17 arrested after guns and drugs seized in Riverside gang investigation

Seventeen individuals were arrested, 55 firearms confiscated and thousands of dollars worth of drugs seized in a sweeping multi-agency investigation of a Riverside street gang, state Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta announced Thursday.

In addition, two gang-related homicides in Riverside and Moreno Valley were solved as a result of the two-year investigation, according to a statement from Bonta’s office. One of those homicides included the fatal shooting of 32-year-old Cedric Dempsey, a father of nine, at a Riverside park in 2020.

“Today’s operation is one step toward healing the Riverside community from the ills of gun violence,” Bonta said. The gang was not named in the statement.

Among the items seized as a result of “Operation Walk in the Park” were three assault weapons, six ghost guns, two pounds of fentanyl, two pounds of cocaine, two pounds of heroin, a half-pound of methamphetamine and 200 Ecstasy pills, as well as $69,952 in cash, authorities said.

Local authorities have previously declared the street gang a significant threat to the community.

“The impact gang violence has on innocent victims has no place in any community and we will continue to relentlessly pursue gangs with the strongest possible response by law enforcement,” Riverside County Sheriff Chad Bianco said.

Agents also uncovered an alleged conspiracy to commit murder using an illegal ghost gun as a result of the operation. Authorities arrested the alleged manufacturer and distributor of the non-serialized pistol.

The county’s district attorney’s office will continue to file charges against those arrested, which will include murder, conspiracy to commit murder, firearms and narcotics trafficking along with gang enhancements, authorities said.

“Operation Walk in the Park” was a joint investigation involving the Riverside Police Department, the Riverside County Sheriff’s Department, the Riverside County district attorney’s office and the California Department of Justice.

“Tonight, Riverside families can sleep safer as a result of this operation,” Bonta said.