ANTI-GANG EFFORT PAYS OFF IN COURT WITH STIFF SENTENCE.Byline: Charles F. Bostwick Daily News Staff Writer The first gang member sentenced under a 3-month-old anti-gang-violence effort got a prison term at least four years longer than he would have received under normal conditions
Eighteen-year-old Jimmy Carter, who officials said had an extensive criminal record as a juvenile, pleaded guilty to armed robbery for holding up a liquor store and was sentenced to nine years in state prison. ``There was no plea bargain plea bargain n. in criminal procedure, a negotiation between the defendant and his attorney on one side and the prosecutor on the other, in which the defendant agrees to plead "guilty" or "no contest" to some crimes, in return for reduction of the severity of the . He threw himself on the mercy of the court,'' Deputy District Attorney Pete Bliss said. ``I think this type of case normally would have been pled for significantly less, probably two to five years in state prison, so the grant is already working.'' Carter's case is one of 10 cases that Bliss has taken since the start of the Gang Violence Suppression program under a three-year $1.5 million grant from the state Office of Criminal Justice Planning. The other cases include three attempted murders, a carjacking The criminal taking of a motor vehicle from its driver by force, violence, or intimidation. The u.s. justice department categorizes the crime of carjacking as a "completed or attempted Robbery of a motor vehicle by a stranger and kidnapping, and robberies. Focused on curbing violent street crime, the grant pays for Bliss to spend all his time prosecuting serious gang crimes in Lancaster, and for the full-time services of a sergeant for the six-person Lancaster sheriff's station gang detail and of a county probation officer probation officer n. 1. An official usually attached to a juvenile court and charged with the care of juvenile delinquents. 2. An official charged with supervising convicts at large on suspended sentence or probation. specializing in gang members. Through the Antelope Valley Union High School District The Antelope Valley Union High School District (A.V.U.H.S.D.) is located in the Antelope Valley area of California, in northern Los Angeles County. The district includes eight public high schools, one trade school, and two continuation high schools in the cities of Palmdale and the United Community Action Network, the grant also pays for education and counseling to help identify gang members or potential gang members and encourage them to change their direction. ``GVS (Global VideoPhone Standard) The technology behind AT&T's VideoPhones. GVS transmits at 10 frames per second, a third the rate of regular TV. The GVS technology is licensed to other manufacturers. makes things hot here for gang members,'' said Lancaster Mayor Frank Roberts, whose city administers the grant. The grant means Bliss is working on 10 or 15 cases at a time - handling them from start to finish, instead of cases going from prosecutor to prosecutor for different stages of the criminal justice process. Deputy Probation Officer Janice Jones has 35 to 50 gang members to supervise, instead of the normal 200 to 300 probationers. ``It gives that ability to focus on a limited caseload case·load n. The number of cases handled in a given period, as by an attorney or by a clinic or social services agency. caseload Noun , which very few other deputy district attorneys DEPUTY DISTRICT ATTORNEYS. The Act of Congress of March 3, 1815, 2 Story L. U. S. 1530, authorizes and directs the district attorneys of the United States to appoint by warrant, an attorney as their substitute or deputy in all cases when necessary to sue or prosecute for the United in our office have the opportunity to do,'' Bliss said. The grant also provided training in applying special sections of California law that provide longer sentences for gang members. Bliss and Jones work out an office in the Lancaster sheriff's station to improve communication and coordination between them and gang deputies. The commander of the Lancaster sheriff's station, Michael Aranda, said the program is a team effort. ``When I worked East L.A. on gang detail 20 years ago, we complained the deputies no sooner got done with their reports than the juvenile - the arrestee ARRESTEE, law of Scotland. He in whose hands a debt, or property in his possession, has been arrested by a regular arrestment. If, in contempt of the arrestment, he shall make payment of the sum, or deliver the goods arrested to the common debtor, he is not only liable criminally for - is back out on the street,'' Aranda said. ``Times have changed.'' GRANT SPENDING Breakdown of first-year spending from a three-year $1.5 million state grant that financed Lancaster's Gang Violence Suppression program. Law enforcement: $160,000 Prosecution: $100,000 Probation: $100,000 Education: $52,000 Prevention: $90,000 SOURCE: Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department This article is about the Los Angeles County Sherriff's Department, not to be confused with the smaller Los Angeles County Police The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD) is a local law enforcement agency that serves Los Angeles County, California. CAPTION(S): Box BOX: GRANT SPENDING (See text) |
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