Witness Protection Playing a Prominent Role

Witness protection isn’t just the stuff of Hollywood movies and New York mobsters.

Since the state attorney general’s office started its program in January 1998, more than a thousand witnesses, including about 15 from Ventura County, have been relocated, given new identities or received other types of protection, according to a report released last week.

“In the day and age in which we live, the character of criminals is changing and they present a larger problem, a greater threat than they used to, so this has been a valuable program for us,” said Greg Totten, the county’s chief assistant district attorney.

Basically, the bad guys have gotten worse, and with rising numbers of gang and other organized crime arrests have come more threats of violence against witnesses whose testimony can make or break a case.

The state’s three-strikes law and stiff penalties for violent crime can drive an accused person to try anything to avoid death row or life in prison, authorities say.

According to the state Department of Justice report, a majority of cases in which witness protection is needed are gang-related, followed by those involving drugs, domestic violence or any criminal matter in which the suspect has threatened to hurt or kill a witness.

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There is nothing friendly about what happened recently at the Amigos Market in Santa Paula.

The 33-year-old store owner and his 12-year-old brother were assaulted last week by seven gang members who tried leaving the store without paying for a 12-pack of beer and two cans of chili, Santa Paula Police Chief Bob Gonzales said.

The suspects kicked and punched the owner and hurled the goods at the youth, after they saw the younger victim reach for a phone to call police, Gonzales said.

Although the brothers suffered only minor injuries, police say the case is alarming because it is the most recent incident in a string of suspected gang crimes that have plagued the city in the last year, including four drive-by shootings.

Add to that rising violence, an understaffed police force of only two dozen officers for a city of 27,000 people, and the chief said keeping the peace has been tough.

Department officials urge residents and business owners to play it safe and hand over the loot if confronted by a robber.

“What’s the value of a 12-pack of beer? It isn’t worth someone dying,” Gonzales said.

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A Moorpark man may have painted himself into an unpleasant corner.

A 36-year-old man was busted recently, after deputies discovered he allegedly filled four large dumpsters at a Moorpark industrial park with dozens of one- and five-gallon paint cans and brushes.

If the paint had been dry, commercial house painter John Alexander might have been facing trespassing charges, but the containers still had plenty of wet paint inside, which is a violation of state hazardous materials dumping laws.

According to Sheriff’s Det. Allen Devers, authorities linked Alexander to the crime after tracing numbers on the cans to a store that sold him the paint. The cops also had an eyewitness.

This crime may not seem like a big deal, but authorities continually warn business owners that such materials are combustible and deadly if ingested. The law requires hazardous materials to be disposed of by a licensed company.

After a week in jail, Alexander was freed on his own recognizance, pending trial. If convicted, Alexander could face three years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

That was a far cry from the few hundred dollars it would have cost to legally dispose of the material, authorities said.

“It’s kind of serious, because he may also end up having to pay for cleanup as well,” Devers said.

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Holly J. Wolcott can be reached at 653-7581 or at holly.wolcott@latimes.com.