BAKERSFIELD – On December 12, 2017, California Department of Justice (DOJ) special agents wrapped up a 10-month investigation into violent crime committed by suspected West Side Crip gang members in Bakersfield with the arrest of 49 people and the seizure of 26 firearms.

In addition to DOJ special agents, the investigation included local and federal law enforcement officers who investigated weapons violations, unlawful possession of firearms, assaults with deadly weapons, robberies, carjackings, methamphetamine sales, crack cocaine sales, heroin sales, prostitution, and murder.

“From DOJ special agents to FBI agents, to local law enforcement officers, this was a group dedicated and brave individuals who put the safety of Bakersfield residents before their own, and went in to get these violent gang members off the streets and out of neighborhoods,” said California Statewide Law Enforcement Association (CSLEA) President Alan Barcelona.

According to an affidavit during the 10-month investigation, agents and officers learned of, and thwarted, a plan by WSC members to shoot into a crowd of approximately 200 people, including rival gang members, at a local park in early October 2017.

“This violent gang has killed innocent people and escalated violence in our Bakersfield neighborhoods,” said Attorney General Becerra. “Today’s successful takedown shows that when local, state and federal law enforcement authorities work together to combat violence, we can improve our communities. We are committed to making our neighborhoods safer by prosecuting street gangs to the fullest extent of the law.”

In addition to the arrests and the seizure of firearms, agents and officers also seized more than four pounds of methamphetamine and a small amount of crack cocaine.