Hawaiian Garden Gang Members Put On Notice

August 10, 2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contacts: Joe Scott, Director of Communications
Sandi Gibbons, Public Information Officer
Jane Robison, News Secretary
(213) 974-3525

HAWAIIAN GARDENS – Members of a Hawaiian Gardens criminal street gang were put on notice today that the District Attorney’s Office, the Sheriff’s Department and the Cypress and Long Beach police departments have targeted the gang for civil action designed to break its cycle of violence and intimidation in southeast Los Angeles.

A lawsuit against the Varrio Hawaiian Gardens criminal street gang is expected to be filed next week, seeking a civil gang injunction to stop activity that causes a public nuisance. The court will be asked to limit activity designed to intimidate residents in an area that includes Hawaiian Gardens and portions of Lakewood, Long Beach and Cypress. This would include possession of weapons, drugs and alcohol; congregating in public places; and trespassing.

Sheriff’s deputies served notices on gang members today to inform them of the pending civil lawsuit.

“The injunction is designed to reduce violence in the area and restore security to those who live, work and visit southeast Los Angeles,” said District Attorney Steve Cooley.

A member of the gang was sentenced in May to death for murdering Sheriff’s Deputy Jerry Ortiz in 2005. The District Attorney’s Crimes Against Police Officers Section (CAPOS) successfully prosecuted 20-year-old Jose Luis Orozco before a jury in Norwalk Superior Court.

The first hearing on the civil case is scheduled for Aug. 15 at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse in downtown Los Angeles. Deputy District Attorney Deanne Castorena of the District Attorney’s Hardcore Gang Division has been working with the various law enforcement agencies on the civil litigation.

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