It turns out that the families of not one but TWO Santa Ana Council Members were targeted during the recent gang sweep in Santa Ana.
We all know by now that Councilwoman Michele Martinez’ brother, Pedro Franco, was one of those arrested during the sweep, for parole violations. But it turns out that the SAPD also targeted the family of Lisann Martinez, who is running against Councilwoman Claudia Alvarez.
What are the odds of the families of two City Council candidates’ being raided?
Here is what Lisann had to say about the raid on her mom’s house:
Michele’s brother is not the only one. They picked up one of my brothers in the morning at my mom’s house, and the SAPD went in a second time in the evening and ransacked her house a second time in one day and took my other brother. Him I can understand because his parole terms state that he is not to be at my mom’s house.
My mom mentioned to me that a police officer took money out of his wallet sneakily and put it in his pocket and he did not leave any type of receipts for what they took. His parole agent was not with them, I believe they have to be with the police in order to serve the warrant. Also there was no warrant shown to my brother when he opened the door. They had him, but they still ransacked the house. They should have just cuffed him and taken him away and only searched his room. I have not been able to contact a meta (parole agent) and I asked her to call me back as my mom is worried about him.
Lisann also spoke up at a recent City of Santa Ana EPIC/Gang Commission meeting, where many residents got up and talked about how their family members were treated and in many cases arrested for such minor violations as parking incorrectly.
I think we all want to clean up crime in our city. But do we want to violate civil rights in the process? The fact is, many decent people in our city have troubled relatives. Lisann and Michele are not alone in that regard. And while the bad guys deserve to be arrested, the good guys shouldn’t be abused in the process.
And you just have to wonder about the serendipity involved in targeting the families of two ladies who are opposing Council incumbents. It is just plain eerie.
We definitely need to take our city back from the criminals, but if we don’t do something to engage the people of our city, particularly the young people, we are going to have to keep on conducting these sweeps ad infinitum, and violating civil rights in the process. Is that really what we want for the City of Santa Ana?
Isn’t it about time for proactive leadership in our city? Haven’t we realized by now that reactive policing will never have more than a limited, short-term effect? Isn’t it interesting timing that the sweep would take place as election season starts – after years of ignoring the problem? And shouldn’t it bother us to see the families of those who are bravely taking on the Council candidates targeted by these sweeps?
Incidentally, when I paid for my campaign signs yesterday the printer sheepishly explained that he had to paint the front of his building white, obscuring the name of the business and its address, because his business had been completely tagged by graffiti. And he is located on Main, just north of MacArthur, mere blocks from a very nice business district. Crime has a vast effect on the Santa Ana business community too…
“And while the bad guys deserve to be arrested, the good guys shouldn’t be abused in the process.”
Give me a break. The bad guys hide amongst the good guys. That is S.O.P. for gang members.
The ONLY way to get the bad guys is to go in and root them out from where they live.
Sorry, that is just the way it is.
Only the neighborhood where the bad guys live was targeted. No individuals were targeted.
What are the cops supposed to do?
Art,
I do not believe that these folks were targeted for political reasons. In fact why would they go after Lisann Martinez’s family when that would give her more publicity than she will get for her entire campaign.
I agree that the SAPD should not violate the civil rights of folks, but we do not know for sure that they did. Also you must remember that many of these folks are violent criminals with a history of anti-social behavior.
Rather than condemning the SAPD for their actions we should be applauding them. Now that the stick has been used, lets hope the carrot is not far behind. You can clean things up all you want but unless you plant something in its wake the community will never flourish.
My, what fine upstanding families. Members on parole, in homes they are not supposed to be in, other family members (apparently mom and dad in the case of Lisann Martinez) tolerating parole violations in their home. Hope for creating a law abiding atmosphere in such a community? I have some swamp land in Florida —-. What a mess.
Art,
Your conspiracy theories are getting out of hand. As a neighbor I wanted to support you but these rants are making you seem paranoid and a little self absorbed.
The reason they got targeted is they were gang members or commited crimes and must face the consequences.
I think these raids are a great thing and more should happen along with ice raids along 4th street. Many residents are tired of paying for illegals and the flooding our schools with kids whose parents refuse to learn English. How do you help your kids with homework if you can’t speak English yourself? Therefore Santa Ana has some of the lowest test scores in the county.
Gentrification is the key to a beautiful Santa Ana.
Sean,
I agree that it is not likely that these families were targeted for political reasons – but it does look bad.
While it is true that the bad guys are, well, bad guys, the stories related at the EPIC meeting need to be examined thoroughly.
I am not condemning the SAPD – but I do wonder why they waited until 18 people were dead before they did this – and why the Pulido administration has been asleep at the wheel for so long.
I totally agree with your last comments. We need to plant some seeds of hope in these communities. I have proposed opening micro-libraries throughout our city. Why not get business groups like the Chamber, I mean Greater Santa Ana Business Alliance, involved in that effort?
We are $28 million in debt – but I firmly believe that we can pare down that debt – and we ought to invest in the Micro-Library concept sooner rather than later.
#1 and #3,
Truly our city has major issues – but if you ask most people in our town what they think of the gangs they don’t like them. Yet so many families have gang members in their midst.
We need to stop the gangs by keeping kids out of them! There is not much hope for the older vatos. They are lost and all we can do is arrest them and keep an eye on them. But we should not let more young people fall into this lifestyle.
Many of our inner city Little Leagues have trouble today because costs are so high. One thing we can do is to encourage our business community to underwrite more of these costs.
And, as I mentioned to Sean, we need to get going with the Micro-library concept.
Lastly, much of this is due to the poverty-stricken circumstances that these folks are mired in. But look at the SAUSD drop-out rate! It is a mess. Our problems in Santa Ana run deep – and it is not just the City Council that needs a makeover.
#4,
We know what doesn’t work – what has been tried for 20 years. All I am saying is that it is time for a new approach. We need to be one city – and we need to encourage hope in our inner city neighborhoods.
BTW, Thomas Gordon says 8 of those arrested during the sweep were ICE arrests. This underscores the fact that 90% of these bad guys are Americans! So beating up on immigrants is not the answer, is it?
Of course we need to arrest the bad guys, but again why has this not happened for the past 20 years? Why did they wait until now? Isn’t the timing odd? Pulido finally has real challengers and surprise – the cops start arresting the bad guys.
Racial politics have divided our city for too long. It is time to get everyone on the same page. We need to take this city back – and while arrests are a part of that, they are solutions to the symptoms, not to the disease.
Art:
I agree-I have seen this before.
Regarding the comments, it is astounding to read what is posted.
The question is how many parolees are living in Santa Ana. Was every parolee checked for their whereabouts? Why these 2? And at the expense of due process? Where was the level of contact between SAPD and the parole agents involved before the raids? Where are the parolees living?
DCR regs require that parolees be paroled to the communities they came from. So they are required to return to Santa Ana. SAPD nows where these folks are and where they are living.
How did SAPD know that this guy was at his mothers house? The SAPD crystal ball in Alvarez’ office-Since she is an ADA, is she accessing information from the state and feeding it to SAPD?
After all, she is an officer of the court.
Clownia, use the crystal ball in your office to find out when the next shootings and car jackings are to occur. After all, you are the one who stated that crime is down is Santa Ana. And it isnt per the State AGs office.
This sounds like actions instigated to make sure that statements previously made are now pointed to with the new public line being “See what we are doing-and we have always done this-but now the behavior of these folks is worse and we have to clamp down hard on them”.
To Sean:
“I agree that the SAPD should not violate the civil rights of folks,”-THE MODEL IS LA-LOOK AT WHAT THE CHIEF OF POLICE DID TO HIS SENIOR COMMANDERS FOR VIOLATING LAPD PROCEDURES.
“but we do not know for sure that they did.”
YOU NEED TO GET UP TO SPEED WITH THE REVIEW OF POLICE OPERATIONS UP AND DOWN THE STATE. SAN FRANCISCO HAS A HUGE PROBLEM WITH EXCESS FORCE COMPLAINTS. INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, THE COMPLAINTS INVOLVE THE SAME INDIVIDUALS OVER AND OVER.
WHAT IS THE LEVEL OF SUCH EXCESSIVE USE FORCE IN SANTA ANA? WHAT UNITS WERE INVOLVED IN THIS ACTION? WHAT OFFICERS? WHAT IS THEIR PAST HISTORY OF INVOLVEMENT IN SUCH ACTIONS?
“Also you must remember that many of these folks are violent criminals with a history of anti-social behavior.”
I AGREE THAT THESE INDIVIDUALS HAVE A PREVIOUS CRIMINAL HISTORY. THERE IS NO ARGUMENT. THEY WERE PAROLED FOR A REASON OR SEVERAL REASONS. AFTER HAVING SERVED SOME PERIOD OF INCARCERATION. WHAT IS THE PROBABLE CAUSE THAT WOULD WARRANT THIS EFFORT FOR THESE INDIVIDUALS? ARE YOU SAYING THAT PAST HISTORY AND PAROLE STATUS IS SUFFICIENT CAUSE FOR THIS SAPD ACTION? OR ARE YOU SAYING THAT THIS SAPD ACTION IS JUSTIFIED BECAUSE THERE WAS A PERCEIVED LEVEL OF INTERACTION INVOLVING ALL OF THESE INDIVIDUALS CONSPIRING WITH EACH OTHER TO COMMIT FURTHER ACTIONS? IF SO, WHERE IS THE PROBABLE CAUSE?
“Rather than condemning the SAPD for their actions we should be applauding them. Now that the stick has been used, lets hope the carrot is not far behind. You can clean things up all you want but unless you plant something in its wake the community will never flourish.”
WHAT HAS HAPPENED IS THAT THESE INDIVIDUALS, WHERE THERE IS A DIRECT VIOLATION OF PAROLE, AS IN THE ONE CASE CITED, WILL BE COMMITTED BACK TO STATE PRISON FOR A PAROLE VIOLATION. LEGISLATION THAT WILL CHANGE THIS-AS A RESULT OF CURRENT OVERCROWDED CONDITIONS-IS NOW IN PLAY. AN EXAMPLE OF THIS THINKING IS THE REDUCTION IN CYA FACILITIES AND THE PLACEMENT OF RESPONSIBILITY FOR THESE INDIVIDUALS ON LOCAL ENTITIES.
YOUR STATEMENTS ARE CLEAR: YOU ARE ACTING AS AN APOLOGIST FOR ALVAREZ. THIS IS A TEXT BOOK ACTION FROM POLITICAL SCIENCE 101-RIGHT OUT OF THE DAYS OF RICHARD J. DALY AND THE DALY MACHINE IN CHICAGO.
THIS ENTIRE ESCAPE REEKS TO HIGH HEAVEN. COMPARE HOW THIS IS HANDLED AND HOW BRATTEN CLEANED HOUSE.
THEN TELL ME WHICH PD IS BETTER RUN.
Lisann M. “Him I can understand because his parole terms state that he is not to be at my mom’s house.”
WHAT? What do you have to do, to have a parole condition, that forbids you to visit your mom?
This story begs a question of Lisann, who does she expect to represent if she is elected to Ward 5?
Its a shame that the new Sheriff in town can’t investigate the SAPD to see if they need to do things differently or if any laws were broken.
Heavy handed police actions may have been the old way of supressing gang activity but it is counter productive if you want to use a community policing approach.
What’s the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing again and again and expecting different results. Hello SAPD?
I hope there is never evidence that any of our politicians have directed the police against any citizens not engaged in criminal activity or directed gang activity against any citizen or business. Some of the allegations make it sound like it may be going on and if it is God help the person(s) proved to be so engaged. I can’t imagine an act more damaging to the city as a whole other than wholesale embezzlement.
Art, can’t the Catholic Church be prodded into taking a leadership role in working directly with residents on taking responsibiltiy for their families and community? Expecting government with its guns, badges, bureaucracy,funding contraints and politics to be able to sovle this social catastrophe seems to be unreasonable to me, whereas the Church should be able to motivate a change in values and behavior where it is needed, should it not? Great missed opportunity it seems to me.
Older Than,
I too think we need to have a more cooperative effort with the church-faith based if you will.
In my discussions with neighborhood leaders I have been told that way back when, SAPD would have an officer or two show up at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church who made themselves available to the residents after Mass. Much trust was was gained, as well as valuable intel.
This is no longer the case.
Isn’t this what community oriented policing is all about?
Everyone wants the gang problem to be solved, but no one likes it when it involves their own family members.
Parolees have no rights, they give them up when they commit a crime. Parolees are known to possess weapons and run from the police. Family members are known to hide their parolee family members.
Has anyone checked to see how many other parolees were arrested druign the sweep? Get real folks, you think the gang problem is going to go away by tippy toeing around it? Some feelings are gonna get hurt.
P.S. Lisann Martinez lost my vote
I agree with Sean!!!?
It must be a cold cold day in hell! Just kidding Sean.
My brother was at home having breakfast with my Mother looking at msnbc when there was a knock on the door. My brother opened the door and about 10-15 officers came filing through the door, one officer immediately hand cuffed him, searched his pocket and pulled his wallet out. His parole agent had just been to the house 2 days prior. If she thought that he was violating parole then why did she not call him into her office and violate him there? He was not absconding or hiding from her? Why did the police have to make such a big production out of it. Granted, they are just doing their job and I bet it cost a pretty penny too. But to take the easy out and go after every parolee, for non sense. My brother was violated for gang paraphernalia (T-Shirt) with the Exquisite Design Logo.
My second brother wife kicked him out of the house, he called his daughter to pick him up at my mothers house. My mother told him that he was not suppose to be there and they had just picked up his brother in the morning his daughter arrived and so did the police. Was her phone tapped? Who knows.
The several state agencies are looking for pay raises, and retirement packages they have to show that they are earning their money.
All I know is that both my brothers are sick. One has stomach cancer and the other was just released from the hospital with kidney problems and a feeding tube.
The State of California, and Santa Ana are in enough debt already do you think that we as tax payers want to have to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars a year to house parolees that are sick over frivolous violations like this? Why are they not as frivolous with money for the youth of Santa
Ana to keep them from getting into trouble.
I want to find a solution to the problems of gangs and violence. I want to stop this merry-go-round give our children a chance to grow and be good citizens.
Justanobody,
I want to be as honest and open as I can be, if I lost your vote that’s okay? Everybody has the right to vote for the best candidate. How can a person change the system unless he/she knows both sides of the coin. Only than can a true change take place in the City of Santa Ana. By including community leaders and faith based organizations in stead of excluding them.
We all want our children to grow up and become successful, in a Mother’s eyes our kids will always be our kids no matter how old they are, we will always have hope and dreams for them, to be self sufficient.
Lisann,
Please understand you have not lost my vote due to your brothers being on parole. Every family has members who choose the wrong path. I also appreciate your honesty, however your statements seem to be excusing your brothers’ actions and behaviors, and this caused me to divert my support of your candidacy.
Your brothers made poor choices and now they are paying the consquences, whether you think those consequences are fair or not. You may see their violations as minor, but they are on parole, this means they cannot make ANY mistakes, and this means they are searchable day or night and have no right to privacy. When sweeps are conducted, no one is given leniency, and all names are on the list, there is no picking and choosing, ie., “Johnny’s parole officer says he’s doing well, so we won’t knock on his door”.
People who commit crimes always forget how their actions will affect family members. They don’t think about the pain, emotional upheaval, embarrassment, and heartache they cause.
I agree with you that we need to spend police funding on reaching the young and creating better programs of diversion, but on the flip side, we want a better Santa Ana, and in order to do that, crime must be addressed. Crime cannot be tolerated at any level, from the broken window to the homicide. It requires a proactive as well as reactive approach, and unfortunately some of the good, and those trying to be good, get swept up with the bad.
You must look beyond your family, and remember the victim’s families of gang related violence.
I wish you the strengh and fortitude to weather this storm.