Identified in the indictment by his initials -- G.M. -- the gang member cooperating with authorities was charged in state court last year with the baby's killing, according to a source close to the case.
That source, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the case, said G.M. has been helping both state and federal authorities with their prosecutions of 18th Street gangsters and is being held in protective custody.
Deputy L.A. County Dist. Atty. Victor Avila, the lead prosecutor on the murder case in state court, said six defendants are awaiting trial. Avila declined to comment on whether any plea deals have been offered or accepted.
According to authorities, the gang's intended target in the Sept. 15, 2007, shooting was Francisco Clemente, a 37-year-old street vendor who had been refusing to pay the $50 weekly "rent" that he and others working near the corner of 6th Street and Burlington Avenue were expected to pay gang members.
The alleged shooter, flanked by numerous other gangsters, strode up to Clemente and opened fire at close range, authorities said. Clemente was struck several times in the chest, but survived. The baby, who was in a stroller, was hit by a single bullet and died.
The killings of innocent children and women go against Mexican Mafia rules, in part because they often result in intense police activity and disrupt their criminal enterprises, according to authorities.
The source who asked not to be identified said the gangsters who took G.M. to Mexico tried to strangle him with a rope. When he lost consciousness, they assumed he was dead and rolled him down a steep hillside in a rural area.
When G.M. came to, he contacted family members in Mexico and arranged for them to pick him up, the source said. He was later found by Los Angeles police detectives at an undisclosed location and surrendered.
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scott.glover@latimes.com
