Southeast : Curfew Violator Serving 10 Days in Jail

A member of a notorious Long Beach gang is serving a 10-day jail sentence for breaking a midnight curfew that was set up this month under a preliminary injunction against the gang.

The arrest of Richard Medina, 18, is the first under a restraining order signed Oct. 6 against the 30 most active members of the West Side Longos. A Superior Court judge on Monday extended the order until Jan. 4, when a hearing is scheduled.

Similar to an order recently made permanent against a Norwalk gang, the legal maneuver prohibits the gang members from carrying weapons, staying out late at night and spraying graffiti.

Although residents have reported hearing gunshots in the neighborhood since the injunction, police say the order has had a calming effect.

“It’s definitely quiet over there,” said Long Beach Police Officer Stephen James, who patrols the area. However, he added, he suspects gang members will test the limits of the injunction.

Only one of the 30 gang members named in the action showed up in court Monday. He wanted to make sure he would not be arrested for leaving a party late at night, a prosecutor said. She said the gang member left assured that the order targets loitering, not walking home.

The action has been criticized by the American Civil Liberties Union as a shortcut around formally charging the gang members. A similar action against a San Jose gang is being appealed to the state Supreme Court on the grounds that the order violates First Amendment rights of association.

The injunction only applies to the gang members in their home turf, which is bordered by 20th Street and the Long Beach Freeway, Pacific Coast Highway and Santa Fe Avenue.