Casa Blanca Rifas (RiverSide)

The Casa Blanca Rifas (CBR) is a large umbrella organization, consisting of two subsets, known as the Evans Street Gang and the Fern Street Gang, with several sub-cliques. The Casa Blanca Rifas are primarily Mexican-American street gangs located in the neighborhood of Casa Blanca, in the southern region of Riverside, California.

They share the Casa Blanca community in Riverside with the Casa Blanca Gangster Crips, a predominantly African-American street gang, who mainly feud with the North Side Rivas, also known as Hale Street Rivas, and the West Side Rivas. The Casa Blanca Rivas history dates back as far as the 1960s. The “Casa Blanca” means “White House” in Spanish, which is credited to Henry Benedict Lockwood.

The Fern Street Gang, also known as the of the Casa Blanca Fern Street, dominates the West Side of the Casa Blanca neighborhood of Riverside. The Vagabundos is considered the largest and most active sub-clique of the Fern Street Gang, this clique is also responsible for several murders in the Casa Blanca region of Riverside. Their name “Fern Street” originates from Fern Avenue, between Madison Street and Grace Street.

The Evans Street Gang, also known as the Casa Blanca Evans Street is also named after a residential street (Evans Street), between Washington Street and Madison Street, in the Villegas Park area on the Eastside of Casa Blanca. The Evans Street Gang has been active for over 30 years, with several sub-cliques such as Devil Wolves and the Los Diablos as well as the White House.

Internal feud

The Los Lobos, is a Popular clique of the Casa Blanca Fern Street, allegedly started by Raul Pena, also known on the streets as “Bully,” a former boxer. Pena had a brutal reputation for terrorizing the streets of Casa Blanca. On October 21, 2009, Pena, confronted Arturo Suarez Jr., who was affiliated with the Vagabundos clique of the Fern Street Gang.

The confrontation started at Ahumada’s Market, which is a liquor store, and ended in a field on Fern Street, with Pena being shot 10 times in the chest with a semi-automatic handgun, by Suarez. The shooter (Suarez) felt disrespected by Bully confronting him in the presence of his wife and kid. Pena, who was 50 years old at the time of the shooting, managed to survive.

However, Suarez, who was 17-year-old at the time of the shooting wasn’t as lucky, he was convicted of attempted murder and sentenced to 24 years and four months, plus a consecutive 25 years to life in prison.

East Side Vs West Side

Despite, the Fern Street Gang and the Evans Street Gang, both falling under the Casa Blanca Rifas umbrella, they are bitter enemies. These two gangs are divided by one street Madison St. The Casa Blanca Police Department (CBPD), dubbed this feud “East versus West,” and have resulted in multiple gang-related shootings. These two gangs are mortal enemies and have a long history of violent encounters.

The feud between the Casa Blanca Fern Street Rivas and the Evans Street Rivas can be traced back to a bar fight that left a member of Fern Street partially paralyzed, during the 1960s. This sparked a bitter rivalry between two families, the Ahumada family (Fern Street) and the Lozano family (Evans Street).

In April 2001, Carlos Deharo, a member of Evans Street, shot a member of the Fern Street Gang. Carlos was later convicted of assault with a deadly weapon. On January 12, 2007, Frank Edward Gonzalez (Lil Shorty), Rudolph Hernandez (Lil Syco), Jaime Coronel, and Christopher Ruiz were members of the Evans Street Gang. Who shot up a house associated with the Fern Street Gang on Fern Emerald Street, in retaliation for the shooting death of Peter “Lil Peter” Herrera, in 2006.

The Vagabundos clique of Fern Street and the Devil Wolves clique of Evans Street, are known for their brutal rivalry. These two gangs are Sureño 13 and consist of several cliques such as the Los Originales, Los Lobos, Los Diablo, IE Riders, Casa Blanca Street, and many more.

Casa Blanca Vs Riverside Police

The Casa Blanca Rifas and residents of the Casa Blanca barrio, are known for their brutal run-ins with the law and deadly altercations with the Riverside Police Department (RPD). In 1995, the Casa Blanca Rifas received national media coverage after shooting down a police helicopter and shooting the pilot with high-powered assault rifles.

Spookie also known as Spook G, is a Mexican-American rapper from the Casa Blanca White House clique of Evans Street. In 2010, Spookie released “For The Hood” (album) the project also featured a song known as the “White House” which is dedicated to his Barrio clique. In the song, he speaks briefly about altercations between the Evans Street gang and local law enforcement with lyrics such as “C to the B where we shoot helicopters.”

In The News

On December 24, 2005, (Christmas Eve) Michael Rangel, Halcon, Gonzales, and Lorenzo were members of the Casa Blanca gang, who attended a backyard party in the Hillside neighborhood of Riverside, which is also home to the Hillside Gang. Rangel got into an altercation with Moreno, who is a member of the Hillside gang. This conflict led to Rangel and three of his friends being shot by Moreno.

Moreno was later charged and convicted of four counts of attempted murder. On December 25, 2005, (Christmas Day) Martin Leyva Valdez, a known member of the Casa Blanca Fern Street gang (Vagabundos) wanted revenge for the shooting on Christmas Eve and went searching for Moreno, who was responsible for the shooting on Christmas Eve. Valdez went to Moreno’s house and open fire with a shotgun.

However, Valdez mistakenly, fired four buck shots through the front door of the wrong house, piercing the heart of an 11-year-old boy Maximiliano Miranda, as he celebrated Christmas with his family (Mirando family). The boy parents and his ten-year-old brother watched helplessly as Maximiliano died. In 2008, Valdez was found guilty of six felonies including first-degree murder, and three counts of attempted murders, and was sentenced to 28 years to life in a maximum-security penitentiary.

In 2006, Michael Benge and his sister Denaya Shanks, were both shot in the head as they walked through the parking lot of a grocery store near the Casa Blanca neighborhood of Riverside. Jaime Rojas and Daniel Anthony Ruvalcaba as well as Vincent Andrew Solorio, were considered the primary suspects with affiliation to the Casa Blanca Gang.

General Info:

Full Name: Casa Blanca Rifas

Founded In: 1960s

Current Location: California

Cliques: Fern Street, Evens Street;

Allies

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