Los Angeles Field Division
Photo used under Creative Commons from flickr user RodneyRamsey
Welcome to ATF’s Los Angeles Field Division. From California’s Central Coast, extending south to the Mexican border, we cover the counties of Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Ventura, Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, San Diego and Imperial. Our dedicated work force is comprised of special agents, investigators, auditors, technicians and support staff.
ATF Los Angeles is committed to reducing violent crime in our neighborhoods. We accomplish this by targeting specific criminal organizations and gangs. Some of our more notable investigations have been the Mongols motorcycle gang, Rollin 30s crips and Florencia 13 street gangs, and the Aryan Brotherhood prison gang.
ATF Los Angeles is also very proactive in investigating violations of federal law pertaining to arson and explosives. To this end ATF works closely with local fire departments and police bomb squads. Recently ATF participated in the investigations of wildfires that devastated the local area, and was instrumental in the recovery and prosecution of an individual responsible for the theft of 300 pounds of explosives in the Big Bear Mountains.
ATF also has the duty of regulating the firearms and explosives industry. Our goal is to ensure that all firearms and explosives are stored, handled and sold in a safe manner according to law. In Los Angeles this extends to Hollywood, where filmmakers use firearms and explosives in movie productions.
ATF Los Angeles conducts a citizen academy twice each year. This unique training promotes a more informed community through education about ATF’s mission, regulatory and technical capabilities, and our role in reducing violent crime by enforcing federal firearms, explosive, arson and tobacco laws.
We encourage all residents to get involved and assist us in our goal of reducing crime in our communities. Give us a call and let us know what we can do for you. Our phone number is (818) 265-2500.
John A. Torres
Division Management Team
Division Contact Information
Receive Los Angeles Press Release Updates
Moreno Valley Gang Member Sentenced to 10 Years in Federal Prison for Firearms and Drug Charges
December 20, 2010
LOS ANGELES — A Moreno Valley gang member was sentenced today to 120 months in federal prison for being a felon in possession of a firearm and selling crack cocaine.More »
Orange County, State, and Federal Law Enforcement Take Down White Supremacist Prison and Street Gangs in Largest Sweep of Its Kind
December 16, 2010
SANTA ANA — Orange County, State, and federal law enforcement announced today the largest ever take-down of white supremacist prison and street gang criminal enterprises in Orange County. Operation Stormfront was conducted in collaboration by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA), Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD), United States Attorney’s Office.More »
Operation Eastern Encore Takes Down Indio Gang Members
December 7, 2010
Indio — Today, December 7, 2010, Riverside County District Attorney Rod Pacheco, Indio Police Chief Bradley S. Ramos, representatives from the Untied States Attorney’s Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, along with several other law enforcement leaders announced the results of an 18-month investigation into hundreds of Indio gang members. Today’s anti-gang operation is the largest in the history of Riverside County.More »
Grand Jury indictment for George Djura Jakubec with eight counts relating to the unlawful manufacture and possession of destructive devices at his Escondido, California residence
December 3, 2010
United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy announced today that a federal grand jury sitting in San Diego handed up an indictment on December 2, 2010 charging George Djura Jakubec with eight counts relating to the unlawful manufacture and possession of destructive devices at his Escondido, California, residence and the robberies of four San Diego County banks.More »
Joint LAPD - ATF Investigation Into Illegal Gun Sales Leads to Indictment of Nine on Federal Weapons Charges
December 1, 2010
LOS ANGELES — Federal and local authorities this morning arrested five defendants who were named by a federal grand jury in a 19—count indictment that alleges illegal firearms sales and drug trafficking offenses.More »
Former Marines Arrested on Weapons Charges
November 8, 2010
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) today announced the arrests of five people, including three former Marines, suspected of selling illegal assault weapons to gang members in the San Fernando Valley. More »
Feds Indict 61 in Multi-Agency Drug Probe Focusing on Los Angeles-Area Gangs
October 21, 2010
More than 800 federal and local law enforcement officers fanned out across the Southland Thursday morning in a massive takedown capping a three-year, multi-agency investigation that targeted major methamphetamine and cocaine suppliers to some of the most violent street gangs based in Los Angeles, Long Beach and La Puente. More »
ATF Los Angeles Hosts Citizens Academy
October 7, 2010
John A. Torres, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Los Angeles Field Division announced the “ATF Citizens Academy” presented by the Los Angeles Field Division began yesterday and is scheduled to run through Nov. 17. More »
Two Charged With Felony Firearms Violations
October 1, 2010
United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy announced today the filing of a complaint charging Yoahjan Lara Flores and Arturo Lara with felony firearms violations. According to the complaint, the defendants attempted to purchase multiple grenade launchers, multiple high explosive 40 millimeter grenades, and a M-4 rifle. More »
ATF Trains U.S. And Mexico Crisis Negotiators
September 24, 2010
Today 20 special agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) and six Mexican federal police officers, (Grupo Operaciones Especiales) graduated from the ATF Basic Crisis Negotiator’s School. More »
Varrio Hawaiian Gardens Gang Member Sentenced to 210 Months for Firearm and Controlled Substance Possession
September 14, 2010
A U.S. District Court Judge sentenced 36 year old Brian Allen Viramontes, a Varrio Hawaiian Gardens gang member to 210 months in federal prison and lifetime supervised release, yesterday for firearms and drug violations. Viramontes pled guilty to the charges of being a felon in possession of a firearm, possession with intent to distribute a controlled substance and possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and RICO, in federal court in April 2010. More »
ATF Promotes the Greater Los Angeles Combined Federal Campaign Kickoff in the City of Hope
September 8, 2010
The co-chairmen of the Los Angeles Combined Federal Campaign (CFC), Special Agent in Charge John A. Torres of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, (ATF) Los Angeles Field Division and Martha Flores, Chief of Staff of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (US CIS), District 23, announce the CFC kickoff for 2011 at the City of Hope, Duarte, Calif. More »
Photos of Gov. Schwarzenegger Announcing Results of Largest Parole Sweep in Los Angeles
August 26, 2010
Today, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger joined officials from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and a task force of federal and regional law enforcement agencies to announce the results of Operation Disarm. More »
Four Linked to Gang Based at Nickerson Gardens Housing Project Arrested on Federal Drug Charges
August 24, 2010
Capping a two-year investigation that saw the seizure of well over a kilogram of crack cocaine, federal, state and local law enforcement officers this morning arrested four members and associates of the Watts-based Bounty Hunter Bloods street gang on federal narcotics charges. More »
Grand Jury Indicts 15 Linked to Major ‘Ecstasy’ Ring
August 5, 2010
Culminating an investigation that led to the seizure of well over 1.1 million “ecstasy” tablets this year, a federal grand jury has indicted 15 men linked to a San Gabriel Valley-based drug trafficking organization that was allegedly responsible for distributing hundreds of thousands of MDMA pills every month. More »
ATF National Response Team Activated to Investigate Gamez Auto Center Fire
July 27, 2010
The National Response Team (NRT) of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) along with ATF special agents from the Los Angeles Field Division have been activated by a request from the Los Angeles Fire Department to investigate a fire at the Gamez Auto Center, 821 S Esperanza St., Los Angeles, Calif. The fire which occurred early Monday morning, July 26, killed two and critically injured two others that were inside at the time of the fire. More »
Forty-Three Defendants With Ties to Mexican Drug Cartel Charged With Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organization (RICO) Conspiracy
July 23, 2010
A criminal complaint was unsealed today charging 43 defendants with participating in a federal racketeering (RICO) conspiracy. The RICO conspiracy alleged in the complaint involves the commission of both state and federal crimes, including murder, conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping, conspiracy to commit kidnapping, robbery, conspiracy to commit robbery, drug trafficking and money laundering offenses. More »
Phoenix Licensed Gun Dealer Sentenced for Trafficking Firearms to California
July 16, 2010
Shawn Michael Nealon, 38, of Mesa, Ariz., a federal firearms licensee and owner of Cavalry Arms Corp., was sentenced earlier this month to three years probation, 300 hours of community service, and a $10,000 fine after pleading guilty on Feb. 18 to illegal firearms sales by a federally licensed firearms dealer to an out-of-state resident. More »
Felon Gets 87 Months for Conspiracy to Transfer a Machine Gun
June 28, 2010
United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy announced that Mark Allen Smrekar, a previously convicted felon prohibited from possessing firearms, was sentenced today in federal court in San Diego by United States District Judge Larry A. Burns to serve 87 months in custody based on his previous guilty plea for conspiracy to illegally transfer machineguns and misprision of a felony. More »
San Diego Man Indicted for Use of a Weapon of Mass Destruction
June 17, 2010
United States Attorney Laura E. Duffy announced that a federal grand jury sitting in San Diego today handed up an eight-count indictment charging Donny Love, Sr., with the use of a weapon of mass destruction and other charges, arising from the bombing of the Edward J. Schwartz Federal Courthouse in San Diego on May 4, 2008. More »
ATF Posts 2009 Los Angeles Crime Gun Data
May 11, 2010
John Torres, Special Agent in Charge of the Los Angeles Field Division of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), announces the release of aggregate trace data for crime guns recovered in Los Angeles and submitted to ATF for tracing for calendar year 2009. More »
Two Sentenced for Dealing Firearms Without a License
April 26, 2010
United States Attorney Karen P. Hewitt announced that United States District Judge William Q. Hayes today sentenced Rey Antonio Caballero-Alarcon in federal district court in San Diego to serve 140 months in custody for federal firearms violations. Judge Hayes also ordered the defendant to serve a three-year term of supervised release following his release from custody. More »
Gun Trafficker Sentenced to 51 Months Imprisonment
April 23, 2010
United States Attorney Karen P. Hewitt announced that Scott Alan Duchene was sentenced today in federal court in San Diego by United States District Judge William Q. Hayes to serve 51 months in federal prison based on Duchene’s conviction for federal firearms violations. Judge Hayes also sentenced Duchene to serve a three-year term of supervised release and ordered all firearms involved forfeited to the United States. More »
ATF Los Angeles Hosts Citizens Academy
April 22, 2010
John A. Torres, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), Los Angeles Field Division announced that the “ATF Citizens Academy” presented by the Los Angeles Field Division began yesterday and is scheduled to run through June 2. The academy’s goal is to create a greater understanding of ATF’s role in the community through education and open discussion and practical exercises. More »
Firearms Manufacturer and Its Owner Plead Guilty to Illegally Selling Firearms, Agree to Surrender License
February 22, 2010
Cavalry Arms Corporation and its owner Shawn Michael Nealon, 38, of Mesa Arizona., pleaded guilty to the felony offense of Illegal Sale by a Federally Licensed Firearms Dealer to an Out-of-State Resident, in federal district court in Phoenix. More »
ATF Offering $5,000 Reward in Arson Fire at Aviara Oaks Elementary School in Carlsbad
February 18, 2010
Special Agent in Charge John A. Torres of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) announced today that a $5,000 reward will be offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual(s) responsible for an arson which occurred at Aviara Oaks Elementary School, Carlsbad. More »
ATF Announces Arrest of Straw Purchaser From Barona Resort and Casino Homicide/Suicide Case
February 11, 2010
John A. Torres, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) today announced the federal arrest of Delbert Holley, Jr., 30 years old, for the straw purchase of a firearm which was later recovered in a homicide/suicide at the Barona Resort & Casino. More »
ATF Offering $5,000 Reward in Arson Fire at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Cardiff-by-the-Sea, Calif.
February 9, 2010
Special Agent in Charge John A. Torres of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) announced today that a $5,000 reward will be offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual(s) responsible for an arson fire at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Cardiff-by-the-Sea. More »
Fifth Gang Member Sentenced to Life Without Parole After Convictions in Massive Federal Racketeering Case
February 4, 2010
A fifth member of Florencia 13 (F13), a street gang involved in narcotics distribution and shootings of African-Americans, has been sentenced to life in federal prison for his conviction on a host of federal criminal charges, including racketeering and narcotics distribution. More »
ATF Announces Opening of New Office in Imperial County, To Help Combat Firearms Trafficking
January 28, 2010
Special Agent in Charge John A. Torres, of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Los Angeles Field Division, today announced that ATF has expanded operations in Imperial County by opening up a new office in the city of Imperial. More »
ATF Announces $5,000 Reward in Riverside Firearms Burglary Investigation
January 13, 2010
Special Agent in Charge John A. Torres, of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Los Angeles Field Division, and the Riverside Police Department today announced that a $5,000 reward will be offered for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual(s) responsible for the theft of firearms from a federal firearms licensee. More »
