In the News

The Governor's Office of Gang and Youth Violence Policy (OGYVP) monitors several media sources to produce daily news clips containing stories of interest on gang and youth violence.  The following list is a selection from OGYVP's daily news clips.

These links are maintained solely for the user's information and convenience.  OGYVP will update this page regularly to ensure the content is accurate and current.  Please note that the links provided below will take you to documents (pdfs) that contain several other news articles in addition to the one that is highlighted.  The user may have to scroll down to find the highlighted article.  These documents, which contain links to outside Web sites and that OGYVP does not control and cannot guarantee the content, relevance, timeliness or accuracy of outside information.  Further, the inclusion of links to particular items is not intended to reflect their importance, nor is it intended to constitute approval or endorsement of any views expressed or implied, or products or services offered.

DAILY NEWS CLIPS
May 05, 2011

Fatal shooting follows fight in Harbor City
HARBOR CITY, CA - Police are investigating the fatal shooting of a man on a Harbor City sidewalk Wednesday night following a dispute.The incident occurred about 11.50 p.m. in the 25400 block of Senator Avenue, said Officer Norma Eisenman, spokeswoman for the Los  Angeles Police Department.The victim was involved in a verbal dispute with an unidentified suspect, she said.
Read more

19 arrested in Venice anti-gang sting
LOS ANGELES, CA—Federal authorities say 19 people have been arrested for alleged firearms and drug crimes in an anti-gang sting that involved a Venice tattoo parlor run by undercover agents.The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said Wednesday that "Operation Villainz 
Read more

35 arrested in bust of N. California drug ring
SAN FRANCISCO, CA—Law enforcement officials have busted a major drug ring in Northern California. State Attorney General Kamala Harris said Wednesday that Operation Red Reach resulted in 35 arrests and the seizure of 26 firearms and more than 135 pounds of methamphetamine.Harris says the operation by local, state and federal law enforcement agencies has shut down a network of gangs that dealt drugs and guns in western Contra Costa County.
Read more

Takedown: Alleged drug trafficking gang members arrested in five-county sweep
CHICO, CA — Men in Chico and Hamilton City were among those arrested Wednesday in a five-county sweep intended to dismantle an organization allegedly trafficking in drugs and organizing gangs.More than 200 officers from several law enforcement agencies participated in the sweep, which also targeted suspects in Yuba City, Rocklin and Sacramento.
Read more

Three Alleged MS-13 Members Indicted In 2010 Daly City Muni Bus Murder
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Three alleged members of the MS-13 gang have been indicted in federal court in San Francisco on charges of murdering a 26-year-old cook in Daly City last year in an attempt to enhance their gang status.Davie Mejia-Sensente, 26, of Daly City; Carlos Mejia-Quintanilla, 21, of San Francisco; and Luis Amilar-Zanas, 32, of San Francisco, were indicted on four charges by a federal grand jury on Tuesday.
Read more

Bullying crackdown weighed in Sacramento City, Folsom Cordova districts
SACRAMENTO, CA - From hallways to cyberspace, local school districts are confronting bullying in an effort to create safer schools and prevent tragedies, such as the recent spate of teen suicides attributed to relentless harassment by classmates.Tonight, school boards at the Sacramento City Unified and Folsom Cordova districts will vote on new policies aimed at cracking down on bullying, which has evolved over the years to include online and text message harassment
Read more

Sheriff's deputies cite teens, arrest adults during Chino Valley truancy sweep
CHINO HILLS, CA - More than a dozen teenagers and two adults were cited Wednesday during a multi-agency truancy sweep.In addition to the citation, a mother was arrested for being under the influence of a controlled substance Wednesday when she came to pick up her child, according to a San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department news release from the Chino Hills station.
Read more

60 nabbed in gang sweep
Fontana action one of many
FONTANA, CA - Gang members were targeted and arrested recently during a multiagency sweep in Fontana.  The San Bernardino County Movement Against Street Hoodlums unit arrested 60 people last week during the special enforcement, which was described as a "zero tolerance gang sweep." Law enforcement officers targeted active gang members, but other people - such as those with outstanding warrants - were also arrested.
Read more

Two arrested in Ontario stabbing, beating
ONTARIO, CA - Ontario police arrested two people late Wednesday after they beat and stabbed a man.Vicente Rosas, 18, of Ontario and a 17-year-old Ontario boy were booked into jail on suspicion of attempted homicide, said Ontario police Sgt. David McBride.
Read more

Father Greg Boyle shares hope at the Pasadena Mayor's Breakfast
PASADENA, CA - Father Greg Boyle of Homeboy Industries - the largest gang intervention program in the country - delivered a message of love and hope Thursday as the keynote speaker of the 38th Pasadena Mayor's Prayer Breakfast at the Hilton.Some 500 participants gave Boyle a standing ovation after he shared both sobering and inspiring stories of his work with gang members in the greater Los Angeles area.
Read more

3 more teens in Mass. bullying case head to court
NORTHAMPTON, MA—Three more Massachusetts teenagers accused of driving a classmate to suicide with their bullying are expected to agree to deals in the case.The deals for Ashley Longe, Flannery Mullins and Sharon Velazquez are expected to be finalized Thursday in Franklin-Hampshire Juvenile Court. Two other teens agreed to deals on Wednesday and sentenced to a year of probation.
Read more

Russo resigns, Oakland City Council to vote on gang injunction strategy
OAKLAND, CA - More than a year since Oakland filed its first gang injunction in Alameda County Superior Court, the City Council is poised to take action on outgoing City Attorney John Russo’s controversial anti-crime strategy that has polarized parts of the city and exacerbated police-community tensions.Representatives from the Oakland Police Department and City Attorney’s office were conspicuously absent from last night’s meeting. In a joint letter to the council, Russo and Police Chief Anthony Batts said their staff was tied up with preparations for closing arguments Friday for the city’s second gang injunction against 40 alleged Norteños in the Fruitvale neighborhood.
Read more

Emanuel, Preckwinkle: Expanded summer programs for kids aim to fight crime
CHICAGO, IL - Mayor-elect Rahm Emanuel and Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle jointly announced plans Wednesday to offer an expanded array of summer programs for kids as part of an effort to reduce youth violence.The city, the county and businesses will team up to run the programs, they said. The twin aims are to provide kids with an outlet and keep them off the streets.During summer, “school’s out, and neither Mom nor Dad are home,” Emanuel said. “We need to make sure [kids] are in an adult-supervised program.”
Read more

That Girl in the Pink Dress can't dance, but she can fight cyberbullying
ST LOUIS, MO - Fourteen-year-old Benni Cinkle can't dance -- and after her four-second cameo appearance in friend Rebecca Black's music video "Friday," thousands of people took it upon themselves to tell her so.As Cinkle says in her EBook, "That Girl in Pink's Internet Survival Guide: For Kids Who Live Their Lives Online (and the Moms and Dads Who Love Them!)," the southern California teens bobbed along to lyrics such as "Yesterday was Thursday (Thursday), today it is Friday (Friday), we, we, we so excited, we so excited," without suspecting that they would hear them repeated again in the onslaught of responses both on and offline. But six weeks and 121 million views later, spoofs, satires and lamentations on the state of modern pop abound -- everyone from the writers at Rolling Stone magazine to Stephen Colbert took a swipe at "Friday," with varying degrees of disdain.
Read more

DAILY NEWS CLIPS
May 04, 2011

Summer Night Lights Logo, Program Unveiled
TULARE COUNTY, CA - Tulare County’s youth will have safe alternatives this summer on Saturdays through the Summer Night Lights Program.At Tuesday’s Board of Supervisors meeting, County staff unveiled the Summer Night Lights logo and program, which will provide positive programming and a safe environment for youth of all ages during the summer months in the cities of Farmersville, Porterville, and Visalia.
Read more

Police offer GREAT program to local schools
PORTERVILLE, CA - Working hand-in-hand with Porterville schools to help prevent gang involvement among school-age children and youth is the Porterville Police Department’s G.R.E.A.T. — Gang Resistance Education and Training — program.The special classroom curriculum, taught by Porterville Police Officer Mariko Williams and aimed at fifth and seventh grade students in the Porterville Unified and Burton School districts, is intended as an immunization against delinquency, youth violence and gang membership.
Read more

Former gang member tells his story
Liaison says parents need to show children 'love, patience, respect'
PORTERVILLE, CA - A young mother sat on a couch inside her small apartment in east Porterville two weeks ago and cried as she talked about her 12-year-old son. “I’m so afraid he’s going to get into the gangs,” the mother, who wished to be unnamed, said. “I’m just worried.”She said she has caught her son, a sixth-grader at Olive Street Elementary School, looking on the Internet at gang-related material and imitating it. She said he sometimes “walks like he’s a gangster” and has called her a “scrapa,” which is a derogatory term Norteños call Sureños.
Read more

Retired police officer shares insight on ‘Gang Culture’
FULLERTON, CA - After conducting more than 10,000 interviews with gang members over the span of his long career, Curt Levsen became an expert on the dynamics of these “families” centered on crime.This includes their backgrounds, their clothing choices, their communication with other gang members and why they joined in the first place. Levsen, who retired from the Whittier Police Department in 2004, shared all of this with students Thursday during a compelling Comm Week event titled “Gang Culture.” 
Read more

America's Investment in Foster Children: A Fiscal Imperative
OAKLAND, CA - These are formidable days for the future of our nation. Right now, the fiscal crisis is driving an agenda that would see our social services infrastructure dismantled. This has created a watershed moment, wherein we will have to determine our -- the public's -- responsibility in helping those who need it most.With this in mind, I offer the story of a young man the public invested in who is now giving back in incredible ways.Earlier this month, I visited the Juvenile Justice Center of Alameda County atop a hill in San Leandro, Calif. I was there, along with 25 other people, celebrating 23-year-old Sokhom Mao's swearing-in as a commissioner to the Alameda County Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Commission.
Read more

Man shot multiple times early this morning in Watsonville
Suspects leave stolen SUV behind  
WATSONVILLE, CA - An 18-year-old Watsonville man was shot several times in a car on East Beach Street early Tuesday morning. Police are investigating what they believe to be a gang-motivated shooting, said Lt. David McCartney.About 4:10 a.m. on the 400 block of East Beach Street, a man was sitting in a white BMW parked in front of a house, McCartney said. At least two men who had been parked a white Jeep Cherokee one street north on the 400 block of Center Street, walked to the BMW and fired at least three shots at the man through the car's right rear window. The bullets struck the man in the upper chest, McCartney said.
Read more

Two men stabbed outside Monterey movie theater
Men wounded during melee outside movie theater
MONTEREY, CA - Two young men remained in San Jose-area hospitals Saturday after being stabbed during a wild melee at Del Monte Shopping Center late Friday.  A man from Monterey and a man who is from Seaside received stab wounds that were believed to be serious but not life-threatening, Monterey police Sgt. Frank Russo said.Police officers went to the shopping center about 10:30 p.m. after receiving a report of a fight and stabbing outside the Century Cinemas.  Officers arriving at the mall found an 18-year-old with stab wounds in front of the theater.
Read more

Female suspects arrested in Fairfield burglary case
FAIRFIELD, CA - Fairfield police arrested two Fairfield women suspected of burglarizing an area home Monday evening.
Msshanniequa George, 20, and Lynika Oliver, 19, were taken into custody after police say they broke into a home in the 2700 block of Hillview Drive and made off with valuables.According to authorities, a Fairfield woman arrived at her home at about 5 p.m. and, as she pulled into her driveway, noticed another vehicle parked in front of her house, police said. The driver of the car started honking the horn and a woman came out of the backyard of the residence, carrying items that police said were taken from inside the victim's home. The woman got into the waiting car which then sped away, police said.
Read more

Solano County Probation Department adds new chief deputy
FAIRFIELD, CA - The Solano County Probation Department is welcoming a new chief deputy probation officer as the current chief deputy prepares to step down after more than 35 years of service.Solano County Chief Probation Officer Isabelle Voit announced Tuesday that William Fenton has been selected as the county's new chief deputy probation officer. Fenton replaces Bruce Lillis, who is set to retire Friday after 36 years of service to Solano County.  Fenton's appointment is effective Monday.
Read more

Suspects to face trial in Solano County torture case
FAIRFIELD, CA - A Solano County Superior Court judge held two suspects in a 2008 torture and homicide case to face a jury trial date next week, when it will also be determined whether two other men charged in connection with the death will join them in that trial.Among a handful of people charged with murder and torture in connection with the 2008 beating death of 50-year-old Vallejo resident Ricky Meyi, defendants Tony Damien Diaz of Concord and David Warren Fraire of Vallejo both waived their right Tuesday to a preliminary hearing in Solano County Superior Court in Fairfield.
Read more

California Street Gang Members Arrested on Drug Trafficking Charges
SANTA MARIA, CA—Members of a multi-agency task force arrested 11 individuals this morning following a lengthy investigation into the drug trafficking network of two Central Coast street gangs, announced André Birotte Jr, United States Attorney for the Central District of California.Special agents and detectives assigned to the task force conducted a year-long investigation into the drug trafficking networks by members and associates of a Lompoc-based subset of the Six Deuce Brims Bloods and the Northwest (Santa Maria) street gang, the largest Hispanic gang on the Central Coast which is affiliated with the Mexican Mafia prison gang. The investigation was initiated when local police intelligence indicated the gangs were responsible for various crimes to include narcotics dealings, firearms sales, and various violent crimes in the communities. Throughout the course of the investigation, the task force used various investigative techniques, to include controlled purchases of narcotics and weapons.
Read more

Gangs of Orange County
SANTA ANA, CA - Gangs have an extensive history in Orange County, yet many common people do not see what is in plain view.“Due to the fact that we have the gangs in our city, about 80 percent of the crime is done by 2 percent of the (criminals) that live in the city,” said Detective Jose Uceda of the Placentia Police Department’s Special Enforcement Detail.Indeed, gang crime is significant, with more than 50 percent of Orange County district attorney’s murder cases and 60 percent of attempted murders prosecuted by the Gang & TARGET Units, according to Assistant District Attorney John Anderson, supervisor of the Office’s Gang Unit.
Read more

Gang Tied to School Burglaries
SAN DIEGO, CA - Thieves stole Apple computers from inside two schools in Valley Center over the spring break. The men arrested in the crime spree are documented gang members in Riverside County officials said.According to San Diego County sheriff’s deputies, Valley Center Lower Elementary School was burglarized Monday, April 25. The next day, Valley Center Middle School was struck.
Read more

Former Dolphin Ronnie Brown Takes Anti-Violence Message To The Kids
MIAMI, FL– Every week we seem to hear about incidents where teens acted violently toward other teens, sometimes with tragic consequences.In an effort to get the word out that these types of acts have to stop, former Miami Dolphin running back/current free agent Ronnie Brown is getting up close and personal with high school students. “We try to prevent these things that are happening in the school systems, where you get the shootings and violent acts toward one another,” said Brown
Read more

Two teens in Mass. bullying case plead guilty
15-year-old Phoebe Prince hanged herself in 2010 after being relentlessly bullied, prosecutors say 
NORTHAMPTON, MA — Two of the six teenagers charged in connection with the bullying-related suicide of a Massachusetts high school sophomore pleaded guilty Wednesday.Sean Mulveyhill pleaded guilty to criminal harassment in Franklin-Hampshire Juvenile Court.  Kayla Narey pleaded to sufficient facts to the same charge, acknowledging the state could win conviction at trial.Both 18-year-olds were ordered to do 100 hours of community service to help at-risk children, complete their high school education, and were barred from profiting from their involvement in the Phoebe Prince case. 
Read more

Plainfield studying up on gangs
State expert speaks to senior citizens
PLAINFIELD, NJ — Those leading the continuing fight against gangs here are refusing to limit action to any one race, social class or neighborhood.Nor is it being limited by age.The Plainfield Senior Citizen Center late last week hosted about 100 people who listened intently as a state expert described the thorny issue affecting the city and many others in New Jersey and nationwide, urging residents everywhere to take a more active role in taking a stand.
Read more

DAILY NEWS CLIPS
May 03, 2011

Sam cooks up hope for juvenile offenders in San Diego County
SAN DIEGO, CA - It's a pretty safe bet the food cooked up by "Sam the Cooking Guy" in Juvenile Hall on Thursday was a shade better than the usual fare.Sam Zien and executive chef Matt Gordon of Urban Solace gathered with a group of troubled teens at the East Mesa Juvenile Detention Facility for a cooking demonstration.
Read more 

Mayor Quan, OUSD team up to offer late night youth services
OAKLAND, CA - As part of an effort to combat violence among local youth, Mayor Jean Quan and Oakland schools Superintendent Tony Smith announced on Thursday an initiative to offer late night youth services in East and West Oakland two nights a week.
Read more

Gang problem not going away
Problem starts in home, liaison says
PORTERVILLE, CA - The gang problem in Tulare County is getting worse. Officials acknowledge it, and statistics prove it.According to Tulare County Sheriff’s Department Crime Systems Specialist Stephanie Reed, as of June 2009, 5,263 gang members lived in the county — a 7 percent increase from just two and a half years prior. Reed said 990 gang members lived in Porterville alone as of June 2009.
Read more  

Inner-city youth escape trouble at urban ranch
Compton Jr. Posse teaches kids how to ride horses and trains them for competitions, allowing them to stay out of trouble
COMPTON, CA. - In cities across the country, gang violence has become an unfortunate part of everyday life -- especially for young people. Compton, California has been troubled by gangs more than most American cities, reports CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker.But tucked away within its city limits, there's a ranch where youngsters can escape their problems; forget about their fears. Kenny Atkins has a horse paddock right in the middle of gang territory in Compton.
Read more

Hayward High Schools Battle Gang Violence On Campus
HAYWARD, CA - After recent fights involving students and adult gang-members in Hayward, CA., the local school board and high school principals met to discuss their continued fight against gang violence in their schools. Mt. Eden, Hayward and Tennyson high schools all have a policy that ban wearing gang colors, however the three principals disagree on how to enact that policy in face of an increasing number of gang affiliated colors and system-savvy students, reports the Oakland Tribune.
Read more

Baldwin Park Police Department doubles size of gang unit amid continued violence
BALDWIN PARK, CA - Amid continuing episodes of gang violence throughout Baldwin Park, the city's Police Department recently doubled the size of a unit dedicated to fighting such crimes and is still weighing the possibility of a gang injunction.Baldwin Park police Lt. David Reynoso said the department increased the number of officers in the Gang Apprehension and Prevention Unit from two to four in the past month. At times, the unit can swell to six or seven officers as needed, he said.
Read more

12-year-old admits shooting out home's windows, deputies say
LAKE, CA - A 12-year-old Lake California boy is in a whole lot of trouble. The boy has admitted to shooting out 10 windows in a Lake California area home with a BB gun, causing an estimated $5,000 in damage, Tehama County sheriff’s deputies reported today.
Read more

Teen arrested in Watsonville Ford Mustang theft
WATSONVILLE, CA - A 17-year-old boy was arrested Sunday morning after police found him in a stolen Ford Mustang.  About 10 a.m. on Melwood Court, a black 1997 Ford Mustang was stolen as its owner watched, said Sgt. Saul Gonzalez. Two suspects were in the car, police said.  The owner called police, and the car's description was broadcast to officers, Gonzalez said.
Read more

Ex-Gang member Luis Rodriguez promotes non-violence
Rodriguez uses past experience to inspire students to make good decisions
SONOMA, CA - The impact of popular media has helped idolize gang life in America. With 1.5 million and counting, gang members in the United States, the depiction of the "American gangster" has aided in the promotion of a lifestyle that affects young adults who are at a crossroad in their lives.Last Wednesday night, Sonoma State ASP hosted "An Evening with Luis Rodriguez" as part of the 2011 Heritage Lecture Series. Luis Rodriguez is a popular Chicano writer who shared his life story with Sonoma State students and his efforts to help struggling youth who are living in neglected communities become successful.
Read more

Trauma experts meet in Oakland to share practices for youth violence prevention
OAKLAND, CA - Last year, over 500 young people ended up at Oakland's Highland Hospital due to acts of violence that include bullying, physical assaults or gang activity on the streets and inside schools. Without intervention, 44 percent of young victims of this kind of violence will get hurt again, according to the Journal of Adolescent Health.Youth violence is an epidemic that spans cities across the country, but during the last decade, more programs designed to prevent such violence from spreading have begun to spring up. "We think of violence the way we think of any other type of disease that gets transferred," said Anne Marks, Executive Director of Oakland-based non-profit Youth ALIVE! "The way it gets transferred is through trauma. You become infected with it."
Read more

Good News for Foster Youth
LOS ANGELES, CA - The struggles of foster youth transitioning out of care are well-known and well-researched.Transitioning into independence without the skills needed to support themselves – and oftentimes without the support of caring adults – these youth have high rates of homelessness, pregnancy, unemployment, and a myriad of other barriers preventing them from becoming successful adults. Part of the problem is that youth have been expected to “transition to independent living” at around age 18 due to lack of funding to maintain foster care placements.
Read more

Pasadena town hall meeting to help foster youth consider college
PASADENA, CA - State Assemblyman Anthony Portantino, D-Pasadena, announced a town hall meeting for foster youth interested in attending college. "Breaking Barriers to Higher Education" will be held from 11 a.m. to 1p.m. May 7 at All Saints Church, 132 N. Euclid Ave. Breakfast will be served at 10:30a.m.
Read more

When the school of hard knocks sets its sights on the pinnacle of power
WASHINGTON, D.C. - When Jetaine Hart came to Washington in 2009, she was well-accustomed to cramming the trappings of her life into a few small suitcases and moving them from place to place. By age 20, she moved to six different homes in northern California, each time uprooting the familiar for the unknown. Jetaine wasn’t what we affectionately call an “Army brat,” whose family moved periodically as service required; she was a child in foster care. Moving was not her choice; it’s what happened to her by chance. 
Read more

Foster youth's stolen IDs getting more attention
DENVER, CO — Dominic McGee was born to a mother addicted to drugs and taken away from her to live in a series of five foster homes where authorities assumed he'd be safe. Instead, he says he was subjected to physical and sexual abuse and even threatened with castration as a form of discipline.He's finally on his own at 21 but recently learned that he's got an atrocious credit history. While he was still in foster care in 2005, someone used his identity to try to open a mortgage. He also ended up saddled with medical and utility bills he says he's not responsible for.
Read more

House OKs plan to alter juvenile offender system 
AUSTIN, TX — The two state agencies that handle juvenile criminals would be consolidated under an overhaul approved by the Texas House Thursday.The plan, which merges the Texas Youth Commission and the Juvenile Probation Commission, is intended to streamline the system and shift more offenders to community-based supervision and treatment programs.The House approved the legislation on a voice vote. Changes still must be worked out with the Senate.
Read more

Teen joblessness may hit record this summer
CHICAGO, IL — A record-low one in four U.S. teenagers will land a summer job in the coming months as a result of a still-poor job market and lost federal funding, according to a report issued on Monday.As a consequence, urban studies experts said cities like Chicago -- where summer unemployment among African-Americans aged 16 to 19 years approaches 90 percent -- could experience a rise in street violence.
Read more

DAILY NEWS CLIPS
April 29, 2011

Early Morning Gang Sweep in LA County
Hundreds arrested as officers scan harbor area neighborhoods.
LOS ANGELES, CA - Hundreds of police officers, dozens of undercover agents and a handful of agencies brings in more than 100 arrests of local suspected gang members. The U.S. Department of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Immigration, Customs and Enforcement Agency, the U.S. Secret Service, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Internal Revenue Service and the Los Angeles Police Department joined forces early Thursday morning to round up some of LA's most dangerous gang members.
Read more

With Gang Violence Down, Spring Arrives
SAN FRANCISCO, CA - Captain Greg Corrales reported Tuesday evening during the monthly community meeting at the Mission Police Station that "since our last meeting there has been no gang violence in the Mission District." He was referring to the spike in suspected gang violence in February and March that claimed one life and injured several other people.
Read more

Towels, toiletries and luggage needed for local foster youth
SACRAMENTO, CA - United Way’s Women in Philanthropy is seeking luggage, toiletries and towel sets to donate to more than 300 foster youth through Sacramento County’s Emancipation Basket program. Foster children leave the system when they turn 18 years old, and without family support, they need everything. Foster children live in every neighborhood in the Sacramento region. No community is without at least one foster child.
Read more

Police attribute shootings to gangs, seek community’s help
PATTERSON, CA - A surge in shootings during the past month and a half has put deputies on notice, and authorities are asking the people of Patterson to help step up the focus on street gangs’ activities.“We want to reassure the community that we won’t tolerate gang activity in Patterson or anywhere else,” said Chief Tori Hughes, of Patterson Police Services.Read more: Patterson Irrigator - Police attribute shootings to gangs seek community’s help
Read more  

2 17-year-old Woodland boys arrested on suspicion of Thursday morning burglary
Two 17-year-old Woodland boys were arrested by police Thursday morning on suspicion of burglary.
WOODLAND, CA - Sgt. Dan Letamendi reported police made the arrests after being called to the 600 block of Laugenhour Drive to investigate what was reported as an "interrupted residential burglary."  "One of the juveniles was identified as the person who had just hours before, entered into the home of a sleeping adult and removed a 46-inch flat screen television and a gaming device," Letamendi reported. "The juvenile was arrested after the victim saw him inside her home and upon exiting the house the victim saw her neighbor's side garage door was standing open, however a few minutes later the door was closed."
Read more

Parolee on loose again: Gang member absconds for third time in year
SOLEDAD, CA - A Salinas gang member believed to be a Nuestra Familia associate has cut off his monitoring anklet and absconded from parole officers for the third time in little more than a year, police said Monday. Soledad police, state parole officers and other agencies are seeking Israel Cota, 34, who left prison several weeks ago but had almost immediately cut off the monitoring device and disappeared.Local, state and federal agents are especially concerned because last fall investigators received information that Cota left prison with orders to go after the gang's enemies in Salinas and the Greenfield and Soledad areas. Detectives said they believe that order still stands.
Read more

Monterey County anti gang officers arrest three for illegal firearms possession
SALINAS, CA - Three men, all either on parole on probation, were arrested by anti gang officers Thursday on suspicion of possessing firearms and ammunition during a traffic stop in central Salinas, authorities said.At 7:31 p.m., the Monterey County Sheriff’s Office said, officers from the county’s Joint Gang Task Force Unit stopped a vehicle on Central Avenue at Homestead Avenue near Hartnell College.
Read more

Kids' foster home struggles in spotlight
Family to Family event to feature youths' stories
MONTEREY, CA - Here's Kevin West's wish list for reforming the foster care system: More training for social workers. More caring foster homes where foster kids are treated like family. And more homes for teenagers."People don't take teenagers," said West, a former foster care child. "It's so difficult, they're learning how to be adults, the foster homes don't come easy. I would have more training for foster parents taking teenagers so they don't have to be housed in group homes." 
Read more

Budget, Gang Prevention Joint Priorities of City, Schools
Finances, youths focus of meeting between Santa Barbara council, school district
SANTA BARBARA, CA - The Santa Barbara City Council and Santa Barbara School District discussed their budgets and joint-interest programs on Wednesday.Both organizations have structural deficits but expect to have balanced budgets for the 2011-12 year through “budget craftsmanship” and one-time spending cuts, according to school district Deputy Superintendent Eric Smith and city Finance Director Bob Samario.
Read more

3 accused in slayings at a Modesto market
Teens' juvenile records topic at pretrial hearing
MODESTO, CA - Three teenagers charged with the shooting deaths of a Modesto couple and their adult daughter returned Thursday to Stanislaus County Superior Court.Defendants Oloth Dicky Phommahaxay, 18, Sophon Theoun Ting, 16, and Chris Douangkham, 15, all of Modesto, have been charged with three counts of murder in the deaths of Vanh and Phouvieng Thammavongsa and their daughter, Nanci Thammavongsa.
Read more

Modesto police arrest man accused of murdering father of four
MODESTO -- A man accused of killing a father of four during an apparent street robbery earlier this month is in custody, Modesto police said today.James Lester Gaines, 20, was arrested on suspicion of murdering Jesse Guzman, 53, who died of head injuries, Sgt. Rick Applegate said. Gaines was detained during a traffic stop near the intersection of Maze Boulevard and Martin Luther King Drive on Wednesday morning.
Read more

Two arrested in Roseland home invasion
SANTA ROSA, CA - Two people were arrested early Thursday morning in a gang-related home invasion robbery in Santa Rosa's Roseland neighborhood, Santa Rosa police said.The incident on Sunset Avenue unfolded around 3:50 a.m., when one of four victims got away, used his cell phone to call 911 and reported a man with a gun in his home, police said.The other three men who live in the unit subdued the suspects, who were still there when police officers arrived a few minutes later, Sgt. Ray Navarro said.
Read more

U.S. Senator Joins Fight Against Gang Violence
Wyden Rides Along With Portland Gang Enforcement Team
PORTLAND, OR -- A U.S. senator is joining the effort to fight gang violence in Portland. Sen. Ron Wyden says next year’s proposed budget calls for cutting local law enforcement by 24 percent -- a reduction that he says can’t happen when funding is needed for gang enforcement and outreach programs.
Read more

 Zetas drug gang uses Dallas as hub in growing empire, authorities say
DALLAS, TX - A shadowy Mexican drug gang that sprang from the Texas-Mexico border region just a dozen years ago has made North Texas a key hub in a criminal enterprise that now extends through Central America and into Colombia, law enforcement officials say.The notoriously brutal group known as the Zetas has used family and personal connections to make the Dallas area into a sophisticated distribution point, moving cocaine, pot and methamphetamine to other U.S. markets and sending weapons, ammunition and millions of dollars in bulk cash back to Mexico, authorities say.
Read more

Feds slam 13 Bricktown street gang members with RICO charges
SYRACUSE, NY - Syracuse police and federal prosecutors have targeted a Syracuse street gang that they connect with a previously unsolved homicide and in the shooting death of a toddler.A federal grand jury indicted 13 members of the Bricktown gang under a law designed to break up organized crime syndicates, according to court papers filed today. It is the fifth time in eight years that federal authorities have used the racketeering law against street gangs for offenses usually prosecuted in state courts.
Read more 

 I-Team Report: Learning the Hard Way
CHICAGO, IL - So far this year, 20 Chicago Public Schools students have been killed and more than 150 wounded, mostly in gang violence that has some CPS officials pleading for better protection in vivid internal e-mails. Confidential memos from school security personnel and top administrators of the Chicago Public Schools reveal deep concerns about what they see as unchecked gang violence around a West Side campus where three high schools have been combined. A forecast of additional trouble looms as Chicago school officials consider consolidating more schools to save money bringing rival gangs under the same roof, all to be dismissed at the same time.
Read more 
 

 Back to Top