Early Warning : Fillmore Takes Action to Keep Gangs Under Control

Residents of Fillmore, their small-town calm shattered by drive-by shootings, stabbings androving groups of teen-agers, have decided to fight back against the gangs.

“We’re not just sitting around wringing our hands waiting for something to happen about this gang thing,� City Councilman Roger Campbell said. “We’ve got ideas about what to do and we want to beat this thing.�

Fights, burglaries and vandalism have been on the increase, and this summer five people were stabbed during a five-week period, prompting the City Council to squeeze $42,000 from its budget to fight the problem.

Police patrols have increased, more time is being spent discouraging teen-agers from gang activities, and a program was started so community members can anonymously report crimes.

Since Ventura County sheriff’s deputies started weekend foot patrols two months ago in north Fillmore--where gang crime had been heaviest--the streets are quieter, local officials and residents say.

“Our gang problems have not been nearly as severe or violent as in other cities across Ventura County,� Fillmore Mayor Scott Lee said, “but we know that if we don’t do something now, it could get worse.�

Sheriff’s Deputy Max Pina is a key link in the Fillmore plan.

For three years, Pina has tried to persuade students at Fillmore’s junior and senior high schools not to run with gangs.

On Thursday, Pina was at Fillmore High, talking to about 15 students selected by school administrators because of their links to area gangs.

Pina’s approach is straightforward--one part cop and one part friend, although the cop part doesn’t show in his casual street clothes. Speaking in street lingo, he counseled them about “doing what is right and not being afraid to say no to someone.�

The students laughed and joked while he spoke, but paid more attention when he answered a question about after-school jobs. Getting them jobs is his way of getting them off the streets, Pina said.

One of Pina’s former students is Arturo Sandoval, a 19-year-old former gangbanger who now drives a truck for a local construction company.

Sandoval has been at Bennett Construction for almost two years now, he said proudly, a far cry from the Ventura County Jail cell he inhabited a few years ago.

Company owner Sam Bennett, a 48-year-old lifelong Fillmore resident, hired Sandoval after Pina recommended him. “I think it’s important to hire these kids, so they can get to know something about working, learn a trade, make some money.

“A lot of kids just need a chance, to see there’s a better world out there,� Bennett said. “Unfortunately a lot of people just won’t give them that chance.�

Fillmore has 101 documented, hard-core gang members, Pina said, and at least as many known associates and gang wanna-bes.

While the city’s gangs are not as big a problem as those in Oxnard or Ventura, Lt. Bill Edwards said the members are younger than in other areas of the county. This leads to more localized crime, Edwards said.

Lt. Dick Purnell, who runs the Fillmore sheriff’s station, said many complaints this summer were from business people or shoppers who were upset about “large numbers of kids just walking around and intimidating people.�

“It reached a point where it was affecting the quality of life here in town, and it just had to be stopped,� Purnell said.

Insurance agent Susan Bachman said several of her clients filed claims after gang graffiti were scratched on their cars, but she didn’t take the gang problem very seriously.

It was only after hearing at a Fillmore Rotary Club meeting about drive-by shootings and robberies that Bachman started the Fillmore chapter of Crime Stoppers. The organization lets citizens anonymously report crimes without fear of repercussions, which Bachman said helps residents take back their community.

Community members are also helping raise $100,000 for a proposed Boys and Girls Club to give children an alternative to gangs.

The city of Fillmore has donated $50,000 and land for the club, the Sheriff’s Department donated an office trailer, and community members have raised another $33,000. When the remainder of the funds are found, the club will open, Campbell said.

He and other city leaders hope that their efforts will prevent the violence seen in other gang-plagued areas.

“When you look at the gangs in Los Angeles or Oxnard, we don’t have very much of a problem in Fillmore,� Campbell said. “However, if the people in Oxnard or L.A. had taken proactive measures when they didn’t have that much of a problem, they might not have the situation they have now.�