April 4, 2011 | 10:32 PM | By

Fruitvale gang injunction: Judge sets closing arguments

FILED UNDER: Courts, Fruitvale, Gang Injunctions, Nortenos, Oakland, Oakland City Attorney, Oakland Police Department

Russell Mondy

An end appears to be in sight for the first phase of court proceedings for Oakland’s proposed gang injunction against the Fruitvale Norteños. Alameda County Superior Court Judge Robert Freedman earmarked May 4th as the date for closing arguments. Within 90 days thereof, Judge Freedman will decide whether or not to impose a preliminary injunction against the Norteño street gang as an entity, as well as Abel Manzo and Javier Quintero, the two defendants who have testified to date.

After Judge Freedman makes his decision about a preliminary injunction, the court will then conduct hearings for the remaining defendants who wish to testify. They will also be allowed supporting witnesses, a development which surprised defense lawyers.

Judge Freedman also indicated that Quintero’s courtroom arrest last month for a parole violation will continue to come up. “If someone makes an arrest in this courtroom, I’d certainly like to know if there’s a good reason for it,” said Freedman, who asked attorneys for the city for more information about why the arrest happened in court and not elsewhere — Quintero wore a GPS bracelet monitoring his movements.

Quintero is currently being held in the Alameda County Jail at Santa Rita and is awaiting a hearing on the charge that he was associating with a “known gang member,” co-defendant David Pelayo, near Quintero’s Harrington Street house three weeks ago.

Attorney Tricia Hynes explained that the “secure facility” of the Alameda County Courthouse may have been a good reason for arresting Quintero in the building. “It may have been the most perfect reasons for doing so, but it has consequences on the court proceedings,” Freedman responded.

Oakland Police Officer Eric Milina’s testimony made up the bulk of this morning’s hearing. A veteran patrol and gang officer, Milina has spent fifteen of his seventeen years with OPD in the Fruitvale District, and testified he observed a shooting outside a wake for alleged Norteño Eric Monroy in September 2009. Milina testified about observing a juvenile gang member fire shots at a black Ford pickup that repeatedly drove by a chapel parking lot where roughly 20 people were assembled. From his secluded observation point roughly 45 feet away, Milina said he saw Abel Manzo arrive, speak with other alleged Norteños on the gang injunction list, and leave about half an hour before the shooting took place.

When asked by Defense Attorney Dennis Cunningham about the criteria he used to determine Abel Manzo’s involvement with the gang, Milina said Manzo’s presence at Monroy’s wake and funeral, his association with alleged Norteño Ramon Sanchez (Manzo’s cousin), a photograph of Manzo wearing a memorial t-shirt for a slain gang member, and the prominent status in the Norteños of Abel’s brother Martin were the determining factors.

The next hearing will be on Monday, April 11th, when Alameda County Probation Officer Dalen Randa will continue his testimony.