3 gang members sentenced to decades in federal prison for killing LAPD officer

Three gang members in Los Angeles will spend the next several decades in federal prison for killing an off-duty police officer who was house-hunting with his girlfriend in 2022. 

In separate hearings, Judge Percy Anderson sentenced the three men to at least 35 years and ordered them to tens of thousands of dollars in restitution. 

• 30-year-old Luis Alfredo de la Rosa Rios, also known as "Lil J" and "Lil Malo" was sentenced to 50 years in prison and ordered to pay $31,204.07.
  
• 25-year-old Ernesto Cisneros, also known as "Gonzo" and "Spooky" was sentenced to 50 years in prison and ordered to pay $28,604.07.
• 36-year-old Jesse Contreras, also known as "Skinny Jack" and "Flaco" was sentenced to 35 years in prison and ordered to pay $31,204.07.

Rios' girlfriend Haylee Marie Grisham, 21, pled guilty in April 2023 for her part in the robbery and killing of Los Angeles Police Department Officer Fernando Arroyos. She will be sentenced in September. She faces a maximum of life in prison.

"The senseless loss of life is all too frequent in our community. It is literally ripping apart the fabric of our society," Judge Anderson said during the hearing. "The sentence imposed today must send a message, not only to this defendant but to everyone, that if you choose to endanger our community by murdering, robbing and trafficking in narcotics, there will be significant consequences."  

Rios, Cisneros and Contreras were part of the South LA street gang Florencia 13. They pled guilty in a RICO case in 2023.

"Gangs bring death and destruction, most often upon the very communities they claim to represent," United States Attorney Martin Estrada said. "These defendants coldly and callously murdered an innocent man who grew up in our community and returned home to give back to the city he loved."

The defendants were driving around the Florence-Firestone area of South Los Angeles looking for someone to rob when they came upon Arroyos, who was wearing gold chains around his neck.

Rios and Cisneros exited a black pickup and confronted Arroyos, a three-year veteran of the LAPD, and his girlfriend as they were searching for a home to purchase in the area.

The two gang members pointed guns at the victims and removed property from both, including a wallet and two silver chains from Arroyos' neck. At some point, after Cisneros removed Arroyos' chains, the off-duty officer and the gang members exchanged gunfire, according to court documents.

Arroyos sustained a single gunshot wound, ran from the area and collapsed in an alley as the two defendants left the scene in the truck.

Responding law officers found bystanders performing CPR on Arroyos. The officers loaded Arroyos into a patrol car and took him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Federal prosecutors said Rios and Contreras robbed two other people in the Florence-Firestone area.