Our Community Helps Solve Gang Crimes

For the last couple of years, the county Gang Task Force has been working to address community concerns about gang violence throughout the cities and unincorporated areas of Santa Cruz County. Unfortunately, all the police agencies for the most part are stretched thin due to officer vacancies. We cannot be successful without community involvement, including good witness statements regarding gang activity and violence. I am pleased to report on two recent gang shootings where the public played crucial roles in apprehending suspects we believe were responsible.

On 1-29-08, Sheriff’s deputies were dispatched to a report of a shooting on 17^th Avenue at Harper Street in Live Oak where a citizen witness was rendering aid to the victim after the shooting. The victim had suffered multiple gunshot wounds and underwent emergency surgery but did not recover and died on the following day. Just prior to the shooting, an altercation and brandishing of a pistol had occurred between two suspects and a citizen (other than the victim) at 17^th Avenue and Brommer Street.

Detectives contacted the victim of the brandishing where he described an unprovoked argument with the suspects and they challenged him to fight. He described the suspect with the handgun wearing a Cowboys jersey. The victim left the area quickly and reported the incident to the 911 center. As dispatchers took this call, emergency calls started to come in regarding the shooting on 17^th and Harper. Several more witnesses called 911 with information about the shooting, description of the suspects, and subsequent direction of travel. The witnesses to the shooting described similar clothing of the suspects as that worn by the suspects in the prior brandishing incident.

As officers arrived in the area, an alert deputy saw two people leaving the Harper Street area and with the assistance of a Capitola Police K9, tracked the fleeing suspects to Dougmar Drive. While on Dougmar Drive, they spotted the two suspects attempting to leave in a vehicle driven by one of the suspects’ mother. They were detained and the juvenile suspect was found to be wearing a Dallas Cowboys sweatshirt, now turned inside out, and deputies recovered a revolver from the juvenile.

Subsequent investigation showed the shooting victim was last seen riding a bicycle along 17^th Avenue and was contacted by these two suspects where some mention of gang affiliation took place between the suspects and victim. The juvenile suspect then allegedly pulled out the pistol and shot the victim multiple times. Citizens came to the aid of the victim and the suspects fled the area. Both suspects were arrested and the juvenile was charged with homicide

With the invaluable assistance of our residents willing to be witnesses, the suspects were identified and quickly apprehended.

On 3-14-08, Deputies were dispatched to a report of a drive-by shooting on Thurber Lane, in the unincorporated area of Santa Cruz. Deputies found a 17-year-old victim suffering from gunshot wounds to the leg. Witnesses in the area reported a description of the suspects in a red or maroon-colored 2 door, convertible BMW. Investigators at the scene discovered that a suspected gang- related fight had occurred about a half hour before the shooting in Soquel Village, involving multiple young people described as Norteno and Sureno gang members or associates. The shooting victim and two of his friends were determined to have been participants in this fight.

Detectives worked throughout the night and next day and were able to identify the suspect car, the driver of the car, and the person alleged to have shot a gun from the car at the victim, thanks to help of witnesses. Detectives subsequently located and arrested the person believed to have shot the victim at his home in Aptos. Detectives also found the suspect car located in Capitola and was impounded for evidence. The suspect driver of the car was also arrested in Capitola. Both were arrested for attempted murder, participation in a gang-related crime, and use of a firearm during the commission of a felony causing great bodily injury. The gun used in this shooting has yet to be recovered.

The Sheriff’s Office and the rest of county law enforcement are determined to stop these brutal gang assaults but needs the help of the community. As apparent in just these two cases, locating and arresting these suspects would have been very difficult without the help of our residents willing to be witnesses. This will only aid in the prosecution of these individuals by the District Attorney’s Office that has an outstanding gang prosecution unit.

The cooperation of these witnesses helped police fight back against violent gang crime in our community. Gangs are not just a police problem but a community problem and these members of the public made a public statement that assaults on our young people by gangsters will not be tolerated.

If you were a witness to either of these two shootings, the Sheriff’s Office would like to get that information. You can call the Sheriff’s Anonymous Tip Line at 454-2847 or the Sheriff’s Investigation Division at 454-2311.