Temecula police unit keeps gang activities in check
By: DEIRDRE NEWMAN - Staff Writer | ∞
TEMECULA ---- Fears of gang activity in the city are overblown, Temecula police officials said Wednesday, in a press conference outlining changes in the department's tactics.
There is only one established gang in Old Town and its crime of choice is graffiti, incidents of which are down since late last year, officials said Wednesday. And, there is no apparent leadership after a leader was arrested and sent to prison last year, they said.
These were some of the highlights discussed at a news conference at the Southwest Police Station on Wednesday. The consensus among the two officers in the gang unit, as well as Police Chief Mitch Alm and Lt. Richard Rile, is that people should not be panicked over the minor gang activity there is here.
"I don't think people in the city understand the totality of the gang problem in western Riverside County," Rile said. "They're multi-generational, well-established and regularly act as a unit to commit violent crimes."
That's not the case in Temecula, however, he said: "These guys are doing graffiti."
The Temecula gang unit has been an official presence in the city for a year now and moved to an Old Town storefront office last month to put themselves in the same part of town where many of the gang members live.
The city's one gang is made up of Latino men; about 40 are self-admitted members and another 15 associate with the gang, but have not admitted they are members, said Officer Rick Donoho, one of the gang unit officers. They range in age from 13 to 25, he added.
This is a stark contrast to the assessment District Attorney Grover Trask gave in December when he said there were 12 gangs in Temecula. This number was based on the number of crimes committed by gang members in the city filed in the district attorney's office, Sgt. David Kondrit said. But not all these gang members lived in Temecula or were part of the gang here, he said.
From October to January, the graffiti problem in Old Town shot up 250 percent, for a few reasons, Donoho said. One was that another gang, with members mostly from the Wildomar area, was becoming more active, Kondrit said.
But, in the middle of January, the Temecula gang unit started cracking down on the gang members, resulting in a 60 percent decrease in graffiti, Donoho said.
Not all the graffiti is from gang members. About 25 percent is from taggers who consider themselves artists, and use more colors than the gang members, Deputy Nilo Jose said. The gang members here usually use black, a neutral color, and blue.
The Temecula gang unit also played a strategic part in the arrest of gang leader Osiel Garcia, who was convicted last year on a weapons charge and was sentenced to state prison, and Victor Bedolla, who had just turned 18 when he was arrested for drug possession and sentenced to almost three years in prison, Kondrit said.
The Temecula gang unit uses a four-pronged approach in preventing gangs from proliferating in the city: education, technology, suppression and intervention.
Contact staff writer Deirdre Newman at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2623, or dnewman@californian.com.
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JustforLaffs wrote on Mar 23, 2006 4:25 AM:By the way, the name of the gang, for those interested in clandestine conversations of their children is, "Scardy Kats"...but on the lighter side, if graffiti is the biggest blight to be presented by Temecula's sociopaths, I vote for the taggers over the gansta types, to break the monotony of the 1000s of drab stucco tract homes in Temecula. Gang members, who you report using "nuetral" colors, might be less sociopathic than the taggers who use bright colors...it almost sounds like the gang members only use Home Owner Approved colors! Ahh...you got to love those wannabe gangsta-s in da Hood!
Cover up wrote on Mar 23, 2006 9:09 AM:Don't believe a word of it. Temecula has more than just one gang, they just aren't as established and big time as the one gang this report is about. Their crimes are far more serious than just graffiti. Car theft is a huge crime in Temecula as well as teenagers being 'jumped' into and out of gangs. People want to believe that Temecula is a quiet little town, but when the population grows to almost 100,000 and most of the growth is from Orange County and San Diego, you are wrong to believe that the largest crime is graffiti. It scares me to think that the community is going to continue to be blind to the truth and one day the city is going to be taken over and not know how to deal with it.
I didn't know wrote on Mar 23, 2006 12:33 PM:I didn't know Temecula even had a gangs! Well you better get used to it Temecula. The next few years you guys may have about 50 sets out there. Especially if they are coming from Oceanside, Vista, San Diego, and L.A. Temecula will be the new Oceanside. All the people that are trying to run away from it are just going to get caught right back in it.
Sandy wrote on Mar 23, 2006 4:22 PM:The largest gang in Temecula wears greem, RCSD.
Dawn wrote on May 29, 2006 11:44 PM:Sooo not true! How about we ask some high schoolers about this and maybe even the parents of kids that have been burdened, threatened, and hurt.
T wrote on Aug 12, 2007 1:23 AM:VARRIO TEMECULA 13 GANG SOUTHWEST RIVERSIDE 951 is taking over
rozette d. wrote on Sep 5, 2007 9:20 AM:I was thinking of moving to Temecula but it is scary reading about gang activity....before you know it...will be out of control like San Bernardino! I am raising my young grand children and thought this might be where I should purchase my next home.
high schooler Austin wrote on Oct 17, 2007 9:02 AM:There are way way more gangs than just that one..People gettin muged on the streets at night...having guns shoved in their faces...and the drugs are flying like candy...temecula is no longer the desert country paradise you used to know..stop being bling to it!
JAY wrote on Oct 17, 2007 12:15 PM:TEMECULA HAS A LOT OF GANGS. OLD TOWN 13 IS NOT THE ONLY GANG IN TEMECULA. TEMECULA WILL BE COME THE NEW MORENO VALLEY
lake town wrote on Oct 30, 2007 1:23 PM:big bad elsinore.
luke ... wrote on Dec 27, 2007 10:52 PM:there are more than one gang in temecula and if you think that graffiti is the worst crimes in temecula you are wrong temecula is a major hot bed for drug activty and if you think that the old town 13 is hardcore watch out for the real gangs that are forming right now and there white
home girl wrote on Jan 31, 2008 4:36 PM: DONT WORRY ABOUT ALL THIS "GANG ACTIVITY " ITS ALL FAKE MOST OF THE "GANG MEMBERS" ARE ALL FAKE AND LIKE THE ARTICLE SAID MOST GIFFITI IS FAKE ALOT OF PEOPLE SAY THERE IN OLD TOWN 13 BUT THERE ALL FAKE MOSTLY ALL MEMBERS ARE ALREADY LOCKED UP . MOST OF THE "GANG MEMBERS" ARE ALL UNDERAGED TEENS THAT THINK THERE TOUGH BECAUSE THEY GOT ALITTLE WEED OR BECAUSE THEY SHAVE THEIR HEAD BALD BUT THERE ALL FAKE . OLD TOWN OLNY DOES GRAFFITI AND DEAL DRUGS , PIPES , AND GUNS ON THE BLACK MARKET , YOU'LL NEVER LOOK AT A TRUCK THAT SUPPOSIVLY SAYS K-MART OR PEPSI -A HA HA HOME GIRL OUT PEASE TO ALL MY CONECTS OUT THERE LIVING LA VIDA LOCA $$$$$$$$
BH wrote on Jun 3, 2008 1:19 AM:WELCOME TO THE BROTHERHOOD!!
BH13 SUP
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