By Jim Tortolano/Garden Grove Journal
A legal “safety zone” has been thrown around Stanton’s civic center by a Superior Court judge in an effort to curb gang violence.
Last week Judge Charles Margines signed a permanent injunction against an area gang, and authorities served notice to 27 suspected members of that group.
The injunction covers a .37-square mile area south of Katella Avenue, east of the railroad tracks, north of Chapman Avenue and west of Beach Boulevard. The zone includes the City Hall, branch library and Orange County sheriff’s substation.
“We must fight gang crimes using every legal tool we have,” said District Attorney Tony Rackauckas. “It is our responsibility to protect the people who live and work in these neighborhoods who have implored us to help them be free of the terror that these gang members impose on their neighborhoods.
Members of the unnamed gang, said to span several generations, is prohibited from:
• associating with other members;
• intimidation;
• use or sale of drugs;
• consuming alcohol in public;
• possessing guns or dangerous weapons;
• fighting;
• trespassing;
• blocking free passage;
• using gang hand signs;
• wearing gang clothes;
• possessing burglary tools;
• acting as a lookout;
• doing graffiti or vandalism.
Violation of the terms of the injunction could mean up to six months in jail.
According to the Orange County District Attorney’s office, the gang is a “violent, traditional turf-oriented gang that has been active since the 1950s.”
There are 10 other permanent gang junctions in Orange County, including in Anaheim, Fullerton, Garden Grove, Orange, San Clemente, San Juan Capistrano and Santa Ana.
