GANGLAND GODFATHER

Carlos "Flaco" Espinoza was arrested Friday, along with Juan Nunez, Antonio Gayosso, both 19; and Julio Montoya, 21. They are accused of obtaining a gun, driving around in separate cars in search of rival gang members and shooting at them, according to court papers filed by the Monterey County District Attorney's Office.Prosecutors say Espinoza pulled the trigger in the shooting death of Jose Manuel Perez, 15. All four defendants are charged with murder and related crimes, and prosecutors said they were acting on behalf of the Sureno street gang.Perez played football for Salinas High and was described Monday by Salinas Police Chief Louis Fetherolf as "an innocent bystander." Perez was fatally wounded at 2:15 p.m. Thursday on the 500 block of Terrance Street. He was walking to football practice at the time. Nunez, Montoya and Gayosso appeared before Superior Court Judge Adrienne Grover on Monday, but their arraignment was delayed until 1:30 p.m. today because Esp...

Esteban Manuel Saidi died Wednesday night at Intermountain Medical Center of a gunshot wound to the abdomen, Salt Lake County sheriff's deputies said. Two of the Saidi's classmates, also 16, were booked into juvenile detention. The suspected shooter, a sophomore, and his accomplice spoke with the high school safety officer and turned themselves in about an hour after the shooting. They were arrested at a nearby home. The gun was recovered in the area of the shooting. Sheriff's deputies would not confirm for publication the suspects' identities on Wednesday night. Kearns High School shooting However, a person who identified himself as a relative of the alleged shooter said members of the Sureño gang had been harassing the shooter. Sheriff's officials said the shooting was gang-related, but they would not name the gang affiliations of the victim or the suspected shooter. Sheriff Jim Winder said the suspected gunman and the victim were known to gang investigators befor...

About 10 police cars flooded a south Gilroy apartment complex late Wednesday night to stop a possible gang fight, police said. Two women and a man were arrested on weapons charges stemming from the incident. About 11 p.m., somebody in the apartment complex called police to report about ten young adults hanging out in the carport between 160 and 180 Southgate Court - off Church Street just south of 10th Street - said officer Joseph Deras. The reporting party said the people had weapons and were possibly preparing for a fight. Two patrol cars, including a canine unit, came up to the driveway a few minutes later, Deras said. The officers "heard sounds of metallic hitting the ground," he said. "We didn't know if that was a gun or what." One of the men in the group ran to a silver truck at the south end of the carport, through something inside, and then ran and hid behind another car, Deras said. The two officers called for backup.Soon, 10 police cars with more than ...