SALINA, Kan. (AP) — California authorities have arrested a 31-year-old Kansas resident who's accused of helping coordinate gang activities in Los Angeles.

A man police believe is connected to a shooting in March at a Thornton gas station turned himself in to authorities Tuesday.

Two men accused of murder in the death of a suspected gang member will be arraigned today in San Joaquin County Superior Court. The two men and one other are suspected of killing Danilo Sandoval, 20, of Lodi in March at a Chevron gas station in Thornton.

Officers arrested five suspected Norteño gang members accused of threatening a man and brandishing a firearm, according to Lodi police.

A man was arrested after being involved in a fight that ended up with a man shot Saturday in front of a store near the intersection of Pine and Stockton streets, according to Lodi Police.

A gang-related shooting took place Friday afternoon in the 900 block of Calaveras Street, according to Lodi police. No one was injured, but three people were arrested.

As part of a comprehensive plan to reduce gang violence in Lodi, the city will be hiring two part-time youth outreach workers who will work with teens to show them there are other life paths besides gangs.

Lodi gang violence is on the rise, and young men, especially on the Eastside, are recruited into the ranks of Norteños and Sureños. Gang life can be violent, lethal — but also alluring. Escaping gangs is no simple task. Yet three local men did it. These are their stories.

Three Sureño gang members were arrested Tuesday after they allegedly threatened a witness to not notify police of a confrontation they had with Norteño gang members.

At approximately 3 p.m., the Special Investigation Unit of the Lodi Police Department was called out to the area of Locust and Washington streets after they received a call that a small group of gang members was in the area and that one possibly had a gun, according to Det. Larry Fluty.

"Anthony" was raised in East Los Angeles and joined a gang associated with the Sureños when he was 13 years old. His father and uncles were also members, and Anthony said it didn't feel like anything was wrong or unusual when he began participating.

"I saw it as a close-knit community," he said. "It was seen as all of us just being together. It was part of growing up."

Gang-related violence has exploded in Lodi since mid-May.

But the shootings, stabbings, brandishings and assaults have not been randomly spread throughout town.

Gang-related incidents aren't cropping up on Lodi's west side, its northern edge or its southern fringe.

The bloodshed has been concentrated in one section of Lodi, an older part of town once home to a host of German families, now inhabited largely by new immigrants. It is a 50-block area, roughly, of vintage bungalows, ramshackle alleys and front doors affixed with security screens. It is home to many younger families, couples, merchants — and it is now a battleground for the Norteños and Sureños.

A 21-year-old man has been convicted of attempted murder for his role in a 2009 gang-related shooting, according to the San Joaquin County District Attorney's office.

New details emerged in the case of two teens accused of a one-night crime spree in November, as a preliminary hearing wrapped up in San Joaquin Superior Court on Friday.

Lodi police are asking for help from the community to curb a recent string of gang-related crimes, which have only escalated as January has progressed.

An 18-year-old reported gang member was arrested Friday for a non-injury shooting that took place in Galt on Wednesday afternoon. Joel Anaya, of Sacramento, was arrested at around 7:30 a.m. by the Galt Police Department at the suspect's residence, according to Lt. Jim Uptegrove with Galt police. The Sacramento SWAT team assisted with the arrest, which Uptegrove said happens often for violent crimes that involve firearms.

Four guns seized from a gang member's home during a large police crackdown Wednesday had been reported stolen, Lodi police said.

The second phase of a Lodi police operation aimed at gang members, parolees and probationers kicked off Wednesday, leading to gun seizures and multiple arrests.

A 21-year-old man was shot in the arm Tuesday night in what he told Lodi police was a gang shooting.

Troy Campbell knows about gangs. By the time he was in eighth grade, he was running with a Compton gang and selling drugs. By age 17, he said he was earning $3,000 an hour in his trade.

A 23-year-old Lodi man received a minor injury to his arm Thursday night after suspected gang members shot at his vehicle in the Kmart parking lot.

Two Lodi gang members are now serving prison sentences for attacking two brothers because one happened to be wearing a red belt, the color of their rival gang.

A year ago, the city of Galt had 128 validated gang members. Now, that number is at 147.

Lodi Unified School District trustees will host a series of town hall meetings regarding budget issues as part of an effort to maintain open lines of communication with the community they serve.

Increasing gang activity hasn't been limited to Lodi; Galt police have also seen a number of fights between Hispanic gangs.

Three Lodi teens were arrested after allegedly brandishing a gun and making gang threats at women who were holding a car wash Thursday for a mother who died after childbirth.