Sweeps nets 6 alleged senior gang members

GARDEN GROVE – Six men, several of them said to be senior members of a Garden Grove street gang, were arrested this morning in a pre-dawn raid that uncovered a stash of weapons.

Over the last six months, the city has seen an outbreak of violence due to a turf war between two of the city's gangs, Lt. Travis Whitman of the Garden Grove police said.

At least four shootings and two major assaults have been linked to the turf war, police said.

One of the men was not publicly identified because he may be a juvenile. The other five, all from Garden Grove, were Edward Argueta, 26, Ysrael Garza, 28, Fernando Garza, 29, Oscar Padilla, 19, and Gregorio Pinto, 27.

Investigator Pat Gildea of the Garden Grove police was the lead detective on the case, which resulted in a search of seven locations in Garden Grove and Anaheim.

The warrant was served at 5:30 a.m. by 65 police officers from the Garden Grove and Santa Ana police departments and the Orange County Probation Department.

Pinto and the possible minor were arrested on outstanding misdemeanor warrants; the others were arrested on weapons charges, Whitman said.

Police found 13 firearms, including four shotguns, four rifles, and five handguns. Two of the rifles were assault rifles: an antique SKS semi-automatic, which was the predecessor to the AK-47, and an M1A rifle with scope and detachable magazine.

Police also found more than 1,000 rounds of ammunition, including a bandolier of shotgun shells.

Police will conduct ballistics tests on the weapons to see if they were used in any shootings, Whitman said.