Weston and Parmelee — together with Glendale resident Mario Gonzales, 47, Marissa Parker, 49, of Sylmar, and Gustavo Canez, 36, of Los Angeles — planned the attack on the two agents, the district attorney’s office stated.
The group allegedly set up a meeting Oct. 20 with the agents at an undisclosed location in the Glendale area, where the attack occurred.
Weston and Canez, a convicted felon, allegedly beat the agents while the others watched. The agents’ loan paperwork and other valuables were also stolen, according to the district attorney’s office.
Parker, Parmelee and Gonzales were charged with two counts of torture, two counts of false imprisonment by violence and two counts of second-degree robbery, according to a criminal complaint filed in Los Angeles County Superior Court.
They pleaded not guilty to the charges and are being held in a Los Angeles County jail in lieu of $1-million bail.
A young group of gang members known as the 211 crew have shifted their criminal enterprise from La Crescenta and Montrose to surroundings cities, including Glendale, police said.
The crew has begun burglarizing vehicles in northeast Glendale, where Chevy Chase Canyon residents have had to deal with a spate of break-ins, police said. The move is a shift for the gang, which had been focused on La Crescenta and Montrose, breaking into vehicles and stealing anything visible.
While the group continues to strike vehicles in La Crescenta and Montrose, residents in those communities have left them few opportunities to steal. Many vehicle owners have become more aware of the burglaries and are safeguarding their belongings, said Glendale police Officer Matt Zakarian, who is lead officer in the north area command.
The additional police force in La Crescenta and Montrose has left surrounding communities vulnerable to the crew, whose members most recently targeted vehicles in Chevy Chase Canyon.
