While local law enforcement have touted Hollister’s burgeoning
gang problem as their No. 1 priority for some time, a rash of
gang-related violence has upped the urgency to find and implement
solutions to the issue that is fast becoming a regional
dilemma.
Hollister – While local law enforcement have touted Hollister’s burgeoning gang problem as their No. 1 priority for some time, a rash of gang-related violence has upped the urgency to find and implement solutions to the issue that is fast becoming a regional dilemma.
Three gang-related attempted murders over the past several weeks heightened the Hollister Police Department’s concern about a problem cops have been attempting to get a handle on for months. While there are no leads on who shot three 19-year-old Hollister men late last month with a shotgun – all of whom police say have gang ties – there is concern the shootings may be retaliation for a gang-related homicide in Morgan Hill in September, according to Morgan Hill Police Commander Joe Sampson.
Although Sampson said he didn’t have anything confirmed that the three attempted murders are related to the shooting of a man with ties to a Sureno gang – who Sampson said got into a confrontation with members of a Norteno gang on Sept. 30 and was shot and killed – he believes the incidences could be related and agencies are looking at the big picture to see what type of regional connection there may be. While there are many sub-groups or “cliques” of the Sureno and Norteno gangs, they are the two prominent Hispanic street gangs in California.
“In the gang world we know retaliations happen, but it’s not an ‘a’ plus ‘b’ equals ‘c’ type of thing,” he said. Sampson said Morgan Hill’s police chief has been in contact with Hollister Police Chief Jeff Miller to keep the lines of communication open and see if they can tie incidences together.
In a perfect world, forming a regional gang task force would be an effective measure to stifle the growing problem, Miller said.
And while police officers communicate regionally concerning gang issues and report back to their chiefs, Miller said they simply don’t have the manpower and financial resources to form a regional gang task force.
“We definitely have a gang problem emerging and if we’re not diligent we’ll catch up to other areas without a doubt. But I think the gang team still does quite a bit toward dealing with the problem,” Miller said. “I think we’re hitting it as tough as we can with the resources we’ve got. And we take a very holistic approach to it, which is why we look to the community. It’s not just a police problem.”
The gang problem has been a serious concern for law enforcement and government officials for some time – enough to form a community gang task force last year made up of officials and residents alike in an attempt to curb further violence before it gets out of hand. The task force will hold its fourth community meeting next Wednesday to start implementing solutions that have been discussed. Chairman Rick Maddux, owner of Maddux Jewelry, said residents need to start embracing the problem as a community-wide issue – not just a Hispanic or Latino one.
“Right now we’ve got a territorial feud going on. It’s being kept between gangs but it’s going to get into the general populace someday,” Maddux said. “But it’s not a problem you can just throw money at, and we can’t say, hey, police department take care of this. And it’s just a matter of time until this spills out into some neighborhood that’s just going to go bananas – where someone gets hurt or killed that has no attachment to anybody – and you can envision what happens then, vigilante justice and all of that.”
Maddux also recognized the fact that the geographical lines have been blurred, and crimes are being committed in Hollister by gang members living in surrounding cities, and vice versa. He believes Hollister has become an attractive area for gang activity because members and associates are well aware of the lack in law enforcement Hollister has compared to surrounding areas.
“Word gets around that Hollister has a real problem with police. So where do you go when you want to do what you want to do and have nobody looking at you? Somewhere where there’s no police,” he said. “It drives me wild as a business man that there’s two people on duty at night, maybe three, and that scares me.”
While many officials and community members have voiced concerns that Hollister is well on its way to having the gang problem Salinas has, Salinas Police Sgt. Matt Maldonado with the Violent Suppression Unit said Salinas’ current gang problem began 20 or 30 years ago and has manifested itself through generations of gang members.
Whether Hollister’s problem becomes as pronounced as Salinas’ is hard to gauge, although the preliminary signs are there, Maldonado said.
“I know Hollister has a gang problem. Whether or not it gets as bad as Salinas, I hope not, but it very well could if the public doesn’t recognize a problem,” he said. “The police department can’t do it by themselves. They need citizens to report crimes and be willing to step up.”
Salinas’ police department has developed over the years to deal with the problem, making it tougher for gang members to blatantly “fly their colors” and carry out illegal activity within the city. Maldonado said when he travels to other cities, such as Hollister, he sees a more obvious presence.
“Look at how long we’ve been making it a public safety issue fighting the gang problem. They know there’s a lot of pressure here, but they may not know how much there is in other cities… It takes time to catch on and set up a plan to address the problem,” Maldonado said. “But they (police) know what’s going on. They have an active plan to combat gangs and gang violence. My only word of advice is persistence. You’ve got to be persistent because the gangs are definitely persistent.”
Erin Musgrave covers public safety for the Free Lance. Reach her at 637-5566, ext. 336 or em*******@fr***********.com
