Editor's note: (7/19/24) Since this story was published in January 2022, Rios, Contreras and Cisneros each pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Rios and Cisneros were sentenced to 50 years in federal prison and Contreras was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office. Grisham pleaded guilty to a violent crime in aid of racketeering and is expected to be sentenced in September.
CNN
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Federal prosecutors on Thursday charged three alleged gang members and one alleged gang associate in the fatal shooting of off-duty Los Angeles Police Department Officer Fernando Arroyos during an attempted robbery.
Luis Alfredo De La Rosa Rios, 29, Ernesto Cisneros, 22, and Jesse Contreras, 34, are alleged members of the F-13 gang, according to a statement from the U.S. Department of Justice. Rio's alleged girlfriend, Haylee Marie Grisham, 18, was also charged.
According to the complaint, Arroyos was house hunting with his girlfriend on Monday when a black pickup truck approached them. Rios and Cisneros pointed guns at Arroyos and his girlfriend and took items from both of them, including chains that Arroyos was wearing around his neck.
There was an exchange of gunfire between Arroyos and the two suspects, after which Arroyos collapsed and the two suspects fled, the statement said. Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies responded to the scene and took Arroyos to a hospital where he died.
All four defendants were in the vehicle and were allegedly at the scene of the robbery and shooting, according to the complaint. They are charged with felony racketeering in aid of extortion, which carries a possible death penalty and a minimum sentence of life in federal prison without the possibility of parole.
CNN has reached out to the Los Angeles County Public Defender's office in an attempt to contact legal representation for the defendants and is awaiting a response.
Arroyos, 27, “was starting out on a very promising career,” LAPD Chief Michel Moore said Tuesday. He had been with the department for three years and was assigned to the Wilshire Division.
“After working a number of days on patrol, he found himself with a day off, enjoying it with his girlfriend while looking for a home, a place to live, a place to buy and invest in this city and the future of this region,” Moore said.
Arroyos is survived by his mother and stepfather.
“He was an only child, he had a promising future, a bright future that was taken away from him, brutally, by a street robbery,” the chief said.
F-13 is a “large, multi-generational street gang that has previously been the target of federal prosecutions, including two major organized crime cases,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in a news release.
The press release did not mention any connection between Arroyos and the suspects.
