Funeral for Sheriff’s Deputy Juan Escalante
On Friday morning, funeral services were held for another lawman:
Los Angeles County sheriff’s Deputy Juan Escalante, 27, was killed Saturday morning [August 2] in front of his family’s home in Cypress Park.
He had been a sheriff’s deputy for two-and-a-half years and guarded dangerous prisoners, including members of the Mexican Mafia, at the county’s Men’s Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles. Authorities are investigating whether his job may have led to his death.
I’d say that’s a pretty good guess, given that 1) Escalante had regular contact with Mexican Mafia members, and 2) the killing occurred in a neighborhood with well-documented ties to Eme, otherwise known as the Mexican Mafia.
The article says that at the time of the shooting, Escalante and his family (he left behind a wife and three children) were living with Escalante’s parents “at his childhood home in a gang-infested neighborhood in Cypress Park, but were about to buy a home in Pomona.” According to the article, the area of the shooting is in the territory of the Cypress Park and Avenues street gangs.
What the article does not say is that the Avenues in particular have very close ties to Eme. Recent years have seen state and federal prosecutions arising out of numerous orchestrated assassinations of people on the Mexican Mafia’s “greenlight list.” The Avenues have been involved in several of these killings.
Whether Escalante was on such a “greenlight” list remains to be seen. Previous articles suggest that he got along well with the prisoners he guarded. I have zero inside knowledge of Eme involvement, one way or the other.
But in my opinion, it’s the way to bet.
UPDATE: I’m hearing that the Mexican Mafia angle is thought unlikely. L.A. Times reporter Richard Winton told Pattt Morrison on KPCC that authorities don’t see an obvious connection.
This is not random violence; this is gang business. Who next, judges? Are we to become Columbia or El Salvador?
I’m sure no newspaper is investigating this rash of peace officer killings, but I would love to see a blogger do the stats on it.
Patricia (f56a97) — 8/10/2008 @ 8:36 amThere was a reason why the American mob avoided killing cops as much as they did. It’s true things are different now than they were in the old days, but society responds to what challenges it — and if Eme is challenging by killing cops, I don’t think Eme is going to like the response they’re bound to get.
McGehee (25adee) — 8/10/2008 @ 11:08 amThis is tragic for the Escalante family. Gangs routinely target law enforcement in Mexico and it seems to be spreading into American border cities and states.
DRJ (9d1be2) — 8/10/2008 @ 11:25 amI have two sons who are police officers and stories like this chill my soul. I remember like yesterday when my oldest told me he had finished his biological terrorism training. In the case of a biological attack, people like my son will be putting on space suits and trudging toward the trouble spots. Criminals hate people like my sons, and some politicians, movie stars and lawyers in this country support the criminals. It’s a really sad situation. My prayers are with the Escalante family.
tyree (899a76) — 8/10/2008 @ 9:40 pmMost likely he was either turned or entered the LASO with the intent of being corrupt. EME doesn’t target Law Enforcement, one of those unwritten rules. If you do you end up like Black Panthers, getting shot by a cop. Only a cop who was on the take would be targeted by most organized criminal goups. Either that or he was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Or it was a personal issue, like a fight over a woman.
Johnnie (a589e9) — 8/11/2008 @ 2:40 pmI AGREE IT WAS MOST LIKELY IT WASNT A EME HIT IM SURE THEY GOT BISSER FISH TO FRY PLUS BAD ATTENTION
SAIT (751121) — 8/14/2008 @ 12:16 pmEs mi primo y la verdad que la noticia fue terrible, que Dios lo tenga en su santa gloria.
God Bless him.
Carlos (1afeec) — 8/14/2008 @ 1:49 pmHe was a good friend, went to high school with him.
M. (3a100f) — 8/15/2008 @ 12:05 pmAbel was a good man, for those that suggest he was corrupt or had the intent of becoming that description you are wrong. I still think of the days when he and I were deployed and he suggested I try some of the local food. For a man such as Abel that had a passion for life, love for his family friends and country you are giving him the wrong label.
I feel strongly that he was targeted for the way he looked vs what he actually was and may have been for his ethnic background vs actually being a L.E.O
Louie (931cf0) — 8/29/2008 @ 8:58 am