Alleged Gang Member Again Refuses to Testify
A reputed street gang member remained in custody Thursday after he refused for a second time to testify in the Los Angeles federal trial of 13 suspected members and associates of the Mexican Mafia prison gang.
Conrad Morales, a suspected member of the Hazard Street gang on Los Angeles’ Eastside, was held in contempt of court and jailed last week by the judge presiding over the trial.
Federal prosecutors called Morales to the witness stand to talk about the prison gang’s demanding “tax” of Hazard gang members, who sold drugs in and around the Ramona Gardens public housing project.
On Thursday, U.S. District Judge Ronald S.W. Lew recalled Morales from the lockup and asked him during a hearing whether he had changed his mind about testifying.
“No,” he replied in a barely audible voice.
Lew then ordered that Morales remain in custody until he changes his mind.
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