Gang members among 5 arrested in car bashing

By PETER SCHELDEN
The Orange County Register
August 26, 2009

Police say San Juan vandalism appears to be payback for San Clemente 30-car attack.

After four cars were found smashed by baseball bats in the La Zanja neighborhood of San Juan Capistrano on Tuesday night, sheriff's deputies arrested five suspects, including two charged as gang members.

The five were arrested following a short pursuit ending in a crash near San Clemente High School.

"It appears to be retaliation" for a Saturday-morning spate of vandalism that left 30 cars smashed in San Clemente, San Juan Chief of Police Dan Dwyer said.

Deputies were called at 11:11 p.m. Tuesday about a possible gang fight involving baseball bats. Once on the scene, officers were told four cars had been vandalized with bats on Avenida de la Vista.

Later that night, a San Clemente officer found a car off the Vista Hermosa freeway exit matching the description put out by San Juan deputies. A police pursuit followed, and the fleeing vehicle crashed soon after.

The five suspects fled the car, but all were arrested with the help of a sheriff's helicopter.

Two adults and three minors were taken into custody on suspicion of vandalism, weapons charges and resisting arrest. One adult and one minor also were charged with gang-injunction violations.

Jesus Cordovamendoza, 24, a tree trimmer, is being held on $20,000 bail at Central Men's Jail, along with Filiberto Cordova, 21, who is held on $50,000 bail. The Sheriff's Department has withheld the names of the arrested minors.

Police said they have found no assault victims related to the incident.

Since the 1970s, rival gangs that started as car clubs in San Juan and San Clemente have fought one another.

In 2007, a temporary gang injunction was placed on two neighborhoods in San Juan and one in San Clemente forbidding certain behavior among those suspected of gang involvement. The injunction was made permanent in 2008.

Under the injunction, suspected gang members cannot associate within the injunction zone. They must not wear gang clothing, including images of swallows and the number 13, and they must obey a 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. curfew.

Susan Kang Schroeder, spokeswoman for the Orange County District Attorney's Office, said injunctions have resulted in a drop in crime of 13 percent to 55 percent countywide. However, neighborhood activists have protested the injunctions, saying they amount to institutional racism.

Contact the writer: pschelden@ocregister.com or 949-492-5128

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