Overview
- Authorities executed coordinated federal and state warrants on Dec. 17 across Los Angeles, San Bernardino and Riverside counties, with most of the 20 charged defendants taken into custody and several still being sought or already in state custody.
- Investigators seized approximately 76 firearms, thousands of rounds of ammunition, three pieces of body armor, about 10 pounds of methamphetamine, thousands of fentanyl and carfentanil pills, and roughly $9,500 in cash.
- Federal complaints tie alleged Puente-13 members to three violent incidents: a December 2022 shooting in Covina, a July 2023 kidnapping in San Bernardino, and a May 2025 shooting outside a La Puente liquor store.
- The investigation, dubbed Operation Burning Bridges, used wiretaps and controlled buys to document illegal firearms sales and trafficking of methamphetamine, cocaine, fentanyl and carfentanil.
- ATF led the probe with support from the Covina Police Department, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, West Covina Police, California Highway Patrol and Baldwin Park Police, and prosecutors say nine defendants face maximum life sentences if convicted.