Alex Kerr | staff writter
Jury recommends death penalty for local gang member
Ralph ‘Swifty’ Flores, 26-yearold Azusa gang member convicted of four murders, was recommended for the death penalty this past Tuesday. Flores was found guilty on March 13th and 14th for the murders of two men and twowomen.
Committed between 1999 and 2004, the Azusa 13 gang member will be put to death for only three of the four killings, the fi rst of which was committed while Flores was only 17 years old, and alone would land him behind bars for life, without the possibility of parole.
Jury deliberation lasted only four hours before the three-woman, nine-man panel reached the decision. However, sentencing will not begin until June 2. Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Kathleen Kennedy will then formally sentence Flores, keeping in mind the jury’s recommendation. Under California state law, Flores will be entitled to an automatic appeal.
Flores also faced special allegations including torture and a hate-crime killing, as well as killing for the benefi t of a gang. The 26-year-old, tattooed with “Azusa 13” across his upper lip, reportedly assaulted a sheriff’s deputy before the trial began, and ordered the killing of a deputy during jury selection.
“He smirks when he plans to kill people, he laughs when he does it, and he brags about it afterward. That’s what the evidence showed,” Deputy District Attorney Michele Hanisee, one of two District Attorneys who prosecuted the case said.
It was reported that Flores remained emotionless throughout the trial. Flores was convicted of fatally shooting 16-year-old Christopher Lynch, a resident of Valinda, on May 14, 1999. Lynch was black, and the crime was determined to be racially motivated.
Flores’ next victim, 23-year-old Claudia Chenet of Azusa, was also shot to death on November 19th, 2003. Detectives believe Flores incorrectly thought Chenet was working as a police informant.
Flores was also convicted of a third shooting, this time of 20- year-old Miguel Reyes on Dec. 26, 2004.
Flores’ fi nal and most violent conviction was for the strangling and beating of 28-year-old Fenise Luna of Azusa. Jurors found him guilty of torturing his victim. Seven other members of Azusa 13 were tried and convicted of gang-related crimes. Members of the gang are said to take direction from the Mexican Mafi a prison gang, which often orders hate crimes to be committed on African Americans. Jacques “Jacko” Padilla is said to be the Mexican Mafi a member controlling gang activity within Azusa, all while locked in a maximum-security cell.
In response to gang activity throughout the city, Azusa has formed a hate-crime task force, a human relations commission, “Hands Across Azusa,” a multicultural celebration held on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, as well as continuing to monitor gang activity within prisons with the aid of a multi-agency gang task force.
