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Defendant was a “rent” collector for the 18th Street gang in Los Angeles.
His duty was to collect payments, referred to by the gang as “rent,” from drug dealers in the gang’s territory for the privilege of doing business there.
As we describe more fully below, one night defendant’s rent collecting activities went too far and he shot and killed Jose Argueta, one of the drug dealers from whom he was attempting to collect rent.
The same night, defendant also attempted to obtain money at gunpoint from Jose Gonzales, who was not a drug dealer, but simply a passerby on his way to his car.
Officer Thacker of the Los Angeles Police Department was an expert witness for the prosecution. He testified he was familiar with street gangs in general and the 18th Street gang in particular, and that defendant was a member of the 18th Street gang. He also testified he was familiar with the term “collecting rent” as used by members of the 18th Street gang.
Asked what that term meant, Thacker testified, “The individuals who want to come into their area and sell narcotics, they must pay a certain amount of rent to the 18th Street gang in order to sell their narcotics in that neighborhood.”
People v. Torres (1995). Superior Court of Los Angeles County, No. BA056438
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