Canby police respond to gang incidents
Posted by The Oregonian August 10, 2007 09:56AM
http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews ... air_o.html

It's been a violent week in Canby as police responded to what they're calling two gang-related incidents.

On Aug. 6, two men attacked a 21-year-old man at the Royal Ascot Apartments after the victim refused to purchase marijuana for them. The men, who told police they are members of the Norteno gang, beat him, injuring his face, according to police.

Police said the victim ran from the apartment screaming for help. When police arrived, the victim had blood on his face and was treated and released from a local hospital.

Jobani Jiminez-Saucedo, 30, and Silviano Miguel Mendoza-Valerio, 21, were booked at the Clackamas County Jail on accusations of second-degree assault. Police said federal immigration agents deported Jiminez-Saucedo the day after his arrest. Mendoza-Valerio remains in custody.

In a separate incident, a 10-year-old boy told police Thursday afternoon that his bike had been taken by three teens while he was at the Casa Verde Apartments on Township Road. The boy said one of the suspects took the bike by force and said he had a knife. Police said officers spotted the teens a few blocks away. One of the suspects led them to the bike, which they had dumped.

Police said one of the suspects, a 16-year-old, admitted taking the bike. Police said they found a "large folding knife" in the youth's pocket. Because he was armed and made threats to the victim, he was arrested on suspicion of second-degree robbery -- a Measure 11 crime.

The two other suspects, who are 13 and 16, were arrested on accusations of menacing. All three told police they are members of the Sureno gang.

Officer Nate DiCenzo, who is Canby's only full-time gang officer, said the city is home to about 120 known members of the Sureno and Norteno gangs, which both got their start in prisons. He said they continue to be run by inmates of Oregon's state prisons or the federal prison system.

DiCenzo said younger members tend to be "wanna-bes" or "associates," who engage in criminal mischief, while older members take part in the gang's drug and gun-running enterprises.

He said the two apartment complexes where this week's incidents took place are troubled spots that draw frequent police attention. The gangs, he said, tend to operate in the southeastern part of town.

DiCenzo said the gangs' main role is controlling neighborhoods and streets so drugs can be moved more easily. He said they are organized enterprises that gather their own intelligence on police activities, including officers' shifts and where officers live.

He said since a recent gang-related shooting in Woodburn, Canby has seen an influx of members of the 18th Street gang, another violent street gang.

"The trouble is when we get all these guys coming to Canby, it's harder to keep track of them," he said.

-- Noelle Crombie
noellecrombie@news.oregonian.com