Editor’s Note: (7/19/24) Following the revelation of this narrative in January 2022, Rios, Contreras, and Cisneros admitted guilt to at least one charge each of conspiracy to infringe upon the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Rios and Cisneros received sentences of 50 years in federal prison, while Contreras was handed a 35-year federal prison term, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Grisham accepted guilt for a violent offense in furtherance of racketeering and is anticipated to face sentencing in September.
Federal prosecutors have indicted three suspected gang members and one alleged associate on Thursday in the tragic shooting of off-duty Los Angeles Police Officer Fernando Arroyos during a botched robbery attempt.
Luis Alfredo De La Rosa Rios, 29, Ernesto Cisneros, 22, and Jesse Contreras, 34, are purported members of the F-13 gang, according to a release from the U.S. Department of Justice. Rios’s purported girlfriend, Haylee Marie Grisham, 18, was also charged.
The complaint states that Arroyos was house-hunting on Monday with his girlfriend when a black pickup truck approached. Rios and Cisneros brandished firearms at Arroyos and his girlfriend, seizing items from both, including chains from Arroyos’ neck.
According to the report, an exchange of gunfire ensued between Arroyos and the two suspects, after which Arroyos collapsed and the suspects fled the scene. Deputies from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department responded swiftly and transported Arroyos to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
The four defendants were in the vehicle and allegedly present during the robbery and shooting, the complaint indicated. They face charges of violent crime in support of racketeering, which carries a possible death penalty and a minimum sentence of life in federal prison without the possibility of parole.
QT has attempted to reach out to the Los Angeles County Public Defender’s office in order to secure legal representation for the defendants and is awaiting a reply.
Arroyos, 27, “was embarking on a very promising career,” said LAPD Chief Michel Moore on Tuesday. He had been with the department for three years, assigned to the Wilshire Division.
“He was enjoying a day off after a series of days in patrol, relishing this time with his girlfriend while searching for a home, a place to live, a place to invest in this city and the future of this area,” Moore remarked.
Arroyos is mourned by his mother and stepfather.
“He was an only child, with a bright future ahead that was brutally taken from him during a street robbery,” the chief added.
F-13 represents a “large, multi-generational street gang that has previously been the focus of federal prosecutions, including two significant racketeering cases,” noted the U.S. Attorney’s office in a press release.
The news release did not reveal any affiliation between Arroyos and the accused.
