Vineland Boys is a street gang composed mainly of

Hispanic Americans Hispanic and Latino Americans ( es, Estadounidenses hispanos y latinos; pt, Estadunidenses hispânicos e latinos) are Americans of Spaniards, Spanish and/or Latin Americans, Latin American ancestry. More broadly, these demographics include a ...

operating in the

San Fernando Valley The San Fernando Valley, known locally as the Valley, is an urbanized valley in Los Angeles County, California. Located to the north of the Los Angeles Basin, it contains a large portion of the City of Los Angeles, as well as unincorporated ar ...

area of

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

History

The Vineland Boys gang was founded in

North Hollywood, Los Angeles North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...

in January 1988 by former members and associates of the

18th Street gang 18th Street, also known as , , , or simply in Central America, is a multi-ethnic (largely Central American and Mexican) transnational criminal organization that started as a street gang in Los Angeles. It is one of the largest transnational ...

. It was named after Vineland Avenue in North Hollywood where members would play football. In addition to 18th Street, the Vineland Boys also clashed with the

Mexican Mafia The Mexican Mafia (Spanish: ''Mafia Mexicana''), also known as ''La eMe'' (Spanish for "the M"), is a Mexican American criminal organization in the United States. Despite its name, the Mexican Mafia did not originate in Mexico, and is entirely ...

until the gang's founder Teddy Lopez was murdered by Mexican Mafia members at a Monterey Park nightclub in 1998. The Vineland boys have since joined the Mexican Mafia-controlled Sureño gang coalition. The gang has approximately 300 members and operates in the

.From Israel to Los Angeles
Allison Hoffman, ''

The Jerusalem Post ''The Jerusalem Post'' is a broadsheet newspaper based in Jerusalem, founded in 1932 during the British Mandate of Palestine by Gershon Agron as ''The Palestine Post''. In 1950, it changed its name to ''The Jerusalem Post''. In 2004, the paper w ...

'' (August 27, 2008) The Vineland Boys have formed alliances with

Armenian Power Armenian Power 13, also known as AP, the Armenian Mob, or Armenian Mafia is an Armenian criminal organization and street gang founded and currently based in Los Angeles County, California.Krikorian, Michael (August 17, 1997)Violent Gang Is a Stai ...

and the Abergil crime family. The gang allegedly first teamed up with Abergils in 2000, offering protection and cooperation to the Israeli mafia's ecstasy trafficking ring operating in their territory.Manhunt Hobbles Gang Activity
Richard Fausset and Andrew Blankstein, ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' (December 8, 2003) In 2003, members of the Vineland Boyz gang fatally shot Burbank Police Officer Matthew Pavelka. This prompted a massive response where 1,300 federal and local law enforcement members took part in "Operation Silent Night". It resulted in 23 arrests of Vineland Boyz gang members. On February 13, 2019 the Vineland Boyz gang was targeted again by federal agents. Over three dozen associates were arrested in the raids.

References

{{Organized crime groups in America Organizations established in 1988 1988 establishments in California Sureños Latino street gangs Gangs in Los Angeles Mexican-American culture in Los Angeles North Hollywood, Los Angeles