Santa Ana Renews Efforts Against ‘Flyer’ Parties

So-called “flyer” parties that often attract hundreds of young people got renewed attention from city officials Monday in the aftermath of weekend violence that left five men dead and two others wounded.

“One of the things we’ve been talking to police about is stopping some of these parties,” Councilman Miguel A. Pulido Jr. said. “We don’t need these parties with 200 or so people.” Pulido said the weekend’s violence may mean the city will become more “proactive” in stopping flyer parties, so named because flyers advertising them are distributed around the community.

The unrelated shootings, three of which happened at large parties, have prompted the city to strengthen its resolve to continue its programs to combat gangs, he said.

Gang violence is “not something that’s just happening here in Santa Ana or California,” Pulido said. “Even Omaha, Neb., has gangs. It’s an epidemic.”

The weekend slayings brought the homicide toll to a record 75 so far this year. The previous record, 59 deaths, was set for all of 1991.

No one has been arrested in any of the weekend shootings, police said. Two men who survived their attacks remained hospitalized Monday with leg wounds.

Juan Manuel Gonzalez, 19, of Santa Ana was fatally shot in the chest when a fight broke out at a flyer party in the 2100 block of South Orange Drive early Sunday morning, police said. Officers believe gang members were among the 100 people at the party.

At another party Sunday night, Ronnie M. Tinoco, 21, of Orange was fatally shot in the head, chest, stomach and leg. He had attended a party in the 300 block of North Jackson Street. About 150 people, including members of five to six gangs, were at the party, police said.

Juan Lopez, 21, and Moises Guzman, 22, were wounded Saturday night as they left a party in the 300 block of South Oak Street, police Sgt. Don Robertson said.

Santa Ana police said they have been monitoring large parties since the city’s gang suppression unit was formed in 1989.

“We pretty much have it down to a science,” Police Chief Paul M. Walters said. “When we get notices of the parties, we go out and shut them down.”

At one point, it was common to have 12 to 15 flyer parties a night on weekends in Santa Ana, Walters said. There are fewer now because “they know we’ve come down real hard on them.” The parties often attract members of rival gangs, according to police.

It takes about 20 officers to safely shut down a party, Walters said. There are between 75 and 100 police officers patrolling the city during a typical work shift, he said.

In seeking to control gangs, Pulido cited the city’s Project PRIDE, an anti-gang program through the Santa Ana schools that seeks to deter children from becoming gang members.

Other methods to control gang membership include creating more jobs, making it harder for youths to get handguns, and getting federal support for the city, such as through Operation Weed and Seed, Pulido said. Weed and Seed, an interagency program to reduce blight and crime, cut crime by 55% in a section of the central city, officials say.

John Raya, one of the organizers of the city’s Turning Kids On boxing program, said he believes that “in the coming months, this city will mobilize itself to combat violence. We’ve reached the breaking point.”

“We keep talking about role models,” Raya said. “Let’s get parents engaged and make it easier to get people to volunteer in efforts to stop the violence.”