Whittier PD Cracks Down on Local Gang

On August 21st, 2008 Anthony De La Riva (21) was murdered in East Whittier. While De La Riva sat in the driver’s seat of his car with his 6-month pregnant girlfriend and one year old daughter in the back seat, an unknown male Hispanic approached the driver’s side of his vehicle and fatally shot him several times. His girlfriend and baby daughter were unhurt. Witnesses say they saw a subject, who they describe as a male, Hispanic, 5’ 10”, shaved head or very short hair leave the location in a white, late 90’s model, mid-sized vehicle.

After numerous hours of interviews and following leads since this incident, the Whittier PD investigative division now believes that all this information now points to possible members of a gang from Pico Rivera known as “Pico Viejo.”

As a result today on Thursday, October 30, 2008 at 0600 hours, a series of 19 parole and probation searches were conducted by Whittier PD in Pico Rivera targeting “Pico Viejo.” Over 90 law enforcement officers assisted in this effort including teams from Culver City, La Habra, LA IMPACT, a large contingent from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and 34 officers from Whittier PD. Also playing an important role were 11 agents from California State Parole, four Officers from Los Angeles County Probation and eight representatives from the Department of Children and Family Services (MART) team. These searches were conducted throughout the cities of Pico Rivera, Whittier, Santa Fe Springs, Montebello, and Alhambra.

Consequently, six individuals were arrested in this sweep for parole and probation violations as well as open charges. Included in these arrests, seven guns were seized as a result of parole and probation violations. The Whittier Police Department is obviously interested in these individuals arrested today in relationship to De La Riva’s murder.

We are also asking the public for any further assistance in solving this crime by calling our Whittier Investigative Bureau at 562-945-8264.