Jesus Ramos, 13, looks at a wall marked with gang graffiti on the north side of Locust Street. (Jake Armstrong/News-Sentinel)

Stepping up to the plate on Locust Street

Frustrated with gangs, Lodi residents seek new approach to address their concerns

A group of residents have grown tired of the gunshots, graffiti and gang fights in their East Locust Street neighborhood.

They call the police, and officers have responded to hundreds of incidents in the past five years, but the problems — and the reputed gang members behind them — return soon after the sirens stop.

Now residents are hoping to get the city behind them in their quest to take back the 400 block of East Locust Street.

"It's time for someone to step up to the plate and do something about this," said Locust Street resident David Nielsen.

The problems, Nielsen said, stem from seven apartment buildings on his block that house documented gang members, and the apparent unwillingness of the property owners to do anything about it. He said neighborhood residents have to deal with graffiti, loitering and drinking in public.

Nielsen said the group of residents are hoping to have the properties declared a nuisance under a section of the state penal code to force the property owners to take action.

Later this month, concerned residents will sit down with officials from the Lodi Police Department, city attorney's office and code enforcement to sort though the problems and identify strategies to solve them.

Too many cholos

Getting gang members — or cholos — out of the neighborhood would remove a burden from the shoulders of Lodi police, Capt. David Main said.

More than 800 incidents — from traffic stops to stabbings — have been recorded on the stretch of Locust Street between Sacramento Street and Cherokee Lane in the past five years, Main said. One apartment complex alone had 42 calls for service in the past year, most of which were in response to fights and other disturbances, he said. In some instances, shots have been fired at homes, Main said.

"It's a tremendous draw," he said. "The more time officers spend on calls for service the less time they have to be proactive."

The department will be saturating the area with extra patrols this weekend and for the next few weeks in an effort to keep gang activity to a minimum, Main said.

"A real visible presence in the neighborhood," he said of the coming police response.

Of the 300 documented gang members in Lodi, as many as 50 may live on Locust Street, Detective Eric Bradley said. Documented gang members meet a list of criteria that allows sentences to be enhanced if they are convicted of a crime, Bradley said.

Residents on the street say they don't feel safe, even in their own homes.

"Yesterday there were gunshots and stuff," said 13-year-old Jesus Ramos, who lives on the north side of Locust Street, near an alley dotted with gang scrawlings.

Ramos' older brother was beaten with a chain about a year ago, and two years ago at Christmas his family's modest home was burglarized and thieves made off with a television, gifts and other valuables, he said.

"Nobody does nothing," Ramos said.

Victoria Morales said she fears for the safety of her daughters, who watch reputed gang members run in front of the home the family has lived in for just four months.

"There are a lot of cholos here," she said in Spanish.

Several possible solutions

Deputy City Attorney Janice Magdich said the city may be able to put its weight behind residents' concerns.

"There may be remedies the city will take on," she said, adding that the city will learn more about the issues on the street at the June 20 meeting between residents and city officials.

Some remedies could be routine, such as holding property owners responsible for code violations. Others could involve legal action to force property owners to turn over the property to a receivership so it can be rehabilitated.

The group of residents have also tried to contact some of the owners of the apartment complexes to see if they would act on their own. Reaching them has been difficult, however.

One of the owners, Sohan Mahil, did not return a call requesting comment.

It wouldn't be the first time residents backed by the city took on a problem property.

The dirt lot at the corner of Pine and Washington streets was home to a crime-infested apartment complex until about 30 neighbors, aided by the city attorney, took the owner to small claims court a decade ago. For proving that the complex deprived them of the quiet enjoyment of their property, the neighbors received damages of $5,000 each from the property owner and the complex was demolished. The same went for an apartment on Tokay Street.

Other cities, Chicago and Los Angeles among them, have used injunctions — essentially restraining orders — against gangs to thwart their activity.

Over 30 injunctions against gangs in Los Angeles County, some of which have met challenges from the American Civil Liberties Union, which claims the orders violate civil rights.

Nielsen said the goal is not to put innocent neighbors of gang members on the street.

"We're not going after good people in a bad situation and make them homeless," Nielsen said. "We're trying to extricate documented gangsters."

Contact reporter Jake Armstrong at jakea@lodinews.com.

First published: Friday, June 9, 2006