Operation Royal Flush leads to arrest of 77 in South Valley

HANFORD, Calif. (KFSN) -- Armed with 52 searched warrants and a drive to make Kings County safer, the Sheriff's Office teamed up with more than a dozen agencies from across the state for Operation Royal Flush.

This joint operation began in September. To date, 52 search warrants have been executed, 77 people have been arrested, and 32 firearms have been seized.

Three homicides were also solved, spanning Avenal, Kettleman City, and Corcoran, dating as far back as 2021.

Authorities say one of those homicide victims was a bystander killed during a random act of gang violence.

In April 2021 law enforcement says 29-year-old Jonathan Sanchez was gunned down near Fifth and General Petroleum in Kettleman City four people are now charged in his murder.

More than two years later, in October 2023, Juan Carlos Alonzo, who was in a wheelchair, was shot and killed in Avenal.

Just the day before the press conference, the Sheriff's Office released sketches of two suspects in the case.

Thursday morning, the two were arrested for the murder, though their names have not been released.

Ten people in total have been charged in the case, including eight minors, all who face murder, gun, and gang charges.

District Attorney Sarah Hacker said they're not surprised by how many minors are involved in the gangs, but there was an aspect that shocked them.

"What is surprising is that there is a large number of juveniles out in the streets with ghost guns or unserialized weapons and that are openly trading these guns with other gang members," said Hacker.

The most recent homicide was in December 2023 31-year-old Charles Van Wolfgang Black was shot and killed in Corcoran at Whitley and Josephine Avenues.

To this day a memorial sits at the corner of the intersection. Thursday, the case moves closer to justice with three people charged with murder, gun, and gang allegations in his death.

Two of them are already in prison on other charges. The third was out on parole.

"Many of the people that were involved were people that have prior felony convictions, particularly the homicide suspects out of Corcoran. All three of them have been sent to prison, and all three of them have had prior gun charges," said Hacker.

Hacker and the Sherriff's Office are hopeful this operation is a significant disruption to gun and illegal narcotics trafficking.

Hackers said they would be able to keep most of the suspects in jail pending their trials because the charges were serious.

She also said that the passage of Prop 36 would allow them to hand down more substantial sentences.

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