Cerritos : Park Trimmed, Lighted to Discourage Use by Gangs
Trees have been trimmed and about 20 high-powered bulbs have been installed in lampposts at Pat Nixon Park in Cerritos in an effort to light up an area nearby residents fear is being used as an ambush spot for warring gangs.
The park is at the corner of South Street and Ely Avenue, which separates Cerritos from a small section of Artesia that has become home to some Artesia gang leaders, according to Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies.
Artesia and Hawaiian Gardens gangs have been rivals for decades and, according to sheriff’s records, there were three nighttime shooting attacks on the Artesia gang last month. In at least one of the shootings, in which a 19-year-old Artesia man was wounded, the Cerritos park was used as an ambush location and an escape route, deputies said.
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