Gang members sentenced to decades in prison for off-duty LAPD officer's killing

Fellow officer honors LAPD officer Fernando Arroyos, killed during robbery

Funeral services were held Wednesday for fallen LAPD officer Fernando Arroyos.

LOS ANGELES - Three gang members were each sentenced to decades in federal prison for their role in the killing of an off-duty Los Angeles Police Department officer who was out house hunting with his girlfriend back in 2022.

Luis Alfredo de la Rosa Rios, Ernesto Cisneros and Jesse Contreras, all members of the Florencia 13 gang, pleaded guilty on July 13, 2023, to one count of conspiracy to violate the RICO Act, the U.S. Department of Justice said. In separate hearings Friday, Rios and Cisneros were sentenced to 50 years in federal prison. Contreras was sentenced to 35 years. Each of them was also ordered to pay around $30,000 in restitution.

Officer Fernando Arroyos was shot and killed on Jan. 10, 2022, while out house hunting with his girlfriend in the Florence-Firestone area of South LA. On that night, Rios, Cisneros and Contreras said in their plea agreements that they were driving around the area, looking for someone to rob, when they saw Arroyos wearing gold chains.

That's when Rios and Cisneros got out of their truck and robbed Arroyos and his girlfriend at gunpoint, taking chains and a wallet. Then, the two sides traded gunfire. Arroyos was hit, and ran from the area. He collapsed in an alleyway. When officers got there, they found bystanders giving Arroyos CPR. They put him in a patrol car and brought him to a hospital, where he died.

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Detectives found a loaded handgun at the scene of the shooting, and shortly after, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department got a call reporting a man with a gunshot wound about a mile from the shooting, who they later determined was Cisneros. Contreras was found hiding nearby, and Rios was arrested at his home.

"The senseless loss of life is all too frequent in our community," United States District Judge Percy Anderson said. "It is literally ripping apart the fabric of our society. 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."

Mom of slain LAPD officer discusses pain of losing her only child to gun violence

LAPD officer Fernando Arroyos was killed Monday night while he was looking at a house he wanted to buy while off duty. His mother Claudia Membreno says she was supposed to be with him that night.

"Fernando Arroyos should be with us today, helping to protect a city he was ready and willing to give his life for. Yet he died in a way none of us could have imagined" said Akil Davis, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI Los Angeles Field Office. "With Officer Arroyos’ senseless killing, we lost a protector, and most importantly, his family lost someone who meant the whole world to them. The sentences handed down today are just and reinforce our commitment to ensuring public safety and holding those who terrorize our communities accountable."

A fourth person, Haylee Marie Grisham, was also arrested in connection with the attack. She pleaded guilty in April 2023, and is still awaiting sentencing.

City News Service contributed to this report.