| For Immediate Release May 27, 2011 |
Susan Kang Schroeder Chief of Staff Office: 714-347-8408 Cell: 714-292-2718 Farrah Emami |
LAW ENFORCEMENT OBTAINS NINTH AND 10TH ORANGE COUNTY GANG INJUNCTIONS AGAINST TWO VIOLENT ORANGE COUNTY GANGS
ORANGE COUNTY – Members of two violent criminal street gangs have been permanently enjoined from terrorizing the community and acting as a public nuisance, marking the ninth and 10th injunctions to be brought against Orange County gangs. The ninth injunction is the third to be brought against a gang in Anaheim. The 10th injunction in Fullerton is against the gang with the most criminal cases brought against it in Orange County and is comprised of the largest-ever Orange County Safety Zone.
A permanent injunction was signed Monday, May 23, 2011, by the Honorable Kazuharu Makino against the Fullerton gang and a permanent injunction was signed March 30, 2011, by the Honorable Kazuharu Makino against the Anaheim gang.
The Anaheim Police Department (APD) and Fullerton Police Department (FPD) will enforce these injunctions in their respective cities. Deputy District Attorneys Susan Eckermann and Lisa Grossman prepared the Anaheim injunction and Deputy District Attorneys Danielle Cota and Tammy Jacobs prepared the Fullerton injunction on behalf of the Gang Unit of the Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA).
The service of the injunctions was a cooperative effort between APD, FPD, OCDA Bureau of Investigation, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Orange County Probation Department and Orange County Sheriff’s Department. The Anaheim City Attorney’s Office assisted in the preparation of the Anaheim injunction.
WHAT IS AN INJUNCTION?
A gang injunction is a civil order that restricts or prohibits documented gang members from participating in specific acts or activities that may not be inherently criminal within a designated area, or “Safety Zone.” The terms are designed to curb intimidating or harassing behavior. If a member of an enjoined gang violates the terms, he or she will be arrested and face prosecution. The case may be prosecuted as a misdemeanor for disobeying a court order and the defendant will be placed on gang probation terms or be sent to jail for up to six months.
This injunction names the gang as the defendant. The gang injunction subjects all active, documented members to prohibitive terms including a restriction that prohibits any association between members of the gang. Association includes standing, sitting, walking, driving, bicycling, gathering, or appearing anywhere in public or public view with any known member of the gang (except while at school or in church). The terms also maintain that there can be no intimidation, use or sale of drugs, consuming alcohol in public, guns or dangerous weapons, fighting, trespassing, blocking free passage, gang hand signs, gang clothes, burglary tools, or acting as a lookout. In addition, the gang members must obey curfew and all laws. Graffiti and vandalism are also prohibited as graffiti is often used by the gangs in the Safety Zones as a method to intimidate rival gangs, mark their territory, advertise their most recent activities, dissuade residents from going to the police, and denounce police.