SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO : War Urged on Crime Along Creek

They came on foot and by family station wagon, bike, skateboard, skates, even police squad car.

An impromptu afternoon gathering at the end of Calle Jardin last week quickly evolved into a town hall meeting. A city councilman showed up. So did the assistant city manager, the acting police chief and a Sheriff’s Department deputy. They all met with 30 or so neighbors who ranged from newborn to retired.

At issue was the rising level of crime in two neat, prosperous neighborhoods called Stratford at the Pacific and Mission Bell Ranch. The neighborhoods are located in Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano but share more than a border. They both back up to San Juan Creek and the heavily traveled, sometimes crime-infested creek bike trail that serves as a pedestrian highway from the beach to points inland.

The neighborhoods’ simmering frustrations over burglaries and petty thefts boiled over on Jan. 22, when a 17-year-old Dana Point youth--familiar to many as a box boy at the local Albertson’s market--was stabbed on the trail. Jason Schallock was treated at Mission Hospital Regional Medical Center and is now back home recovering from the knife wound that just missed his liver.

“We used to enjoy the walk along that bike trail to the beach in the evenings. Not now,” said Carol Kiessig, one of the organizers of the gathering. “It’s gotten to the point where none of us want to go near the area anymore. That’s a pretty sad commentary on the state of things here.”

Police agree that the trail and dry creek bed attract all sorts of people, often transients and immigrants seeking a hiding place. By day it is a playground for adults and children, but by night people in the neighborhood say they are not quite sure who lurks out there.

“I’ve had people in my yard at 4 a.m., people in my house. My car has been burglarized,” said Karin McDonald, whose house is separated from the area by a brick wall.

In the past 13 months, two major incidents have shocked the two communities. First, in December, 1990, a county employee was fatally shot in the head on a basketball court near the trail in Dana Point. The murder is still unsolved.

Then came Schallock’s stabbing, in which a 14-year-old was arrested within minutes and booked into Orange County Juvenile Hall. The youth was not identified by police but is known by many in the community. Police say the suspect is not a gang member.

Lt. Dan Martini, who serves as spokesman for the Sheriff’s Department in Dana Point and San Juan Capistrano, arrived at the meeting uninvited but used it as a forum to push for similar gatherings. He reminded the group that deputies are limited in what they can do while policing open areas such as the trail.

“We have to work within the guidelines of the law,” Martini told the crowd. “But I see this as a good starting point.”

But the residents said they wanted more patrolling. Because the area is off the street, the bike trail and creek bed tend to be overlooked by deputies in squad cars, they argued.

Resident Audrey Morgan suggested deputies use a bicycle patrol.

“The traffic (along the creek) is at least as busy as it is on Del Obispo (Street),” said Morgan. “You wouldn’t think of not patrolling there, would you?”