Full Name: Temple Street (TST)
Founded: Early 1920s
Location: Central Los Angeles, California
Original Area: Temple Street corridor west of Downtown Los Angeles
Main Areas: Westlake, Historic Filipinotown, Rampart, Echo Park, Silver Lake, East Hollywood
Affiliation: Sureños (13)
Ethnic Background: Historically, Mexican and Filipino-Americans
Also Known As: Temple Street, Varrio Temple Street, TST, TST 13, Templero Sureños
Colors: Blue and black
Symbols: TST, TST 13, WSTST 13, T hand sign
Notable Cliques: Park Dillon, Pee Wee Locos, Pinoy Locos, 52nd Street Tokers, Manila Boy Locos (Philippines)
Temple Street (TST), also known as Varrio Temple Street, is one of Los Angeles’ oldest street gangs. The gang traces its origins to the Temple Street area of Central Los Angeles, with its history dating back to the 1920s. Over generations, Temple Street became associated with the Rampart, Westlake, Historic Filipinotown, and East Hollywood areas of Los Angeles County.
By the late 20th century, Temple Street became affiliated with the Mexican Mafia (La Eme), adopting the number 13, representing the letter M, and became known as Temple Street 13 (TST13) or Templero Sureños.
Origins on Temple Street
Temple Street traces its origins to the early 1920s, when neighborhood groups formed around the Temple Street corridor in Central Los Angeles. The gang took its name from Temple Street, a historic roadway west of Downtown Los Angeles, surrounded by working-class Mexican-American and Filipino-American communities.
One of the most notable examples of this background was the formation of Satanas (STS), which began as a Temple Street clique before becoming an independent Filipino-American street gang. The connection between Temple Street and Satanas remains one of the prime examples of the relationship between Filipino-American and Mexican-American street cultures in Los Angeles.
Satanas Split
Satanas originated as a clique within Temple Street before separating into its own independent gang. The group developed among Filipino-American members connected to the Temple Street neighborhood and later became one of Los Angeles’ most recognized Filipino-American street gangs.
The split became part of Temple Street’s history as neighborhood groups throughout Los Angeles developed their own identities and names during the second half of the 20th century.
Territories & Cliques
Temple Street developed throughout Central Los Angeles, with its historic base centered around the Rampart area and the communities west of Downtown Los Angeles.
The gang became associated with neighborhoods including Westlake, Historic Filipinotown, Echo Park, Silver Lake, and East Hollywood. These areas placed Temple Street near several other historic Los Angeles gangs, creating decades of overlapping neighborhoods and rivalries.
Historic Filipinotown
Historic Filipinotown holds an important place in Temple Street’s early history because of the area’s Filipino-American connections. During the early and mid-20th century, the neighborhood became a center of Filipino life in Los Angeles while also remaining home to Mexican-American and other immigrant communities.
Temple Street developed within this mixed neighborhood environment, contributing to the gang’s early multi-ethnic background and the formation of Satanas.
Westlake/Rampart
Westlake and the surrounding Rampart area became some of Temple Street’s most recognized neighborhoods. The area developed into one of Los Angeles’ oldest gang corridors, where Temple Street operated near other historic gangs, including Clanton 14, 18th Street, and Rockwood Street Locos.
The neighborhood’s location between Downtown Los Angeles and surrounding communities placed Temple Street at the center of many conflicts and events that shaped Central Los Angeles gang history. Temple Street’s presence in the Rampart area later became connected to major events, including the Rampart police corruption scandal of the late 1990s.
Echo Park / Silver Lake
Temple Street also developed a historical connection to Echo Park and Silver Lake. During the 1980s and 1990s, local reporting documented gang conflicts in the area involving Temple Street and other neighborhood groups. The gang became associated with the street environment surrounding Sunset Junction and the communities north of Westlake.
As these neighborhoods changed through redevelopment and demographic shifts, Temple Street remained tied to the area’s earlier gang history. Park Dillon, also known as Park Dillion Locos, is one of the known Temple Street cliques. The clique takes its name from the Park Dillon apartment complex near 2nd Street and Dillon Street in the Rampart area.
52nd Street Tokers is a Temple Street clique located in the South Los Angeles area around 50th Street and 52nd Place between Hoover Street and Flower Street. Unlike Temple Street’s original neighborhoods around Rampart and Westlake, the 52nd Street Tokers developed as a separate South Los Angeles branch while maintaining the Temple Street identity.
The clique’s territory overlaps with the area claimed by 52 Hoover Gangster Crips, placing the group within a historically mixed Latino and African-American gang area of South Los Angeles. The 52nd Street Tokers represent Temple Street’s expansion beyond its original Central Los Angeles base as members established additional neighborhoods throughout the city.
Pinoy Locos (PLS) is a Temple Street clique tied to the gang’s Filipino-American roots in Historic Filipinotown. The clique originated from the Filipino members who were part of Temple Street’s early history and later became associated with the Philippines through migration and deportation. Temple Street-linked groups such as Manila Boy Locos also emerged in Metro Manila during the 1990s, extending the gang’s identity beyond Los Angeles.
Documented Incidents
Miguel “Lizard” Malfavon Killing and Rampart Scandal (1996)
One of the most significant events connected to Temple Street occurred in 1996 with the killing of Miguel “Lizard” Malfavon, a member of the Mexican Mafia.
On February 6, 1996, Malfavon was shot and killed at a McDonald’s near Alvarado Street in the Rampart area. The killing became connected to tensions between Temple Street and the Mexican Mafia after allegations that Malfavon was attempting to collect money from street gangs on behalf of the prison organization.
The incident created a major conflict between Temple Street and La Eme. The fallout later became connected to the Rampart police corruption scandal, one of the most significant controversies involving the Los Angeles Police Department.
Former LAPD CRASH officer Rafael Pérez was accused of fabricating evidence and falsely implicating Temple Street members in connection with the case. The allegations became part of the investigation into corruption within the LAPD Rampart Division’s anti-gang unit.
The Malfavon case remains one of the defining events in Temple Street history because it connected a neighborhood gang conflict with prison politics and one of the largest police corruption investigations in Los Angeles history.
La Puente Swap Meet Robbery (2009)
In 2009, a case involving Temple Street members showed activity beyond the gang’s traditional Central Los Angeles neighborhoods. On September 6, 2009, a jewelry booth at an indoor swap meet in La Puente, California, was robbed by multiple suspects. The group broke display cases and stole jewelry, with one suspect armed with a handgun.
Investigators later connected a Temple Street member to the robbery. The case also involved testimony describing similar jewelry thefts linked to Temple Street members. The incident showed that Temple Street-connected activity extended beyond the Rampart and Westlake neighborhoods where the gang originally developed.
Palmdale Drug Debt Shooting (2010)
A 2010 case involving Temple Street members showed the gang’s presence outside Central Los Angeles. In Palmdale, a Temple Street member shot and assaulted a man during a dispute involving an unpaid marijuana debt. Investigators later recovered Temple Street identifiers and materials connected to drug sales.
The case showed how Temple Street members maintained connections outside the gang’s original neighborhoods and became involved in conflicts related to narcotics activity.
Rockwood Street Conflict (2012)
A 2012 shooting involving Temple Street and Rockwood Street became one of the more recent documented examples of the rivalry between the two gangs. On November 4, 2012, a confrontation occurred near Beverly Boulevard and Reno Street after Rockwood Street members entered an area associated with Temple Street and spray-painted derogatory graffiti directed at the gang.
During the incident, Edwin “Rabbit” Martinez, a Rockwood Street member from the Westmoreland clique, fired multiple shots, killing Andres Ordonez and injuring another person. The shooting became another chapter in the long-running rivalry between Temple Street and Rockwood Street, two historic Central Los Angeles gangs whose neighborhoods developed near one another.
Allies & Rivals
The rivalry has been marked by several violent encounters, including the 1994 killing of Eugene Afable, a Temple Street member, and the 2012 shooting near Beverly Boulevard and Reno Street involving Rockwood Street members. Other historical rivals of Temple Street are the Clanton 14, 18th Street, MS-13, and Big Top Locos.