Troubling Statistic on Gang Crime

Jesse Muro Jr., a 17-year-old Century High School student, didn’t hang with the wrong element. Daniel Quintana, a 20-year-old father-to-be, didn’t belong to a street gang.

But each found himself at the wrong place at the wrong time--innocent victims of gang violence this month in Santa Ana and Tustin.

The cases are reminders that while gang-related violence has plunged in Orange County over the last six years, it remains a frightening part of life in some neighborhoods and continues to shatter lives.

A UC Irvine survey of local crime statistics shows that violence against non-gang victims has increased as a percentage of total gang crimes over the last few years. In 1996, about 59% of gang crimes involved non-gang victims; in 1997, it rose to 65%. In the first six months of last year, it increased again to about 70%, according to the UCI study.

Experts caution that the numbers don’t represent a trend at this point. But some officials expressed concern about the findings and said the statistic must be carefully monitored in the future.

“It is disturbing that it is increasing,” said James Meeker, a professor in UCI’s department of criminology. “If we have another 5% rise next year, that would be a concern. These stats still indicate that gang crimes still remain a serious problem in the county.”

Law enforcement officials are also struggling to explain the numbers.

“If I had an answer, I’d bottle it and make a million dollars,” said Tustin Police Lt. Mike Shanahan. “Overall, gang members are more violent today than they were more than a decade ago. It’s the live-fast, die-young mentality.”

The number of gang-related homicides has dropped more than 50% over the last five years, and aggressive sentencing laws have placed hundreds of gang members behind bars. Still, a county report prepared last year found that gang membership continues to rise despite the law enforcement crackdown.

“We have many kids not affiliated with gang violence who live in neighborhoods that are in known gang territories,” said Santa Ana Police Capt. Daniel McCoy. “If you’re in their territory, regardless if you are a gang member or not, you might fit the demographics of who they are looking for. . . . It’s a tragedy.”

Investigators said the Muro and Quintana cases illustrate this “tragedy.”

On April 1, Muro and a friend were walking to a market in Tustin when they were held up, allegedly by several gang members. One of the robbers fatally shot Muro before fleeing. Police and family members said Muro had no ties to gangs and was the victim of a random attack.

Then, early on the morning of April 11, Quintana and two other people were going to a store in Santa Ana when a gunman walked up to them and fired several shots. Quintana was killed. Police are investigating and have made no arrests. But they believe the killer is a gang member who mistook Quintana for a rival member.

Quintana worked as a grocery clerk at a Lucky supermarket and was described by friends and family members as a hard worker who cared deeply for his pregnant girlfriend.

“He was very happy about raising a child,” said Daniel’s mother, Juana Quintana, 62. “He made a lot of plans to raise their baby. He was a good son and a very loving son. He was always there for us.”

Santa Ana, like other Orange County cities, has seen fewer and fewer such killings in recent years. The city recorded 41 gang homicides in 1994, compared with 15 last year. So far this year, the city recorded three gang killings.

Katie Parsons, the UCI researcher who complies the gang statistics, stressed that her data should be viewed in the context of the declining overall crime rate. The numbers don’t necessarily prove that bystanders now have a greater chance of becoming victims of violent gang crime.

Meeker, the UCI professor of law and society, agreed but called any increase potentially “disturbing.”

“You never like to see it go up,” he said. “If it continues, we definitely will have a problem.”

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Violence Spilling Outside Gangs

Although crime is down overall, within the realm of gang violence the percentage of non-gang victims has risen.

Gang Violence Victims

*--*

Rival Innocent/ gang unintended Unknown member person relationship 1996 16% 59% 25% 1997 13 65 22 1998* 12 70 19

*--*

* January through June

More than half of gang violent acts in 1997 involved with vandalism and graffiti or robbery:

1997

Vandalism/graffiti 32%

Robbery 23

Felonious assault 11

Weapons law violation 12

Misdemeanor assault/battery 5

Burglary 4

Assault/battery-police officer 3

All others 10

Source: UCI Focused Research Group on Orange County Street Gangs