Crime & Safety
Gang Members Sent to Wrong Courthouse Before Arraignment
The alleged gang members are wrongly sent to the Van Nuys Courthouse and then to the downtown Inmate Reception Center.
Sheriff's officials are investigating why a dozen alleged gang members accused of extorting food truck owners in Hollywood were sent to the wrong courthouse Monday, the Los Angeles Times reported.
The individuals were wrongly sent to the Van Nuys Courthouse and then to the downtown Inmate Reception Center before their arraignment Monday at the criminal courts building, the Times reported.
The alleged gang members "had to be arraigned Monday or risked being released if authorities missed the criminal filing deadline," according to the Times report.
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Twenty reputed MS-13 gang members and associates were arraigned Monday in a series of grand jury indictments charging them with operating an extortion ring that targeted food truck owners in Hollywood.
They allegedly demanded "rent" ranging from $30 to $100 a week to operate trucks parked in Hollywood, according to prosecutors.
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All 20 named defendants—arrested late last week—pleaded not guilty before Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Charlaine Olmedo.
—City News Service contributed to this report.
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