LAPD Seeks Public's Help in Apprehending Gunmen Who Killed Baby(23-days old)

Los Angeles police detectives on Monday searched for three gunmen who opened fire in a bustling shopping district near MacArthur Park over the weekend, critically wounding an outdoor vendor and killing a 23-day-old baby being pushed in a stroller by his mother.

The slaying has left residents shaken in the Westlake district, about two miles west of downtown, a dense collection of apartments housing mostly Mexican and Central American immigrants. The area has long struggled with gang violence, and police are investigating whether the suspects are gang members.

The infant, Luis Angel Garcia, was hit by a stray bullet about 9:30 p.m. Saturday, as his mother and hundreds of other shoppers strolled amid the stores and outdoor vendors near the corner of 6th Street and Burlington Avenue, police said.

The gunmen appeared to be targeting vendor Francisco Clemente, 37, who was hit in the chest by several bullets. He was taken to a hospital, where he remains in critical condition. Police said they didn't have a motive for the killing, but some residents in the area said they feared it was retaliation after the vendor didn't pay "rent" to a gang.

City officials held a news conference Monday seeking the public's help and describing the shooting as "heinous," "terrible," and "horrific." Councilman Ed Reyes, who represents the area, announced a $75,000 reward for information leading to arrests of those involved, and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said he promised the infant's mother that "detectives were working around the clock" to solve the case.

"The cold-blooded murder of a tiny infant is just something this city cannot tolerate," Villaraigosa said. He said he met with the infant's mother and "held her hand. She was in terrible pain," he said.

Police believe 50 to 100 people witnessed the shooting and might have vital information.

For the record, Villaraigosa, was a previously employed A.C.L.U. attorney who fought to prevent gang injunctions in L.A.

Although Antonio has worked for the ACLU, he has never been an attorney. He got his law degree from the People's College of Law. He has failed the bar exam four times and is not licensed to practice law.

Here's an excerpt from Wikipedia's entry about the People's College of Law.

PCL is currently authorized to grant juris doctor degrees by the California State Department of Education and is listed with the Committee of Bar Examiners of the State Bar of California as an unaccredited law school. Students must take and pass the First-Year Law Students' Examination, also known as the "Baby Bar," at the end of their first year in order to receive credit for their law study and eventually qualify to sit for the California Bar Exam. It is not accredited by the American Bar Association.

The current Mayor of Los Angeles, Antonio Villaraigosa, is a graduate and the most famous alumnus of PCL.

The hypocrisy I was revealing was that Villaraigosa along with the A.C.L.U., his former employer, helped facilitate the gang problems in Los Angeles!

Antonio was only tryng to help out those poor, neglected children who had no alternatives to gang life.

BTW, did you happen to catch this piece of ~~shi~~ news?

Los Angeles Voters May See Gang Tax on Ballot
A $30 million measure for prevention programs is being considered.
September 13, 2007

A key Los Angeles City Council committee took a step Wednesday toward putting on the February ballot a $30million tax measure to fund gang prevention programs.

The measure would levy a parcel tax on property owners, averaging about $40 a year.

The council's Rules and Elections Committee asked the city attorney to draft ballot language that would spell out how the $30 million a year would be awarded to gang prevention and intervention programs and how the city would ensure the money is spent.

The measure, introduced by Councilwoman Janice Hahn, is scaled back from an earlier $50 million parcel-tax proposal to make it more appealing to voters.

Hahn, who represents the Harbor Area, said the city has never made a consistent effort to fund gang intervention and prevention programs.

"We need a dedicated funding stream," Hahn said. "The city budget has so many constraints on it that we're never going to have the political will to always dedicate this amount of money toward ending gang violence."

But City Controller Laura Chick, who is auditing current gang prevention programs, has said the council and mayor should not put a gang tax on the ballot until her review is complete and the city can be sure the money will be spent well.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has said he could support the tax measure if the money was spent in communities with the worst gang problems and there is strong oversight and accountability.

His office would not say if he supports putting a gang tax on the February ballot.

"Laura Chick is going to be critical in determining where new funds are allocated," said spokesman Matt Szabo, adding that the mayor needs more details on the council's proposal.

The council would need to vote by Oct. 3 to direct the city attorney to draft ballot language and the full council would have to decide whether to put the tax on the ballot by Oct. 19.

“Antonio was only tryng to help out those poor, neglected children who had no alternatives to gang life?”

you are kidding me...right?

parents “keep poor, neglected children” out of gangs.

and the only way to deal with gangs is marital law and curfews.
Secure the borders, deport ALL illegals including the incarcerated so we can incarcerate American criminals who are roaming about MacArthur park and everywhere else in America unabated and watch crime decrease measurably! If Rudy can do it N.Y.C., so can L.A.

"$30million tax measure to fund gang prevention?"

Take that $30 Mil and HIRE MORE COPS! gezzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...

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