IMPACT Team Members Convicted, Many Sentences Commuted
November 11, 2031; Los Angeles, CA- Yesterday, after an exhaustive investigation and long-running trial, 29 members of Los Angeles’ notorious anti-gang task force, known as the IMPACT team, were convicted under the Coordinated Criminal Conspiracy Act. The guilty charges included the planting of evidence, unlawful incarceration, kidnapping, drug trafficking, murder, and more.
Jonah Hapsburg and dozens of his colleagues were found guilty of running a Coordinated Criminal Conspiracy while they coordinated efforts as members of L.A.’s IMPACT team. The team, tasked with addressing L.A.’s gang problem planted evidence and framed hundreds of individuals while running a massive drug, prostitution, and human trafficking ring.
Jonah Hapsburg, the alleged mastermind behind the criminal conspiracy, was sentenced to 45 years in prison, while the sentences of his co-defendants ranged from as little as 5 years to a high of 27 years. Hapsburg coordinated a subset of the IMPACT team, which started as a division of the LA Police Force in 2021 in response to a massive uptick in gang activity that occurred during the Contra pandemic. The team’s tactics were criticized from the very beginning, but it wasn’t until video surveillance from a 2024 raid that resulted in the death of alleged gang leader Calvin Bowles was made public that public protests led the mayor’s office to begin an investigation into the unit. Still, almost five years went by with the IMPACT team continuing to operate with seeming immunity before the first allegations were brought against Hapsburg and a handful of his colleagues. As time passed, a number of the accused turned on one another, eventually opening the door for the 3CA charges to be brought.
Throughout the trial, witnesses testified that members of the IMPACT team framed innocent civilians of gang-related crimes, often planting evidence, including drugs, DNA, and fingerprints. Many of those that took the stand were current prisoners in California penitentiaries, or family members of deceased victims of the IMPACT team.
While many celebrated the guilty verdict, none did so as excitedly as the hundreds of prisoners who were freed upon the reveal of the court’s decision. A total of 147 prisoners were released immediately and another 645 will have their cases reviewed within the next three months. It is expected that many of those who were victims of the IMPACT team will file suit against the Los Angeles Police Force within the next few months, leaving the already cash-strapped department in a precarious situation.
Hundreds of men accused of gang-related crimes by L.A.’s notorious IMPACT team were freed from prison today, but many of these men had to spend significant portions of their lives in prison.