Norteno

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March 21, 2011 | 10:17 PM | By

Fruitvale gang inunction: The meaning of “Norteno”

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

Three more defendants named in Oakland’s proposed gang injunction against the Fruitvale Norteños have agreed to be represented by a team of pro bono defense attorneys. Raul Acosta, Robert Alarid and Onorato Deltoro all filed answers to City Attorney John Russo’s lawsuit last week, claiming they are not active gang members and do not belong on the injunction.

Their statements contain information about their whereabouts and daily activities — meant to demonstrate their non-criminality. Their filings also speculate about the politics of the proposed Fruitvale injunction — alleging that Oakland Police officers are playing up the threat posed by the Norteño gang in the Fruitvale.

Onorato Deltoro, a forty-two-year-old Fruitvale native and recovering methamphetamine addict, lives in at men’s homeless shelter in Santa Rosa. According to his statement, Deltoro found religion while attending church with his mother, and is a sort of sidewalk preacher in Santa Rosa. He claims that whatever Norteño association he had is long in the past:

“I am not an active gang member; I don’t even associate with them,” his filing reads. “Although I once thought of myself as a gang member, I have given myself over to Christ and gangs are not even in my mind.” Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Courts, Fruitvale, Gang Injunctions, Norteno, Oakland, Oakland City Attorney, Oakland Police Department
December 3, 2010 | 3:00 PM | By

Explainer: Oakland’s gang injunction evidence

Oakland City Attorney

Oakland's latest gang injunction covers part of the Fruitvale district.

Oakland’s proposed Norteño gang injunction for the Fruitvale neighborhood is gradually making its from the court of public opinion to the courtroom of Alameda Superior Court Judge Robert Freedman. A preliminary hearing yesterday was rescheduled for Wednesday, December 8th at 1 PM, where Oakland law firm Siegel & Yee will ask Judge Freedman to waive filing fees for all 40 defendants and ask for court-appointed attorneys for some named individuals. Another hearing to review the proposed injunction is expected to take place in mid-January.

As the case works its way through the judicial system, City Attorney John Russo has filed court papers detailing the alleged gang activity of the 40 defendants. These documents include the declarations of 139 law enforcement officers, largely from the Oakland Police Department. Because the City Attorney is pursuing a civil action, a “preponderance of evidence” is all that is required to find the 40 named individuals guilty of Norteño affiliation – a lesser burden of evidence than the “beyond a reasonable doubt” standard that applies to criminal law.

This is standard practice for gang injunction cases – similar documents are available for the North Side Oakland injunction and San Francisco’s four gang injunctions.

We’ve posted some of the filings below, but to save you the hours we spent poring over the documents, here are some critical points.

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Courts, Gang Injunctions, ICE, John Russo, Norteno, Oakland, Oakland Police
November 29, 2010 | 9:40 AM | By

Chip Johnson, Oakland and gang injunctions

Susie Ming Hwa/San Francisco Chronicle

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Chip Johnson

On Friday, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Chip Johnson accused an Oakland law firm representing several people named in the proposed Norteño gang injunction of conflicts of interest. Johnson urged the well-known Siegel & Yee firm to recuse itself from the case because of ties to the city leadership. City Council President Jane Brunner is a partner in the firm, and another partner, Dan Siegel, has previously represented Mayor-elect Jean Quan.

Johnson’s column follows the line set out by Oakland City Attorney John Russo in a letter sent earlier this month to Siegel & Yee attorney Michael Siegel.

It doesn’t appear Siegel & Yee is going to back down. Last Monday, I sat down with Siegel & Yee attorneys Jose Luis Fuentes and Michael Siegel to discus the Norteño case. Their take is that Russo is trying to head off opposition to Oakland’s second gang injunction before the matter goes to court.

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Courts, Chip Johnson, Gang injunction, Norteno, Oakland
August 31, 2010 | 4:53 PM | By

Thirty-four charged in statewide Nuestra Familia gang sweep

Ali Winston

Attorney General Jerry Brown discusses Operation Street Sweeper

A few hours ago, California Attorney General (and gubernatorial candidate) Jerry Brown announced a multi-county gang sweep aimed at Nuestra Familia, a powerful prison-based gang that controls illegal activity in state correctional facilities and, through the Norteno street gang, communities throughout Northern California.

Operation Street Sweeper is part of an ongoing crackdown on the two intertwined groups  Both Nuestra Familia and the Nortenos were the targets of two gang sweeps earlier this year, the fruits of a collaboration between local, state and federal law enforcement that began at a 2009 gang summit in Salinas.

Thirty-six gang members, including four leaders of local sets, were arrested by more than 250 federal, state, and local law enforcement agents from the Central Coast to the Central Valley, including officers from Visalia, Salinas, and Yuba City. According to Visalia Police and the Attorney General’s Office, Nuestra Familia has orchestrated a rash of violent crime in the city against rival Sureno and Asian gangs, as well as its own uncooperative soldiers: There have been 30 gang-related violent crimes this year through August, up from 30 at the same point in 2009.

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Corrections, Courts, Police, cellphone jamming, Jerry Brown, Norteno, Northern California, Nuestra Familia, Operation Street Sweeper, Pelican Bay, Salinas, Visalia
August 27, 2010 | 11:49 AM | By

Q&A: Former US Attorney Joe Russoniello on gangs in Oakland

Russoniello

US Department of Justice

Former United States Attorney Joe Russoniello

As part of my radio piece on Oakland’s gang summit that took place earlier this week, I interviewed former Joe Russoniello, former United States Attorney for Northern California, during his last week in office. He was appointed to his second term as US Attorney in 2007 by President George W. Bush – his first stint was from 1982 to 1990 as an appointee of President Ronald Reagan.

Russoniello and I spoke at length about the multi-agency gang summit in Oakland, how a similar operation panned out in the Central Valley city of Salinas, and what Oaklanders could expect over the next year or so.

Here is the full transcript of our conversation. Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Courts, Police, COINTELPRO, gang summit, Joe Russoniello, Norteno, Oakland, Oakland Police Department, Operation Knockout, Salinas, United States Attorney for Northern California