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The Latest: The community has been without gang violence for more than two months.
Community meetings have resulted in a new Peace on Patrol program, with both community and school campus components.
Parents on Patrol will assist with security on public school campuses and People on Patrol will focus on security at school bus stops and along routes to and from schools. Both of the programs are designed to provide extra eyes and ears in strategic locations at strategic times, at schools and in neighborhoods.
The project is a cooperative effort of the Monrovia Unified School District, the City of Monrovia, the Santa Anita Family YMCA, Five Acres, the Monrovia Community Counseling Center and other local organizations. Volunteers are being sought. An initial 14 applicants will undergo screening and training in March, with volunteers expected to be in the field by the end of April.
For information, contact Susan Hirsh, Monrovia Unified School District – (626) 471-3085.
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The Situation:
Gang-related violence had been escalating in Monrovia, Duarte and adjacent County territory for several months. A series of retaliatory shootings has occurred in January, apparently aimed at gang members, gang hangouts and people in gang “territories.” Two area gangs wereinvolved – one predominantly African-American in membership and the other predominantly, but not exclusively, Latino.
Incidents:
- Nov. 17, 2007 – 19-year-old male checked into Methodist Hospital in Arcadia with two gunshot wounds. That evening, shots are fired at the residence of a gang member in the 200 block of E. Atara.
- Nov. 18, 2007 – Two males shot in two drive-bys. The first in the 500 block of Los Angeles Avenue. The second at Shamrock and Walnut.
- Dec. 12, 2007 – Hector Acosta, 24, shot to death outside a home in Duarte.
- Dec. 26, 2007 – Shots fired from a car at a group of people standing on the sidewalk in the 500 block of Royal Oaks Drive. One man was hit three times.
- Jan. 2 – Drive-by shooting in the 700 block of South Magnolia. No one injured.
- Jan. 12 – A 16-year-old male shot and seriously wounded on Peck Road.
- Jan. 13 – A drive-by shooting on Sherman Avenue left Sanders Rollins, 63, dead of gunshot wounds.
- Jan. 14 – Several shots fired at two men standing on Cypress St. No one injured.
- Jan. 26 – Sammantha Salas, 16, killed and another 16-year-old female seriously wounded on Peck Road.
- Jan. 19 – Brandon Lee, 19, killed by a drive-by shooting on Almond Avenue.
- Feb. 9 - Gang member wounded in shooting in eastern Duarte. Two members of a rival gang arrested.
Police Action:
Five suspects have been arrested in three of the shooting incidents. Three remain in custody.
Monrovia Police Officers arrested Jimmy Santana, 19, of Duarte on Saturday, January 19, in connection with the January 12 shooting of a 16-year-old boy in the 2000 block of Peck Road in County territory. The suspect was handed over to the Los Angeles County Sheriff Department and has been booked on suspicion of attempted murder. He is being held on a $500,000 bond. The victim remains hospitalized.
Monrovia Police Officers also arrested Rayshawn Lamar Blackwell and Nickelis Darnell Blackwell on January 29 on charges of attempted murder in a recent incident on Cypress Avenue in which two men were shot at but not hit. They were arrested, along with another man being held on parole violation charges, at the home where a 64-year-old Monrovia man was shot to death in another gang-related killing. The Blackwells were later released and the investigation is continuing.
During the evening hours, Friday, Feb. 2 police officers, deputies, parole agents and probation officers from 14 law enforcement agencies raided 44 gang locations in the cities and unincorporated areas of Monrovia, Duarte, several other San Gabriel Valley cities, and one in San Bernardino County.
The law enforcement agencies participating in this operation were: Duarte and Monrovia’s Anti-Gang Enforcement (DAMAGE) Team, Monrovia Police Department’s Special Enforcement Team, Los Angeles County Sheriff Department’s Gang Enforcement Team, California State Parole, Los Angeles County Probation DISARM Team, and the Police Departments of Arcadia, Azusa, Baldwin Park, Baldwin Park Unified School District, Covina, El Monte, Glendora, Irwindale, La Verne and West Covina.
Seven suspects were arrested for parole and probation violations, and charges ranging from resisting a police officer to convicted felon in possession of a firearm. Three firearms were seized along with quantities of methamphetamine and marijuana. Evidence of identify theft were also recovered. Two stolen vehicles were recovered, and several items of evidentiary interest were collected related to recent shootings in Monrovia and Duarte.
Those arrested were: Domingo Cabral, 25, of Duart, for parole violation; Raymond Carmona, 32, of Pomona, for parole violation and arrest warrants; David Davila, 25, of Pomona, for parole violation and arrest warrants; Jack Higgins, 39, of West Covina, for possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and probation violation; Fernando Monroy, 28, of Duarte, for an arrest warrant; and Wilson Torres, 23, of La Puente, for parole violation, resisting arrest and interfering with an officer. Some of those taken into custody have since been released. Investigations are continuing in all cases.
On-Going Response
A combined force of Monrovia Police, sheriff deputies, a special anti-gang task force and extra officers from police departments throughout the region are patroling local streets and cracking down on gangs. The sheriff department is putting 40-50 additional deputies on the street, along with homicide detectives, gang-control officers, undercover narcotics agents and state probation and parole officers. Among the agencies involved are LA IMPACT, Operation Safe Streets and Gang-Net. A special gang prosecutor from the District Attorney’s office has also been assigned to work with the task force.
The Monrovia Area Partnership (MAP) is active in affected neighborhoods meeting with residents, with more than 20 City employees gathering intelligence and providing information and reassurance. Working with them are members of the Monrovia Ministerial Association and other civic groups. Neighborhood improvement and preservation programs are continuing unabated.
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