub-gang” or that his behavior was related to gang activity. But, he said, the investigation is going on.
Attorney Brian Kurwitz, who represents Saavetra, declined to comment on the tattoo Friday, but said his client “recognizes the breach of trust his actions represent and deeply regrets the harm they have caused to the community he has devoted decades of service to.”
For half a century, the department has been dogged by allegations of tattooed groups of deputies running roughshod over some sheriff's stations and fostering a culture of violence. Gangs are commonly known by names such as Executioners, Banditos, Regulators, and Little Devils, and their members usually have matching, sequentially numbered tattoos.
At the beginning of last year, A A very important report from the Office of the Inspector General He blamed the department for failing to thoroughly investigate gangs, saying officials still downplayed evidence of gang activity and allowed cursory investigations that failed to identify suspected gang members. In September, Sheriff Robert Luna has unveiled a new anti-gang policy It also banned the existence of an affiliate gang or hate group and required department personnel to participate in investigations of them.
Until he was relieved of duty, Saavetra worked as a detective in the department Anti-gang unit. During his tenure there, court records show he testified as a gang expert, describing the heinous activities that help criminals navigate a gang, including robberies, thefts and shootings.
Although the unit – it has been fighting its own charges for a long time A secret tattooed sub-group called the Jump-Out Boys – Its own bureau, in which detectives are assigned to different stations across the district. Over the years, Saavetra was assigned to the Lakewood station.
While there, Saavetra agreed to his plea deal, getting a tattoo on his left ankle of the Lakewood station's “unofficial logo”: a shovel with the number 13 inside it.
“Defendant received the tattoo after a group of tattooed Lakewood station members voted to approve defendant's tattoo,” the agreement continued. “The defendant is the 55th person to receive that tattoo.”
The Lakewood group first came to light during an investigation into suspected gang members – Industry station Indians – He was fired for allegedly getting into a fight with some teenagers in the parking lot. to the OIG report and sources familiar with the case.
Four deputies were fired in connection with the incident, according to an investigation by The Times and a later oversight report, two of which admitted to tattooing professional Indians. All of the sacked deputies have appealed to the district's Civil Service Commission, said a district source who was not authorized to speak publicly.
When internal affairs investigators learned about the City of Industry group, they asked the deputies involved if there was anyone else with the tattoo. But because investigators did not “press” names, the OIG report said, they were able to identify only two other possible members.
However, the OIG report said one of the deputies told investigators he saw “a lot” of deputies at the Lakewood station with shovel tattoos. The deputy said he wasn't sure if the tattoos were a sign of a gang or a gang — so supervisors surveyed 69 deputies at the station to learn more.
Of the 64 respondents, 13% said they were aware of the Lakewood Station tattoo, and 100% said they did not know of any gangs or sub-groups at the station, the report said.
“Based on my investigation, we have found no potential violations or evidence indicating the existence of sub-communities, groups or sub-gangs,” a lieutenant wrote in a memo later cited in the oversight report. “The morale of the Lakewood station staff is positive, inclusive and promotes a family atmosphere.”
In its report last year, the OIG took a dim view of the adequacy of that response, and this week Huntsman criticized the department's “refusal” to investigate the Lakewood group last year.
“The sheriff will now identify the members to determine if PC 13670 applies,” he said, referring to the state law that prohibits law enforcement gangs. “We thank the FBI and the US Attorney's Office for their anti-corruption work.”