18 Homes Searched in Gang Raids : Thousand Oaks: Early- morning sweeps target youths on probation. Officials hope to keep city’s reputation for safety intact.

Police swept through the homes of 18 alleged gang members in Thousand Oaks in two early-morning raids designed to choke off the potential for violence in a city repeatedly named one of the safest in the United States.

Targeting gang members on probation for previous offenses, law enforcement officers arrested two young men and gathered gang paraphernalia sufficient to charge five or six more with violating terms of their probation, said Lt. David Tennessen of the Sheriff’s Department’s East County office.

Such spot raids have become increasingly common throughout Ventura County, where gang members routinely agree to accept unannounced searches among the terms of their probation for weapons, drugs and graffiti violations. If caught associating with other gang members or possessing gang paraphernalia, including spray paint for drawing graffiti, the youths can be charged with violating their probation, Tennessen said.

Last week, two searches in Fillmore netted seven arrests. Latino activists there complained that police were harassing minorities because they equated darker skin with gang membership.

Police said the raids in Thousand Oaks were not a response to the activists’ charges, but rather part of an ongoing effort to crack down on gangs across the county.

About 75 teen-agers are active in three gangs in Thousand Oaks, officials said. They said that even relatively minor gang activity can tarnish the city’s reputation as a safe, peaceful haven from urban troubles.

A 1991 drive-by shooting, in which a 19-year-old gang member from a wealthy family killed a young woman in a residential Thousand Oaks neighborhood, sparked widespread concern and fear among residents.

“Compared with what’s going on to the south of us, we do not have a major problem,” Tennessen said. “But for Thousand Oaks, we do have a major problem--especially if we choose to ignore it.”

While the city’s gangs, which attract members age 13 to 23, started out as copycat groups mimicking the behavior of inner-city gangs, they have become more serious over the past few years and “have a propensity for violence,” Tennessen said.

The hourlong raids Tuesday and Wednesday morning, starting at 7 a.m., were among the city’s largest in recent years, police said.

During routine monthly searches, police and county probation officers usually visit half a dozen gang members in Thousand Oaks, which has emerged over the last three years as one of the safest cities of its size in the nation, according to FBI statistics.

On Wednesday, law enforcement officers arrested Humberto Prieto, 21, on charges of violating parole by carrying a loaded handgun. In addition, they cited and released a 17-year-old male for possession of less than one ounce of marijuana.

The 21 officers participating in the Thousand Oaks raids also seized spray paint, large markers, empty deodorant containers filled with paint-soaked sponges and various photographs and letters they said indicated gang involvement. They tested several gang members for drug use as well.

The crackdown came too late for Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce President Steve Rubenstein, who Monday morning discovered a large patch of red and black graffiti on the building he works in.

“It’s indicative of the times,” Rubenstein said.

Veteran Councilman Alex Fiore agreed.

“There’s a gang problem in every city in the country,” he said. “The Sheriff’s Department is doing a great job of controlling them. We know who they are, who their friends are, who their associates are.”

Like the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department, the city of Thousand Oaks has proclaimed a “zero tolerance” credo toward gangs.

Describing that policy, City Manager Grant Brimhall vowed that Thousand Oaks would “do everything we’re constitutionally allowed to do to keep gangs from growing. We need to get our arms around the problem and hug gang members into a more productive life.”