Taped Evidence of Drug Sales a Vital Weapon

Video and audiotape capturing drugs sales during a massive undercover crackdown in one of Santa Ana’s most crime-ridden neighborhoods will be difficult--if not impossible--to challenge in court, prosecutors said Friday.

Even defense attorneys predict that the more than 130 adults and juveniles charged as part of “Operation Roundup” will probably plead guilty to felony drug charges. Jurors need only check to see whether the suspect in the videotape is the same person sitting at the defense table before returning a conviction, they concede.

“The defendants in these cases are going to be hard-pressed to say, ‘Not me, I didn’t do it,’ because we can say, ‘What about this videotape, or what about this videotape?’ ” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Joseph P. Smith.

And that’s the way police and prosecutors wanted it.

Before police swept through Santa Ana’s neighborhoods Wednesday looking for suspects indicted by a secretly impaneled grand jury, prosecutors had trouble gaining convictions against drug dealers and 6th Street Gang members who control several areas. Residents were simply too terrified to testify.

When “Operation Roundup” began earlier this year, undercover police officers made audio and videotapes of the drug transactions to use in court, eliminating the need for civilian witnesses, authorities said.

“Santa Ana police made the job easier, but more importantly (they) made the job of jurors easier,” Smith said, adding that the police, not gangs, will now control the streets. “The Santa Ana Police Department is the biggest ‘gang’ in town and they are the toughest and they’re not going to be afraid to testify.”

A total of 30 men and women so far have pleaded not guilty to felony drug sales, and many are additionally charged with selling drugs near schools, selling drugs to further gang activity or face life in prison if convicted of yet another felony under the new “three strikes” sentencing guidelines.

A total of 15 juveniles are also facing charges, and police are still searching for about 40 others named in felony indictments but not yet arrested.

Officials are still preparing for the arraignments of dozens more defendants on Monday.

Defendants face up to five years in prison for selling drugs and additional prison time for other crimes.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Michael Brenner said the court system will do what it takes to handle the influx of new cases.

“We’re ready for it, that’s what we’re here for,” Brenner said.

Orange County Deputy Public Defender Brian Ducker, whose office will be handling many of the cases, agreed that videotape evidence can be persuasive with jurors.

“I think that videotapes can mean a lot of (guilty) pleas,” Ducker said, stressing that his office has only begun reviewing evidence in the cases and will be considering a variety of defense strategies. “I don’t think you can assume anything at this point.”

Law enforcement officials have hailed the arrests as a successful first step in taking back control of the neighborhood in the 1000 to 1100 blocks of West 3rd Street, which was overrun by drug peddlers and hard-core gangbangers who terrorized residents.