Thread: CA: Sweep Targets Central Santa Ana Crime

Thursday, August 21, 2008

Sweep targets central Santa Ana crime

3-day effort aimed at fighting sharp escalation in violence.
By KIMBERLY EDDS
The Orange County Register
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SANTA ANA – Dozens of suspected gang members, drug dealers and users, and wanted criminals have been taken off the streets of central Santa Ana in just the past 48 hours, the result of an intense three-day effort by police to crack down on escalating violence and to educate residents about what they can do to fight back against the criminals terrorizing their neighborhoods.

Caught up in the sweep was the brother of Santa Ana Councilwoman Michele Martinez. Pedro Franco, 27, was arrested at 5:45 p.m. Tuesday in the 1200 block of West Brook Street on suspicion of resisting arrest and being a pedestrian in a roadway, said Santa Ana Police Cpl. Jose Gonzalez. Franco also was held on a parole violation.

Early Tuesday, an army of 62 officers and volunteers from two local churches flooded the 2-square-mile neighborhood west of the Civic Center, knocking on doors and handing out material, encouraging residents living in the crime-weary neighborhoods to call police to report crime.

But even with anonymous reporting, contacting police is a hard sell here. Fear of retaliation is pervasive – and with increasing numbers of gang members being arrested with guns and a recent spike in violence, it is easy to understand why, said Lorenzo Carillo, the Santa Ana police sergeant in charge of his department's gang unit.

The surge – dubbed Operation Restore Peace, is a response to a sharp escalation of violence – including two homicides and a shooting in just 24 hours last month. Santa Ana police joined forces with probation and parole officers, agents from Immigration, Customs & Enforcement, and other local agencies to get their message out – to criminals and residents alike: Crime will not be tolerated.

By early this morning, authorities had booked 62 people on suspicion of everything from possession of methamphetamine and marijuana to probation and parole violations. One woman was hauled to jail after authorities found an illegal assault rifle and a shotgun inside her home, police said. Most of those arrested are suspected gang members.

"We're just trying to find that magic combination that is going to click and unlock a crime-free society," said Carillo. "We're trying anything."

Contact the writer: 714-796-7829 or kedds@ocregister.com

http://www.ocregister.com/articles/poli ... me-members

"We're just trying to find that magic combination that is going to click and unlock a crime-free society," said Carillo. "We're trying anything."

But they still support illegal alien sanctuary there. Gee, what a surprise. Go to Santa Ana and you'd think you were in Central Mexico. I guess they are "trying anything" except enforcing immigration laws to try to stop the crime and gang infestation.

Gimme a break, you reap what you sow. You want to be a third world Mexican colony then you start to resemble third world Mexico itself, you morons.