Alleged gang member charged with attempted murder of HSI special agents

SAN FRANCISCO — A federal grand jury in San Francisco Tuesday indicted a suspected Bay Area gang member for allegedly attempting to kill three special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) when they went to his residence in May seeking to arrest him on racketeering charges.

Victor Flores, aka Little Creeper, 20, of Petaluma, Calif., is charged in a second superseding indictment that adds additional counts to the charges he already faces. The indictment alleges Flores attempted to kill three HSI special agents May 3. He is further alleged to have used a firearm during that incident.

According to the second superseding indictment, Flores is a member of the 500 Block/C Street Gang, which is a racketeering enterprise. Its members and associates agreed to conduct the affairs of the enterprise through, among other crimes, narcotics trafficking, extortion, robbery and murder. The 500 Block/C Street Gang was a Norteño gang that warred not only with Sureño gangs, but also with rival Norteño gangs.

"As this incident illustrated, our special agents put their lives on the line every day in their ongoing efforts to promote public safety," said ICE Director John Morton. "We want to thank the law enforcement officers who've worked tirelessly to investigate the shootings and we are gratified the alleged perpetrator will now be held to answer for those crimes."

Of the three HSI special agents who were wounded during the May enforcement action, one has returned to duty full time. The other two are continuing to undergo therapy and both are making progress on their recovery.

The defendant has been in federal custody since May 4, when he was arraigned on charges alleged in the first superseding indictment. The defendant's next scheduled court appearance is Aug. 3 for a hearing before U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston.

The maximum statutory penalty for each count of attempted murder of a federal agent is 20 years. The maximum statutory penalty for using and possessing a firearm is life in prison.

The charges are the result of an investigation by the FBI, HSI, and the police departments of Petaluma, South San Francisco and Daly City. The prosecution is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Acadia L. Senese and W.S. Wilson Leung with the support of Kevin Costello and Daniel Charlier-Smith.