Three arrested in connection with southwest Fresno gang warfare

Three men linked to a series of retaliatory shootings involving southwest Fresno gangs, including a running gunbattle on Blackstone Avenue on Feb. 9, were arrested this week, Fresno police Chief Jerry Dyer reported Friday.

They were identified as Jape Monson, 26, Jovonte Moton, 26, and Patrick Dixon, 25. All were booked on firearms charges but were not tied directly to a homicide or firearm assault of another person as of Friday, the chief said.

Six people were shot and one person, Anthony Perry, 24, the son of the late Edison High assistant football coach Tony Perry, died of his wounds in the shootings. The violence between two rival groups began Feb. 8 when a 16-year-old was shot in the face while raising funds for a cancer-stricken relative. Another man, Robert Evans, was shot in the head in the Blackstone gunbattle.

The arrests of Monson, Moton, and Dixon took place after officers gathered evidence, include surveillance video from an ARCO filling station at North Blackstone and East Garland Avenues in central Fresno. Dyer said the station has become a gathering spot of gang members in the early morning hours.

Just after 2 a.m. on Feb. 9, as the ARCO was filled with people, an exchange of gunfire erupted. The video helped lead to the arrest of the three. Monson, identified by the chief as a gang associate, was arrested Friday morning at a home in Madera. Officers also recovered four firearms that are being analyzed to determine if any of them are connected to the series of shootings.

Police have taken custody of a Mercedes that was used by gang members during the shootings of Perry and another man, but are still looking for a silver sedan that was also driven by gang members during the incidents.

This story was originally published February 23, 2018 at 2:41 PM with the headline "Three arrested in connection with southwest Fresno gang warfare."