The Informant

Ali Winston

Defense attorney Yolanda Huang addresses reporters after Judge Robert Freedman approved Oakland

Alameda County Superior Court Judge Robert Freedman tentatively approved Oakland’s gang injunction against 40 alleged Norteños in the Fruitvale this afternoon, bringing an end to at least one stage of a court battle that has stretched on for nine months.

In his six page decision, Judge Freedman ruled that attorneys for the city had provided sufficient evidence for him to issue a court order restricting the movements and associations of the defendants.

“Plaintiff has, by the requisite burden of proof, established entitlement to a preliminary injunction as to Phase I,” Freedman’s decision read.

However, it is unclear how many of the defendants would be bound by the court’s decision. Abel Manzo and Javier Quintero, the two defendants who were the subject of court proceedings so far, were named in Freedman’s order. So were Antonio Lambaren, Alberto Acosta and Joey Anthony Martinez, defendants who defaulted on their right to contest their inclusion on the injunction list and who would have been covered by Judge Freedman’s ruling. It is unclear whether Judge Freedman will allow Acosta or Martinez to challenge their inclusion on the list: both filed late requests for counsel after the default deadline had passed.

Further details of the injunction — including which defendants it will affect — will be hammered out by attorneys for both sides and the court by the end of July. “Phase II” of the proceedings will begin in December, when Judge Freedman will hear the individual cases of the 35 remaining defendants who have yet to testify.

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Norteño gang graffiti. Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/metalcowboy/2761077635/#/

During closing arguments last Friday over Oakland’s proposed gang injunction against 40 alleged Norteno gang members in the Fruitvale area, attorneys for the city reminded Alameda County Superior Judge Robert Freedman that 20 of the 40 defendants have been arrested since the civil suit was filed last October. For their part, the defendants claim they are under increased surveillance because they are on the injunction list: undercover officers kept tabs on David Hernandez, Alex Curiel and Salvador Avaloz during Oakland’s recent Cinco De Mayo celebration. Meyers Nave Attorney Tricia Hynes rattled off a string of offenses that led to some of these arrests, including attempted murder and home invasion robbery.

One of those charges listed was against defendant Anthony Garcia 29, after he and a neighbor were arrested on March 30 in connection with a home invasion robbery. Police reports say Garcia and his friend forced their way into an apartment on International Boulevard near  32nd Avenue, told the residents they were in a gang, and demanded money. The police report also indicates Garcia simulated a pistol with his thumb and index finger. The apartment’s occupants called police and forcibly restrained Garcia, who was arrested by police shortly thereafter.

Yesterday, prosecutors dropped Garcia’s charges after his attorneys argued that he had gone to the apartment to retrieve a bike his neighbor believed belonged to him.

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