DA Announces Second Anaheim Gang Injunction

CORRECTION: The Orange County District Attorney's Office just sent this over: “The Safety Zone is primarily located north of Katella Avenue, east of Nutwood Street, south of Ball Road, and west of Disneyland Drive.”


Ah, summer: the season of flip-flops, sundresses . . . gang injunctions.

The Orange County District Attorney's Office today announced its eighth gang injunction in the county and second in Anaheim, this one targeting a “violent” and “criminal” street gang that has been active since the 1970s.

The legal maneuvers have been the subject of court fights (our coverage of some is here). Nonetheless, the OCDA details its latest after the jump . . .
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July 7, 2010

ANAHEIM GANG MEMBERS SUBJECT TO EIGHTH GANG INJUNCTION FOR TERRORIZING
NEIGHBORS, SCHOOLS, AND THE COMMUNITY

ANAHEIM – Members of an Anaheim criminal street gang were notified today
that they have been permanently enjoined from terrorizing the community
and acting as a public nuisance in the eighth civil gang injunction to
be brought against an Orange County gang. This is the second injunction
in the City of Anaheim and the second to be brought against the
institution of the gang as the sole defendant.

Between April 21, 2010, and April 30, 2010, police officers served 26
members with the injunction lawsuit on behalf of their Anaheim criminal
street gang.  A permanent injunction was signed on June 25, 2010, by the
Honorable
Kazuharu Makino and 60 of the most active members of the gang
were served today, July 7, 2010, with notice of the permanent
injunction and its terms.

The Anaheim Police Department (APD) will enforce this injunction. Deputy
District Attorney
Susan Eckermann of the Gang Unit prepared the civil
injunction on behalf of the Orange County District Attorney's Office
(OCDA).

The service of the injunction was a cooperative effort between APD,
OCDA, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation,
Orange County Probation Department and Orange County Sheriff's
Department. The Anaheim City Attorney's Office assisted in the
preparation of the injunction.

WHAT IS AN INJUNCTION?
A gang injunction is a civil order that restricts or prohibits
documented gang members from participating in specific acts or
activities within a designated area, or “Safety Zone,” that may not be
inherently criminal. The terms are designed to curb intimidating or
harassing behavior.  If a member of an enjoined gang violates the terms,
he or she will be arrested and face prosecution. The case may be
prosecuted as a misdemeanor for disobeying a court order and the
defendant will be placed on gang probation terms or be sent to jail for
up to six months.

This injunction names the gang as the defendant. The gang injunction
subjects all active, documented members to prohibitive terms including a
restriction that prohibits any association between members of the gang.
Association includes standing, sitting, walking, driving, bicycling,
gathering, or appearing anywhere in public or public view with any known
member of the gang (except while at school or in church). The terms
also maintain that there can be no intimidation, use or sale of drugs,
consuming alcohol in public, guns or dangerous weapons, fighting,
trespassing, blocking free passage, graffiti or vandalism, gang hand
signs, gang clothes, burglary tools, or acting as a lookout. In
addition, the gang members must obey curfew and all laws.

Gang members who are subject to the terms of the injunction against the
Anaheim criminal street gang include the most active gang members who
are well-documented through personal admission and/or affiliation,
associating with known gang members, dressing in the style of the gang
or having gang tattoos, possessing gang paraphernalia, and/or committing
crimes for the benefit of the gang.

SECOND ANAHEIM INJUNCTION
This Anaheim criminal street gang is a violent, traditional
turf-oriented gang that has been active since the 1970s with
approximately 75 to 100 members actively engaged in criminal and
nuisance activity.  Officers identified 60 of the most active,
well-documented members as representatives and served them with copies
of the permanent injunction on behalf of the gang. All active,
documented members of the gang are subject to the injunction whether
they were served as a representative or not.

A 1.59 square mile area in the City of Anaheim makes up the “Safety
Zone.”  The Safety Zone is primarily located north of Katella Avenue,
west
east of Nutwood Street, south of Ball Road, and East west of Disneyland
Drive. Graffiti is often used by the gang in the Safety Zone as a method
to intimidate rival gangs, mark their territory, advertise their most
recent activities, act as a warning to dissuade residents from going to
the police, and denounce police.

Between January 2005 and December 2009, criminal activity in the Safety
Zone resulted in the documentation and/or arrest of gang members for
crimes including: two murders, 16 attempted murders, 55 incidents of gun
or dangerous weapon possession, 37 participants involved in assaults,
26 drug violations, 11 incidents of fighting, 67 incidents of graffiti
or vandalism tools, 106 for associating with other members of the same
criminal street gang,  eight incidents of disturbing the peace, 29 for
intimidation, 12 incidents of  alcohol in public, seven for trespassing,
four for blocking free passage, 10 for displaying gang hand signs, 21
for wearing gang clothing, two for burglary or possession of burglary
tools, 16 for robbery, 94 for loitering, 39 for curfew and six for
vehicle theft or carjacking.

Additional crimes were committed but not documented because many people
that live and work in the neighborhood are reluctant to cooperate with
police for fear of retaliation from the gang.

RESIDENTS IN THE SAFETY ZONE COMPLAINED TO LAW ENFORCEMENT
A homeowner who lives in the Safety Zone said she has heard gunshots and
fears for her safety. Due to the criminal street gang's presence in her
neighborhood, she does not allow her grandchildren to play in the front
yard of her home.

The owner of a small retail business in the Safety Zone said his
business has been vandalized with graffiti and his customers complain of
being afraid to enter the business when members of the criminal street
gang loiter outside.

An administrator at a school in the Safety Zone stated that the gang's
presence keeps the students and teachers in a constant state of anxiety
and students and teachers are often bullied and intimidated by the
criminal street gang's members. The administrator stated that the gang's
graffiti has to be regularly removed from the campus and hundreds of
books have had to be replaced due to gang members defacing them with
graffiti.

STATUS OF SEVEN ONGOING INJUNCTIONS
In Orange County there are currently seven other permanent gang
injunctions in the cities of Santa Ana, Anaheim, San Juan Capistrano,
San Clemente, Orange, and Garden Grove. As of result of the injunctions,
crime has been significantly reduced in the Safety Zones.

On Nov. 3, 2006, the first Orange County gang injunction was made
permanent against a Santa Ana criminal street gang. Gang related crime
in the Safety Zone has decreased by 55 percent.

On Feb. 9, 2007, an injunction was made permanent against an Anaheim
criminal street gang. Serious and violent felonies have decreased by up
to 40 percent in the Safety Zone.

On Jan. 25, 2008, two injunctions were made permanent against rival
criminal street gangs in San Clemente and San Juan Capistrano. This has
resulted in a 13.5 percent reduction of gang related crimes in the San
Clemente Safety Zone and a reduction of 28.5 percent in the San Juan
Capistrano Safety Zone.

On Sept. 26, 2008, the fifth injunction was made permanent against an
Orange criminal street gang. There has been an 18 percent overall
reduction in violent crime in the Orange Safety Zone.

On May 14, 2009, the sixth gang injunction was made permanent. The
injunction was against a second criminal street gang in the City of
Orange and has resulted in an 18 percent reduction in violent crime in
that Safety Zone.

On Jan. 28, 2010, the seventh gang injunction was made permanent against
a Garden Grove criminal street gang. Due to the short passage of time
since the injunction was made permanent, statistics have not yet been
compiled but law enforcement has observed a noticeable reduction in gang
activity in the Safety Zone.

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