A Drown Street resident
was confused: “Why is this happening now?” she asked.
“Why is this happening in our little town of Ojai?”
And her husband, clearly angry, commented before suddenly leaving
the meeting: “They’ve declared war on us. They show no
respect for our community … The (gang) families are not here.
How can we bridge that gap?”
Others, though calmly imploring their neighbors to work together and
with the parents of gang members for solutions, were also rattled
by the escalation of gang violence.
“It was right there in front of our house,” resident Leslie
Davis said in an interview, of a recent shooting. “My first
thought was get the kids as far away from this as possible, to the
back of the house. Shooting was going on in front.”
“We grew up here,” said the 40-year-old mother of two
small children, flanked by neighbors. “And there’s always
been gangs and class issues and race issues. But there haven’t
been shootings before. Now I don’t feel safe in my own neighborhood
anymore. I feel victimized.”
Davis, a writer and editor, hosted a private meeting of residents
from 36 households after the Feb. 23 non-fatal shooting of 25-year-old
Hugo Guerra allegedly by Jimmy Villalpando, 24, an Oak View resident
with ties to a Ventura gang.
And Wednesday night she urged her neighbors to talk with the families
whose children are making trouble. “They’re really nice
people,” she said before adding: “I’m watching my
back, and that’s not a nice way to live. ... Do any of us spend
a lot of time in our yards anymore?”
That mood of looking inward for solutions while reaching out to police
for help marked the nearly two-hour meeting
Some residents wanted to know the details of the Guerra shooting,
and why Villalpando, now a fugitive, was charged only with assault
with a deadly weapon, not attempted murder. They also wanted to know
why no arrests have been made in the August shooting of two gang members
in the leg on Oak Street.
Norris said the most recent shooting occurred after the two young
men exchanged comments while driving. Then Villalpando, riding in
the passenger’s seat, pulled up next to Guerra’s car and
fired two bullets, causing wounds that hospitalized him for a few
days, Norris said. The driver of the Villalpando vehicle has not been
arrested because investigators think he did not know his passenger’s
intentions.
The police chief characterized Guerra only as “the victim...who
has had some (police) issues in town.”
And he said Villalpando’s charge was reduced, and his $250,000
bail dropped to $90,000, because the district attorney didn’t
feel he could make a case for attempted murder” since the shooter’s
intent was not provable beyond a doubt.
Still, Norris said, Villalpando could receive 17 years in prison if
convicted of felony assault with an enhanced sentence because of gang
connections. Police said they think Villalpando has left the area,
and is no longer a threat to Ojai residents.
Norris also explained that no charges have been filed in the August
shootings, because witnesses will not testify. In that case, investigators
suspect that gang members went to an Oak Street address to “intimidate
or rob the migrant workers living there,” and were shot by one
of the workers, police have said in reports.
Residents asked Norris and four other officers if gang shootings were
escalating elsewhere, as well.
“It’s not part of a broader trend,” said Sgt. Bill
Schierman, head of a new four-officer gang unit for western Ventura
County. “Gang members are thugs. Their respect is notoriety.
... If they feel disrespected and feel they can get away with a violent
act, they do it.”
Schierman said Ojai’s gang problem is tiny compared with most
jurisdictions, even in Ventura County, which is one of the safest
urban counties in the U.S.
“You’ve got a very, very small amount of gang members
per capita,” he said. “I don’t want to blow (this)
out of proportion. ... You probably have 100 more full-time drug users
here in Ojai than you do gang members.”
He said Ojai has only one gang, a Latino group with about 15 active
members, and numerous other associates who hang out with them. Norris
said a white power Oak View gang that has caused problems historically
is virtually inactive.
Residents asked whether police were watching specific residences in
their neighborhood for gang or drug activity. Norris said he wasn’t
aware of problems at one address, and police would watch it from now
on. He said that was the kind of information police need to be effective.
He also explained that police are now patroling the Drown/Oak area
more, and sometimes staking it out with plain-clothes officers and
unmarked cars.
A Drown Street resident said she’d noticed the increased patrols,
but asked for more officers on bicycles or horses. “As soon
as these (patrol) cars go away, they come racing up and down our street
as if they’re mocking us and you.”
And a Drown Street resident who identified herself only as Marie said
she’s frightened. “I used to just stay in at night, but
this (recent shooting) was during the day. They don’t care about
anything.”
Norris and local gang Deputy Jason Anderson explained a host of police
efforts to curb gang activity, including placement of an officer at
Nordhoff High School and the tracking of potential gang members as
young as junior high age.
But Norris said police could do more, especially getting out of their
patrol cars to know the community better. And he vowed to do it.
“This is not the MS 13 (gang), the worst of the worst,”
he said. “These are young kids that group together and do bad
things.”
After the meeting, several community members said they appreciated
the police’s efforts, but are also working themselves for improvement.
“There’s been a lot of energy going into the positive
side of this,” said writer Davis. She said her earlier meeting
of neighbors “was the first step in a community dialogue.”
“And tonight was the second step,” she said.
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