New Santa Ana | Category Archives: Gangs

Townsend Street gang member on probation facing multiple felonies after evading police

Posted on August 4, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Gangs, OCDA, Santa Ana Leave a comment

Armando Antunez

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE

Case # 15CF1723

Date: August 4, 2015

GANG MEMBER ON PROBATION CHARGED WITH POSSESSION OF FIREARM AFTER EVADING POLICE IN ENJOINED GANG NEIGHBORHOOD

*OCDA will issue a full factual legal report on the OIS when the investigation is completed

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A gang member on probation was charged today by the Orange County District Attorney’s Office (OCDA) with possession of a firearm after evading police in an enjoined gang neighborhood on Townsend Street in Santa Ana. He was alsoinvolved in an officer-involved shooting (OIS) in relation to this case. Armando Antunez, 24, Santa Ana, is charged with one felony count of possession of a firearm by a felon, one felony count of possession of a firearm by a probationer, one felony count of possession of a firearm within 1,000 feet of a school, one felony count of street terrorism, and a sentencing enhancement for criminal street gang activity. Armando Antunez has a prior strike conviction for Case #14CF0791. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 19 years in state prison. The People will request he be held on $200,000 bail in this case and is subject to a no-bail probation violation hold. Armando Antunez is expected to be arraignedat a later date and the time is to be determined.

Deputy District Attorney Mena Guirguis of the TARGET Unit is prosecuting this case. Continue reading→

The SAPD updates the officer-involved shooting of Armando Antunez

Posted on August 3, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Gangs, OCDA, Santa Ana 8 Comments

Armando Antunez

Santa Ana Police Department

Advisory: Officer Involved Shooting Investigation Update From 8-2-2015

Suspect/Arrested: Armando Antunez (24) Santa Ana

On August 2, 2015, at approximately 6 p.m., SAPD Gang Enforcement Officers were conducting a patrol check in the area of 800 South Townsend.

Recently, this area has been plagued with increased violent gang crime and is part of a current gang injunction. Officers saw several gang members loitering in the alley and attempted to contact them. Continue reading→

Opponent of the Townsend Neighborhood gang injunction shot by the SAPD

Posted on August 2, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Gangs, OCDA, Santa Ana 4 Comments

Armando Antunez

Armando Antunez, a defendant in the Gang Injunction in Santa Ana’s Townsend Neighborhood has been shot by the SAPD, according to Santa Ana community activist Igmar Rodas.

The shooting has now been corroborated by the O.C. Register, which reported that “at about 6:15 p.m. Santa Ana police fired at a suspect in the 800 block of South Townsend Street. A weapon was recovered at the shooting scene, but police didn’t immediately disclose how it related to the situation.” Continue reading→

Two L.A. gang bangers convicted of breaking into homes in Orange

Posted on July 29, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Gangs, OCDA, Orange Leave a comment

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE

Case # 13CF3793, 13CF2612

Date: July 29, 2015

TWO MEN CONVICTED OF ROBBERY IN CONCERT FOR BREAKING INTO TWO HOMES IN ORANGE FOR BENEFIT OF GANG

*Third co-defendant in this case pleaded guilty to robbery

SANTA ANA, Calif. – Two men were convicted today of robbery in concert after breaking into two homes in Orange for the benefit of a criminal street gang. Andre Ricardo Pierson, 25, Inglewood, and Dwight Ladale Stephen, 26, Los Angeles, were found guilty by a jury of seven felony counts of first degree robbery of a dwelling in concert, one felony count of possession of a firearm by a felon with sentencing enhancements for criminal street gang activity and vicarious use of a firearm by a gang member. Pierson’s prior prison conviction for possession of a firearm by a felon in 2010, and Stephen’s prior conviction for unlawfully carrying a concealed firearm in 2008 were also found to be true. The defendants each face a maximum sentence of 106 years and eight months to life in state prison at their sentencing on Aug. 21, 2015, at 9:00 a.m. in Department C-40, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana. Continue reading→

Gang member Alberto Licona facing felony charges after fleeing police and crashing

Posted on July 29, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Gangs, Santa Ana 4 Comments

Alberto Licona, Picture Courtesy of Facebook

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE

Case # 15CF1658

Date: July 28, 2015

GANG MEMBER CHARGED WITH DRIVING RECKLESSLY TO AVOID PEACE OFFICERS AND CAUSING CRASH THAT INJURED PASSENGERS

*Firearm tossed from vehicle still not recovered

SANTA ANA, Calif. – A criminal street gang member was arraigned today on charges of driving recklessly to avoid peace officers and causing a crash that injured his passengers. Alberto Licona, 18, Santa Ana, is charged with one felony count of evading a peace officer and driving against traffic, one felony count of evading while driving recklessly and causing serious bodily injury or death, and sentencing enhancement allegations for criminal street gang activity. If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 11 years in state prison. Licona is scheduled for a pre-trial hearing, Aug. 5, 2015, at 8:30 a.m. in Department C-55, Central Justice Center, Santa Ana.

At the time of the crime, Licona is accused of being an active member of a criminal street gang. Continue reading→

Why have taggers in Orange County become so violent and dangerous?

Posted on July 27, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Anaheim, Crime, Gangs, Graffiti, Santa Ana 10 Comments

Photo Courtesy of the OC Weekly

A man was beaten and stabbed on Sunday night after confronting a group of taggers who were defacing a vacant house near Lincoln Avenue and Stinson Street, in Anaheim, according to the L.A. Times.

He was stabbed once in the lower back near South Stinson Street before another man “saw the incident, retrieved a handgun and shot four to five rounds into the air to stop the assault,” police Lt. Eric Trapp said, according to the O.C. Register. Continue reading→

SAPD police pursuit ends with a suspect crashing his car into a pole

Posted on July 27, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Gangs, Santa Ana 1 Comment

Santa Ana Police Pursuit

SAPD gang detectives were apparently working on gang suppression in Santa Ana on Sunday night, in an area where there have been several shootings recently, when a vehicle they deemed to be of interest suddenly sped off.

There was a brief police pursuit of less than a minute when the suspect’s vehicle crashed into a pole, at about 9:22 p.m. in the 1300 block of South Flower Street, in Santa Ana, according to the O.C. Register. Continue reading→

Three men were shot on South Minnie Street early on Saturday morning

Posted on July 25, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Gangs, Santa Ana 2 Comments

Santa Ana shooting

It was another bloody Saturday in Santa Ana as three men were shot in the early morning, at around 4 a.m., near the 800 block of South Minnie Street, a few blocks from Villa Fundamental Intermediate School, according to the O.C. Register.

When SAPD officers arrived, they found two adult men struck by gunfire, both hit in the upper torso area. The victims were taken to a local hospital. A third victim, age 16, later came into the hospital with a gunshot wound in one of his legs. All of the victims are expected to survive. The teenager was treated and released to his parents. Continue reading→

Gang member shot and wounded while walking south of Madison Park

Posted on July 10, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Gangs, Santa Ana, Vince Sarmiento 5 Comments

An admitted gang member was shot on Friday afternoon at about 1 pm, while walking on in Santa Ana, near Halladay Street and St. Andrews Place, according to the O.C. Register. The incident happened just south of Madison Park.

A black Chevrolet SUV with three males inside pulled up beside the victim and he was fired at by one of the male occupants of the vehicle, when the victim began running from them. He was injured in his left ankle by bullet fragments. Continue reading→

Northeast Santa Ana Little League’s fireworks stand burglarized and tagged on July 4

Posted on July 4, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Gangs, Santa Ana, Sports 9 Comments

The Northeast Santa Ana Little League (NESALL) Fireworks Stand, located at 1900 North Grand Avenue, in Santa Ana, was burglarized early this morning by three unidentified men who broke into the stand and stole fireworks valued at approximately $700.00, including the stand’s TNT Big Bang, a huge assortment of fireworks worth over $500. The miscreants also tagged the stand – which means they may have been lowlife cholos!

The thieving gangbangers came to the stand at around around 7:00 a.m. and pulled their truck up behind the stand. They cut the connection to the stand as well as an internal bolt. The stand’s security guard realized that they did not completely pass the stand and went to the east end and he was able to interrupt them. That limited what they could take and thankfully they did not take any money. Continue reading→

Boy shot by unknown suspects in a vehicle not far from Mater Dei High School

Posted on July 2, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Gangs, Santa Ana Leave a comment

A 13-year-old boy was shot while walking early Wednesday afternoon at around 12:30 p.m., at the intersection of South Pacific Avenue and West Wilshire Avenue, in Santa Ana, just north of Mater Dei High School, according to the SAPD, as reported by the O.C. Register.

The victim said that he heard three or four shots coming from a vehicle. The boy was hit by bullets in a forearm and thigh and he was taken to a nearby hospital with injuries described as non-life threatening. His identity was not revealed by the police. Continue reading→

Drive by shooting at Birch and Chestnut

Posted on June 21, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Gangs, Michele Martinez, Santa Ana 20 Comments

Photo by “Stop Abusing People’s Derecho’s“

There was a drive by shooting in Santa Ana yesterday, at Birch and Chestnut, that went unreported by local media.

A resident said that she heard about 7 shots fired. Bullet casings and evidence markers were on the ground. Reportedly a few buildings in front were also hit by bullets, according to local photographer and community activist Igmar Rodas’s Facebook page. Continue reading→

Gang bangers shoot at a married couple walking near 17th and Spurgeon

Posted on June 10, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Angelica Amezcua, Crime, Gangs, Santa Ana 8 Comments

While our city leaders keep saying that crime is going down in Santa Ana there is at least one local couple that would disagree. A married couple in their 40’s, was walking near 17th and Spurgeon, in Santa Ana’s Ward 3, when shots were fired at them at about 9:11 p.m., according to the O.C. Register.

The husband hit the ground when he was shot at but as it turned out he was not struck by any bullets. He was not at the scene when the SAPD police officers arrived. Continue reading→

Parole denied for gang banger who murdered a man to improve his gang status

Posted on June 7, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Gangs, OCDA, Santa Ana Leave a comment

ORANGE COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY PRESS RELEASE

Case # C-94882

Date: June 4, 2015

PAROLE DENIED FOR THREE YEARS FOR GANG MEMBER CONVICTED OF 1993 SHOOTING-MURDER OF MAN AND CAUSING PERMANENT INJURY TO THREE OTHERS TO ENHANCE HIS GANG STATUS

*Victims were innocent men playing basketball at Santa Ana High School

SANTA ANA – The Board of Parole Hearings (Panel), California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation denied parole for three years June 2, 2015, for a criminal street gang member convicted of the shooting murder of one man and causing the permanent injury of three other men in a van to enhance his gang status. Uciel Murgo, 42, is currently being held at Chuckawalla State Prison in Blythe. Murgo pleaded guilty June 7, 1993, to one felony count of second degree murder and eight felony counts of attempted murder with sentencing enhancements for inflicting great bodily injury during the commission of a crime and the personal use of a firearm. On July 30, 1993, Murgo was sentenced to 20 years to life in state prison. This case was originally prosecuted by Senior Deputy District Attorney Mark Sevigny.

Senior Deputy District Attorney Jim Mendelson and the victim’s next of kin attended the hearing at the prison to oppose Murgo’s parole. Continue reading→

Santa Ana gang banger shot in the hand but he isn’t talking of course

Posted on June 5, 2015 by Art Pedroza Posted in Crime, Gangs, Orange County, Santa Ana 5 Comments

Apparently a local gang banger tried to block a bullet with his hand! Or perhaps he was not quick enough to dodge the bullets fired at him by an unknown assailant.

SAPD police officers drove to the 100 block of South Broadway Street, in Santa Ana’s Ward 2, which is represented by Council Member Michele Martinez, on Thursday night at around 10:30 p.m., after reports of shots fired, according to the O.C. Register.

The police arrested a man who was seen running east on East Walnut Street. The man was shot in the right hand and the police also found a handgun under a nearby parked car. Continue reading→