Crimes Break Peace of Quiet Neighborhood : Safety: Belmont Heights residents gather to demand more protection from theft, violence. Some blame the presence of ‘outsiders.’

Near tears, a mortgage banker stood before 300 neighbors one night last week to recount a crime that took place in her tree-lined Belmont Heights neighborhood, where a rash of rapes, robberies and drug deals has unnerved residents.

“It was 8:30 at night and I was getting out of my car in front of my house,” said Denise Rodriguez, 35, her voice cracking. “Two men appeared, one with a gun.” They took her purse. “I screamed and nobody did anything. We can put the police on every corner, but unless we protect each other, nobody’s safe.”

Rodriguez’s February assault on Mira Mar Avenue, along with publicity about more rapes and robberies occurring on the city’s upper-middle-class east side, brought hundreds of concerned residents to Belmont Heights United Methodist Church to meet with their City Council representative, Wallace Edgerton, and several members of the Police Department.

The crowd of mostly professional people and elderly residents filled the church’s aisles, balconies and doorways Wednesday evening, a day after police arrested a teen-ager suspected of raping five women in Belmont Heights since Feb. 1.

During the three-hour meeting, dozens of residents told stories of outsiders coming into their neighborhoods, urinating on lawns, defecating in alleys and committing assaults, robberies and auto burglaries. Many said they wanted to find a way to stem the tide of crime that has long plagued the rest of the city and now seems to be moving into their predominantly white enclave near the ocean.

Although Belmont Heights is considered one of the safest neighborhoods in Long Beach, crime is on the rise there, according to police statistics. In Councilman Edgerton’s 2nd District, which includes some areas outside Belmont Heights, there was an increase in most categories of crimes during 1990. The number of murders rose 25% from 1989; rape is up 38.9%, robbery 6.2%, assault 39.4%, commercial burglary 20.2% and auto burglary up 5.2%. Only residential burglaries decreased--5.2% in 1990, Long Beach police reported.

In response to the increase in crimes, the number of Neighborhood Watch groups in Belmont Heights has surged since June, “to where 70% of the neighborhoods have programs,” said Sgt. Charles Higley.

A few people at the meeting said they were bothered by what they called a growing paranoia in Belmont Heights. Flyers circulating through the crowd urged residents to guard against “our beautiful neighborhood being invaded by outsiders. . . . Let’s keep our beautiful homes protected. Do not let outsiders destroy them.”

Steve Irving, 33, a nine-year resident of Belmont Heights, fears that people are equating “outsider with black,” exacerbating racial tensions. Because he is black and lives in the area where the serial rapist has attacked women, a neighbor called police to report him, he said.

Irving said he was arrested “with a pocketful of coupons on my way to shop at Vons. I was inconvenienced and humiliated. I want to remind everyone that assailants come in all colors.” Later he said: “We have to keep things in perspective. Times are hard and people are getting desperate. When times are hard, nobody’s safe.”

Because city voters defeated a bond issue last year that would have increased the number of officers on the police force, several residents wondered how to beef up patrols. One suggested that those who pay more taxes should get more police protection.

“If I’m going to pay this much money to live in an elitist neighborhood, then I want elitist protection,” resident Wendy Hayes said.

Many were openly hostile toward Councilman Edgerton, who said his fear of crime keeps him from leaving his car on the street overnight and has necessitated the presence of two Doberman pinschers and an alarm system in his home.

Residents became angry when he raised such issues as yellow street lights, a building moratorium and the possibility of redistricting council seats. Those who attended the meeting were clearly interested only in crime.

“You have really made me mad by not sticking to the subject. You have nothing to help us find a way to make our neighborhoods safe,” one resident told Edgerton. “We’re looking for leadership. How do we proceed?”

“I don’t have any answers for you,” Edgerton responded. “I’d like to generate more meetings.”

It was not what many wanted to hear.

“We’d like real solutions,” said assault victim Rodriguez after the meeting. “We need to get things accomplished, and if this man can’t do it for us, then we need to get somebody in there who can.”

BELMONT HEIGHTS AREA CRIME RATE

(Statistics are for L.B. City Council District 2 area.)

1990 1989 % change Murder 5 4 25.0 Rape 25 18 38.9 Robbery 310 292 6.2 Assault 301 216 39.4 Residential Burglary 986 1,040 -5.2 Commercial Burglary 149 124 20.2 Auto Burglary 1,087 1,037 4.4

Source: Long Beach Police Department