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Home > All News > 2009 News
Judge approves DHS gang injunctionsSuspected members of two criminal street gangs in Desert Hot Springs will now face significant, court-ordered restrictions on their activities in some of the city’s most crime-ravaged neighborhoods. Riverside County Superior Court Judge Harold W. Hopp today approved preliminary injunctions against two criminal street gangs in Desert Hot Springs, the West Drive Locos and True Crime Boys. "I find that you have proven what you needed to prove," Hopp told Riverside County Deputy District Attorney Kirsten Seebart. Approximately 40 individuals named in the injunctions as suspected members of the two gangs, once served with today's court order, will be prohibited from actions such as associating together; selling, possessing or using drugs or drug paraphernalia, driving recklessly; gun or weapon possession; graffiti or vandalism tool possession; and more. Police and prosecutors can bring additional suspected gang members under the restrictions in the future upon serving them, though all have the opportunity to contest their inclusion in court. Desert Hot Springs Mayor Yvonne Parks applauded the ruling. "We're grateful to the court for seeing that we certainly do have a problem in Desert Hot Springs," she said. "Having this is just another weapon in our arsenal in the gang intervention here ...This is another way for us to make our community safer for all of our residents." One of those protesting inclusion in the injunction appeared in court -- Joel Calderon, named by prosecutors as a suspected West Drive Locos member. "I'm not an active gang member," Calderon told the judge. "I work. I have a family, four kids. The last time I was in trouble was in 2002." Hopp told Calderon the order would not apply to him if he is not actually a gang member, and that it was the district attorney's office's burden to prove he should be included under the injunction. "I'm only being asked to issue a preliminary injunction against the gang; not against the individual members of the gang," Hopp said. "If they are served with the injunction and they allegedly violate it, somebody's going to have to prove that it actually applies to them." Seebart said her office was prepared to present evidence, including police officer declarations and criminal histories, showing that all who intend to contest their inclusion belong on the list. The restrictions apply to designated “safety zones,” areas of Desert Hot Springs identified as hotbeds of graffiti, vandalism and gang-related crime. Police and prosecutors secretly worked on the gang injunctions since last August, part of a major effort to combat gang crime and violence in Desert Hot Springs. The effort included Operation Falling Sun on March 27, when more than 700 law enforcement officers from three dozen different federal, state and local agencies swept through the city targeting suspected gang members. A total of 111 people were arrested that day on charges ranging from attempted murder to drug paraphernalia possession. Another 34 were arrested in the eight months of investigation leading up to the sweep. Seebart called today's ruling "a new day for the city of Desert Hot Springs." "I'm really excited for the citizens of Desert Hot Springs today, because this is a huge step forward," she said. "It's not over. We still have a lot of work to do. But this is the first step in cleaning out their city." News Topics | Surenos | Home | Research | History | Blood Gangs | Crip Gangs | People | Gallery | Blog | |