Thread: ESCONDIDO GANG MEMBERS SERVED WITH INJUNCTION

Escondido police officers deliver a court order Tuesday morning to the family of one of dozens of people targeted by a new gang orders in parts of the city. At many of the homes, acquaintances or family members --- not the suspects -- greeted officers.


Escondido gang members given notice

By: TERI FIGUEROA - Staff Writer
March 7, 2007

ESCONDIDO -- Dozens of people alleged by police to be gang members were served just after dawn Tuesday with court orders that they may no longer congregate, wear certain clothes or engage in other gang-related behavior in central Escondido without facing jail time.

Law enforcement officers were out serving notices of the city's latest gang injunction, a court order signed by a judge last week limiting what documented gang members can do within certain boundaries.

The court order makes it illegal for more than 100 members of Escondido's two largest rival gangs to hang out with one another in what is essentially the city's core. No longer will they be allowed to flash gang signs, wear gang clothing or do a number of other things in certain central Escondido neighborhoods.


Escondido police officers prepare to deliver court orders Tuesday morning to the homes of suspected gang members

Under the orders, if they do, jail and fines await.

"That's what gang members understand. Immediate consequences," said Detective Jeff Valdivia of the Escondido police's gang unit. "Life just changed (for them)."

The notices that the behavior of gang members is now restricted came a few days after San Diego Superior Court Judge Timothy Casserly signed off on two gang injunctions sought by county prosecutors and police who said they were hoping to clamp down on gang crime.

A gang injunction is a civil court order that restricts the behavior of people identified by police as gang members within specified boundaries that police and prosecutors call "safety zones."

Civil rights advocates argue that gang injunctions violate basic freedoms before any crimes are committed.

There are two safety zones in the city in which their behavior is restricted. One is roughly bordered by Lincoln Avenue, Midway Drive, Third Avenue and Escondido Boulevard; the other is generally bounded by Grand Avenue, Juniper Street, Felicita Avenue and Upas Street.

If a person named on a gang injunction violates the order, he or she can be arrested -- but only if the violation occurs within the physical boundaries of the "safety zones." The order does not restrict the targeted gang members when they are in any area outside of the boundaries.

Those who break the order face a sentence of up to six months in jail and fines of up to $1,000.

Valdivia said he is hoping for "an immediate decrease" in gang presence now that the court has given the gang injunctions the green light.

"If they take it to heart, then we will have a quiet weekend," Valdivia said. "If they do get together and associate, they are going to jail. Either way is fine by us."

Gang injunctions are controversial among civil rights advocates, who argue that the orders impinge on basic freedoms and restrict people's rights before crimes are committed.

"You are turning 'innocent until proven guilty' on it's head," said Kevin Keenan, director of the American Civil Liberties Union of San Diego and Imperial Counties, when asked about the injunctions. "These folks are having their freedom restricted without being found guilty in a court of law."

Keenan said gang injunctions, because they prevent the defendants from associating with other alleged gang members, can prevent people visiting from relatives or even improving their lives.

"This hinders good things that prevent gang activity," Keenan said. "It hinders people in getting to their jobs, spending time with family members, and doing things we want them to do to keep them away from gangs."

Roused by police

On Tuesday morning, about four dozen officers -- including Escondido police, investigators from the district attorney's office and authorities from Immigration and Customs Enforcement -- headed out to hand over the official notices to alleged gang members, or, in the cases of juveniles, to their parents.

Many of those named on the injunctions are younger than 18 years old, including two-thirds of the gang members whose homes got the early morning knock from police.

Mothers rubbed their eyes and faces as they talked with police on their doorsteps at daybreak.

At one central Escondido home, one teenager -- a documented gang member named on one of the injunctions -- stood barefoot and stoic, cocking his head back, jutting his chin out and flanking his mother as she talked to officers. Across the street from the home, taggers had splashed graffiti from rival gangs on a utility box.

At another home, the sleepy-eyed mother of a teen who is locked up smiled as she asked police to explain what they were handing her. Her son, like many of the people named in the order, is already incarcerated for other offenses.

"She's a very nice lady," Valdivia said as he drove away from the home moments later. "Her son just embarrasses the family. These gang members talk about family and respect, but on a daily basis, they embarrass their families.

"These were good parents we saw today. They genuinely try to get their sons out of gangs."

As Valdivia drove on to the next home of the next targeted gang member, he passed a school bus stopping to pick up children.

The boundaries of the gang injunction include five elementary schools and one middle school, as well as a handful of parks.

'They scare people'

A few merchants with shops and offices in the middle of the injunction areas said they do see problems with gangs, particularly with graffiti. They also lamented the mere presence of gang members who they said intimidate customers and employees.

"I think it (the injunction) will make a difference," said one business owner, who spoke on the condition that his name not be used out of fear of retaliation. "During the summer, they hang out on the corner all the time. They scare people away from the business. People recognize them as gang members and are afraid of them."

The man, who runs an office in the heart of one of the new safety zones, said one of his employees was confronted and jumped by gang members.

Another man, who owns a convenience store in the core of one gang area, said he went through a period in which many of his windows were broken daily, and some of his cashiers quit out of fear.

The merchant, who also cited fear of retaliation and asked that his name not be published, said gang members will often stand near his store and drink alcohol. He said he and his employees are simply to scared to ask them to leave.

New injunctions are twice the size

The new Escondido gang injunctions -- one for each gang -- update and expand on 2001 injunctions against the same gangs. The 2007 versions target twice as many gang members and restricts their behavior in an area twice as large as before.

Valdivia said the expanded boundaries are based on a number of criteria, not the least of which are maps pinpointing gang crimes in central Escondido neighborhoods.

The district attorney's office has obtained 15 gang injunctions, including the two newest Escondido injunctions, since 1997. Injunctions currently in place restrict gang activities in Escondido, San Marcos, Vista and Oceanside.

Out of 24 gangs in north San Diego County -- half of them in Oceanside -- Escondido is home to three Latino gangs totaling just over 300 members, according to law enforcement officers.

-- Contact staff writer Teri Figueroa at (760) 631-6624 or tfigueroa@nctimes.com.


Escondido police officers prepare to deliver court orders Tuesday morning to the homes of suspected gang members.

Gang orders served

What happened? Escondido police delivered dozens of gang injunction notices Tuesday in central Escondido, where authorities say two warring street gangs have made the area increasingly dangerous.

What does it mean? Suspected gang members named in the injunction orders will be restricted from associating with other suspected gang members, wearing gang-related clothing, flashing gang signs and certain other behaviors inside the boundaries of the order, which covers much of the central city.

What's next? Police say they plan to use the injunction to deter gang activity and arrest those who violate the order.

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Comments On This Story

Note: Comments reflect the views of readers and not necessarily those of the North County Times or its staff.

Adam wrote on March 06, 2007 8:40 PM:"Not one mention of Illegal Aliens or deportations. I guess they all left after the Escondido police department was conducting the driver's license Checkpoints."

Skip wrote on March 06, 2007 8:47 PM:"If you really want to get scared about potential gang problems just read some of the stories coming out of Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley, and L.A. Harbor Gateway. These things are happening today and the gangs are spreading with a vengeance. As far as I am concerned Los Angeles has been lost. We should not tolerate gangs and gang violence in North County, no matter what the cost. Damn the ACLU, it is time we look out for the rights of Americans and the American way of life."

Sam wrote on March 06, 2007 8:54 PM:"Since latin america gives us majority of the gangs the ONLY solution is to deport 30 million invaders from there, legal or not. To argue my point is ignorance."


Add Your Comments or Letter to the Editor

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2007/03 ... ogcomments

Good to see this state is finally trying to do something about the gangs taking over.

I'm sure the ACLU will sue on behalf of these murderers and thugs. Didn't they support NAMBLA?

Originally Posted by jean

Good to see this state is finally trying to do something about the gangs taking over.

It's about time! Gangs have been terrorizing citizens for far too long!