Merced Cambero Jr., 38, known on the streets as ‘Shadow,’ pleaded not guilty this morning in Los Angeles to federal hate crimes charges tied to the racially motivated murders of two African-American men in Highland Park—one shot dead in 1999, the other ambushed at a bus stop in 2000. The long-sought Avenues gang member, who spent over 15 years on the run, was returned to U.S. custody on February 3 at the San Ysidro Port of Entry following deportation by Mexican authorities.
Cambero was apprehended in Baja California on an unrelated matter, where he was using false identification. Mexican law enforcement, working with the San Diego Police Department, confirmed his true identity and the pending federal civil rights charges. He appeared the same day in U.S. District Court, where Judge Percy Anderson ordered him held without bond. A trial is set for March 28.
The indictment charges Cambero with three felony counts: conspiring to violate the civil rights of African Americans in Highland Park, committing hate-motivated murder, and using a firearm during a federal crime. The conspiracy centers on a campaign of racial terror led by Avenues gang members aiming to drive Black individuals from their neighborhood. Victims include Kenneth Kurry Wilson, 38, fatally shot April 18, 1999, and Christopher Bowser, murdered December 11, 2000, while waiting at a bus stop.
Specific acts in the indictment paint a brutal picture: Cambero allegedly participated in a 1997 attack on African-American men playing basketball; ambushed another man in 1998, striking him with a metal object; attacked a man in a park in 1999; hurled racial slurs at an African-American girl in a supermarket and at a man on the street the same year; and was one of two shooters in Wilson’s killing. Prosecutors say the murders were committed because the victims were African American and using public spaces.
Cambero was one of five Avenues gang members indicted in 2004 in the nation’s first federal civil rights case targeting a street gang. The other four were convicted at trial and sentenced between 2006 and 2007 to life without parole. Cambero vanished before prosecution, evading capture until now.
‘The victims in this case were targeted simply because of their skin color,’ said U.S. Attorney Eileen M. Decker. ‘Despite this defendant’s efforts to avoid prosecution over many years, his appearance in court today proves we will not relent.’ FBI Assistant Director Deirdre Fike added: ‘Leaving the country and evading capture for 15 years will not deter law enforcement.’
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Key Facts
- State: California
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Violent Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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