 During the 1960s and 1970s, Luis was an active gang member and drug user in East Los Angeles, developing a long rap sheet.However, his criminal activity did not preclude his participation in the Chicano Movement, and he joined the 1968 East L.A. walkouts and took part in the August 31, 1970 Chicano Moratorium against the Vietnam War.At the moratorium, he was brutalized and arrested along with numerous other peaceful protesters.