SANTA ANA (CNS) - Santa Ana police and political leaders today sought to assure the public it was tackling a rash of violent crime spurred in part by illegal gambling businesses.
“There's been an increase in some of the rates of homicides versus last year,'' said Santa Ana Mayor Vicente Sarmiento. “We've had eight in this first quarter and we had one in the same time period last year, so it was important that (Police Chief David Valentin) address the source of that and the ways he's going to address that.''
Sarmiento, City Council members and Valentin held a news conference on the rash of violence Thursday.
Half of the eight homicides this year were gang-related, Valentin said. Three were related to the illegal gambling establishments and one was a case of domestic violence.
The city has also responded to 37 shootings, which had seen a continual decline since 2017, the chief said.
Valentin's department launched “Operation Community First'' to stem the tide of violence by increasing engagement with residents, investigative resources and code enforcement.
Police have seized 71 illegal weapons so far this year.
Police have identified 41 illegal gambling sites and shut down 36 of them, police said.
“So far they've done an effective job,'' the mayor said. “The problem is they pop up and they open up under the premise of doing business as something else and eventually start using these sites as these casinos.''
Sarmiento said the illegal gaming establishments have been a nuisance in neighboring cities such as Anaheim, Garden Grove and Westminster as well.
“Even though it's a challenge it's also an opportunity for us to have a department and city more transparent on information and issues facing the public and also for everyone in the community to see how they can collaborate with police to address issues like this,'' Sarmiento said. “We need to take these moments dealing with challenges and turn them into opportunities.''
The homicides this year happened:
-- Jan. 2 at 1802 W. 18th St.;
-- Jan. 10, 810 S. Townsend St.;
-- Jan. 20, 1734 W. First St.;
-- Jan. 21, 1047 W. Bishop St.;
-- Feb. 6, 1600 W. MacArthur Blvd.;
-- Feb. 16, 328 N. Harbor Blvd.;
-- Feb. 26, 521 E. Pine St. and;
-- March 5, 1426 W. Elder Ave.
Photo: Getty Images
Copyright 2021, City News Service, Inc.