Local, state, and federal officials gathered to announce two major crime rings they said they've busted, as well as progress with a gun violence prevention effort with the Department of Justice in Vallejo on Thursday.
Officials shared the first major federal operation happened last week at the Super 8 Motel on Solano Avenue. They arrested four people who had been involved with illegally selling firearms at the motel. The guns officers recovered included machine guns and ghost guns. The FBI, the ATF, the US Attorney's Office, CHP, and many local agencies were involved in these investigations.
The second major operation, which occurred Thursday, led to arrests and search warrants. Michele Beckwith, the acting US Attorney for the Eastern District of California, said this operation involved suspects with the "Brown Brotherhood," a Sureño-affiliated gang. She said Thursday's searches happened in Vallejo, Dixon, and Suisun City.
Beckwith said that one of the searches happened at a home that was also actively used as a daycare. Investigators recovered 12 firearms, a silencer, explosives, suspected fentanyl pills, and hundreds of thousands of dollars in suspected drug money at that location.
City leaders emphasized they are taking many different actions to curb violence in Vallejo. Vallejo Mayor Andrea Sorce shared that next week, the city will have special city council meetings to address an amended police oversight ordinance.
"We are all in agreement that we cannot accept the violence that has taken so many lives while robbing others of their sense of safety and security," said Sergeant Rashad Hollis with Vallejo Police. "But it is encouraging to see this level of cooperation and teamwork here today from our federal law enforcement partners."
Thursday's press conference comes after several weeks of violent incidents in Vallejo, including Cal Maritime students getting injured during a shooting at a gas station.
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"At Cal Maritime, we strongly support the collaborative efforts of our local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies, as well as the district attorney prosecutors, in addressing violent crime in our city," said Cal Maritime Interim President Michael J. Dumont in a statement to NBC Bay Area.
Dumont said that Vallejo participating in the Department of Justice's Public Safety Partnership program "represents a critical step toward fostering a safer environment to address the menace of violent gun crimes that have beset Vallejo and our own students in recent weeks."
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