A dozen gang members or associates have been indicted in “Operation Money Bags” for their alleged roles in a burglary-drug ring that targeted numerous homes in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Ventura counties, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
The 12 defendants pleaded not guilty to charges filed in four indictments stemming from 37 residential burglaries and three attempted residential break-ins, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.
Each of the cases includes several dozen felony counts, including burglary, attempted burglary and conspiracy to commit residential burglary.
Named in the indictments are:
— Lamor “Nucy Wacc” Arnett, 34, Erica “V-Baby” Whitson, 24, Rayshaun “Baby D. Rocc” Marshall, 21, and Carlton “Tiny Chill” Bruton, 23, all of Los Angeles;
— Tavon “Young Wacc” Moore, 25, and Jerome Grigsby, 28, both of Inglewood;
— Richard “Richie Rich” McKay, 25, of Gardena;
— Valerie Acosta, 26, of Compton;
— Mark “P.K.” Hundley, 30, of Carson;
— Talford “TC” Brown, 48, of Long Beach; and
— Andrew Lopez, also known as “Migo” and “Drew,” 26, and Ruben Alaniz, 25, both of Montebello.
All 12 remain behind bars after entering their pleas Monday, according to jail records, and are due back in a downtown Los Angeles courthouse Thursday for a pretrial hearing.
The arrests stemmed from an investigation dubbed “Operation Money Bags” that began in January 2012 and involved the simultaneous service of 28 search warrants by more than 400 officers from 18 agencies in Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and Ventura counties, according to Torrance police Sgt. Paul Kranke.
The raids last Friday also resulted in the seizure of seven firearms, cash and “various amounts of narcotics,” Kranke said.
“During the investigation, detectives determined that some of the proceeds from the burglaries were being used to obtain prescription narcotics which were then resold on the streets of Los Angeles,” Kranke said.
On Monday, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced that two doctors who each operated medical offices in Lynwood — Sonny Oparah, 75, of Long Beach, and Edward Ridgill, 64, of Ventura — were arrested Friday on federal drug charges as the “Operation Money Bags” sweep was occurring.
Authorities launched an investigation into the two doctors when the investigation into the gang revealed evidence that “Oparah and Ridgill served as large-scale sources of supply to (gang) members and associates via their issuance of medically unnecessary controlled drug prescriptions,” a federal affidavit alleges.
Oparah and Ridgill — who were released Friday afternoon on bond — are due back in federal court on Sept. 15 for arraignment.
–City News Service