In earlier blog posts, I discussed the CalGang Database, a database collected and used by law enforcement throughout California. I discussed how this database is kept in secret and many who are included in the database are unaware of their inclusion and worse yet, many who are listed in…
Beginning in the 1970’s, California police departments started a system of filling out 5- by 7-inch index cards, known as “field cards”, whenever the officer encountered a person suspected of having a gang affiliation. The cards included the person’s name, their “gang moniker”, gang affiliation and other identifying information.…
CalGang Database Contains Numerous Errors and Incorrect Information Beginning in the 1970’s, California police departments started a system of filling out 5- by 7-inch index cards, known as “field cards”, whenever the officer encountered a person suspected of having a gang affiliation. The cards included the person’s name, their “gang…
WALKING THE GANGPLANK In 1988, the California Legislature enacted the STEP Act; STEP stands for “Street Terrorism and Enforcement.” This legislation added penalties for participation in a street gang (Penal Code §186.22(a)) and provided for sentencing enhancements [1] (Penal Code 186.22(b)) to a felony conviction that is found to be…
Two unfortunate men standing on a street corner in Santa Ana the other day, were accosted by two suspected gang members who robbed and stabbed them. According to the victims, a dark SUV pulled up and the passenger said, “where are you from”, a well-known prelude to an attack, called…
This week, Santa Ana resident Inocente Secundino Jr. was convicted of special circumstances gang murder of Steven Christopher Arreguin, that may result in a sentence of life without the possibility of parole. Secundino and Arreguin were rival Santa Ana gang members and their gangs had gotten into a fight on…
After 13-year-old Minh Cong Tran and his family finished eating at a Mexican restaurant in Santa Ana in 2003, they drove away. Jason A. Aguirre, 33, and fellow Dragon Family Junior gang members chased the family into a neighborhood and shot into the car as the family tried to hide.…
An eighteen-year-old Santa Ana gang member, Eduardo Valencia, is being charged with the murder of Jaime Anica Olvera. Allegedly, Valencia tried to rob Olvera during the evening of July 23. Olvera was struggling to fight back, when a second gang member, Fabian Vargas Vega, pulled out a gun and shot…