Santa Ana Police Begin Crackdown on Gang Violence

Police in Santa Ana announced Friday the beginning of a war against gang violence with the arrests of three reputed gang members.

The crackdown by a special task force comes after 19 alleged gang-related shootings since June and a pledge Monday by Police Chief Raymond Davis before the City Council to “keep a lid” on the problem. It includes arresting gang suspects on outstanding warrants and for minor infractions, as well as using the city’s building codes to try to shut down residences of reputed gang members.

Police said those arrested were Ronald L. Magana, 24, for a parole violation; Jose G. Galardo, 28, for parole violation and alleged forgery, and Angel Contreras, 27, for failure to appear in court on a previous charge. All three are “known to have prior gang affiliations,” police said. A fourth man, Jack Donaldson, 38, was arrested for alleged possession of narcotics paraphernalia, but he was not known to be a gang member, police said. None of the men were suspects in any of the recent shootings.

Police said the arrests were made Wednesday at 522 E. Adams St. and the house was boarded up because of building code violations. Another raid at 318 S. Bewley St. produced some narcotics paraphernalia but no arrests were made, police said.

Santa Ana Police Lt. Robert Chavez said the enforcement program task force includes officers normally assigned to the SWAT/HYPES anti-narcotics unit, members of the city’s Community Preservation Department and state parole board officials.

Lt. David Salazar, leader of the anti-gang task force, said the tactic is to send parole violators back to prison for terms determined by the state parole board. “We’re going after the older gang members--most of them are on parole anyway. That way, we can systematically take them off the street and defuse the gang leadership,” he said.

Most of the leaders, or “veteranos,” he said, “are in their 20s. . .They gain status in the gangs because of their jail record and the crimes they’ve committed. That’s exactly what we’ll use against them.”

Davis said Monday that gang leaders can be taken off the street for a lengthy time for parole violations, but he conceded arrests for misdemeanor charges, which can include such crimes as assault or drug use, can result in immediate release because of the overcrowding at Orange County Jail.

As part of the enforcement effort, Community Preservation Department officials inspect suspected gang locations for building code violations, Chavez said, and order the structure closed down if possible. “It’s another enforcement tool,” he said, adding that building inspectors were used in recent raids of local bars suspected of being centers for drug sales and other crimes.

Code enforcement coordinator Bob Honish said the Adams Street residence was boarded up after inspectors found that the house contained no bathroom and several other building code infractions. The Bewley Street house was checked, he said, but there were no arrests and inspectors didn’t find violations that warranted closure.

The rented Adams Street home, which housed about eight people, will remain boarded up until the repairs are made, Honish said. He said the owner received a “notice and order” and will have to call for a city inspection before a permit to reopen is issued.