The Los Angeles Police Department is closing in on members of both the 18th Street gang and Mexican Mafia gang after a 2007 attack left a seven-week-old infant dead. According to police, members of the 18th Street gang were attempting to attack a street vendor who had refused to pay them rent to operate his small business in the gangs territory. The street vendor survived multiple gunshot wounds to the chest while a single stray bullet pierced the infants heart as he sat sleeping in a nearby stroller, killing him instantly. Even other gang members were appalled, with members of the notorious Mexican Mafia allegedly demanding that those responsible for the infants death be punished. According to Los Angeles police documents, 18th Street gang members tried to take matters into their own hands by luring the shooter to Mexico on the pretense of protecting him from Los Angeles investigators. Once across the border, the shooter (whose identity is being kept secret as he is aiding investigators in the case) was allegedly strangled and left for dead. When he regained consciousness, he called family members in the area and was eventually arrested by Los Angeles investigators. He is now cooperating with both Los Angeles and federal law enforcement as they pursue his former gang. Gang violence has long been a problem in Los Angeles, and law enforcement investigates and prosecutes gang-related crimes heavily. Criminal charges such as weapons possession, drug charges and murder take on a whole new level of scrutiny when Los Angeles police label them as gang-related, leading to much more severe punishments. Longer jail sentences are handed down in the case of a conviction and those convicted of gang-related crimes are also forced to register with Los Angeles authorities as a gang member. Whether or not that affiliation is true or continues after a conviction, it is extremely difficult to make that association go away. If you have been charged with a gang-related crime, call the attorneys at Kestenbaum, Eisner & Gorin, LLP today. Their combined 50 years of courtroom experience in criminal defense will fight for you. Tagged as: gang allegations, jury trial defense