DEADLY TURF WAR HEATS UP DRIVE-BY SHOTS KILL 2 IN VALLEY IN JUST 2 NIGHTS.Byline: Mariel Garza and Jason Kandel Staff Writers Gang-related violence has claimed the lives of 19 people in the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. this year - four this month alone - and police on Monday blamed rival gangs engaged in a turf war. In the latest incident, 20-year-old Aaron Alejandro ``Alex'' Flores Flores, town, Guatemala Flores (flōrəs), town (1990 est. pop. 2,200), capital of Petén department, N Guatemala. Flores was built on an island in the southern part of Lake Petén Itzá and on the site of the of Reseda was fatally shot Friday night in Winnetka by three men in a Jeep, apparently in retaliation RETALIATION. The act by which a nation or individual treats another in the same manner that the latter has treated them. For example, if a nation should lay a very heavy tariff on American goods, the United States would be justified in return in laying heavy duties on the manufactures and for the drive-by shooting drive-by shooting Public health A phenomenon in which one or more persons–commonly members of street gangs, open fire à la Al Capone from moving vehicles, often in retaliation for an alleged wrong-doing by a rival gang of 15-year-old Brandon Garmendez the night before. Police said rival gangs from Winnetka and Pacoima are fighting over territory as the Northeast Valley gang members try to move into the West Valley. Heightened tension among gang members, coupled with the failure of a decade-old gang truce, is being blamed for the upsurge. ``These are a couple of gangs we've been having problems with for the past year,'' said Detective Rick Swanston of the Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Police Department's West Valley Division. Swanston would not identify the Latino gangs involved, but did say they are not the ones subject to a court injunction that prohibits members of the Canoga Park Alabama Street gang from associating in public. The two homicides last week are just the latest in a rising tide Noun 1. rising tide - the occurrence of incoming water (between a low tide and the following high tide); "a tide in the affairs of men which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune" -Shakespeare flood tide, flood in the Valley. Total homicides in the Valley in the first quarter this year increased by more than 25 percent from the same period last year. And four of the seven people killed so far in April died in gang-related violence, officials said. ``Gang crime for years has been cyclical, and we're nowhere near the levels of gang violence we had in the early '90s,'' said Marty Vranicar, supervising attorney for the City Attorney's Office's Gang Unit. ``But one gang killing or one gang homicide is one too many. Certainly, it's not a trend we want to see continue.'' City officials are taking several approaches to fighting the increase. LAPD 1. LAPD - Link Access Procedure on the D channel. 2. LAPD - Los Angeles Police Department. Deputy Chief Ron Bergmann, who oversees Valley police, has created a coalition that brings community people together to develop programs to divert youths away from gangs, Vranicar said. In addition, officials continue to enforce the four gang injunctions A gang injunction is a court-issued restraining order prohibiting gang members from participating in certain activities. It is based on the legal theory that gang activity constitutes a public nuisance that prevents non-gang members from enjoying peace in their communities. in the Valley. Vranicar said ``injunctions continue to be a law enforcement tool we are going to use throughout the city and apply ... as needed as needed prn. See prn order. ,'' although he refused to say whether more would be sought in the Valley. City Councilman Dennis Zine said one of the factors contributing to the increase in gang violence is a shortage of uniformed officers on the street and of detectives working cases. ``They don't have sufficient resources,'' said Zine, a former LAPD sergeant. ``Clearly, the West Valley is underdeployed.'' Meanwhile, family members and friends of Garmendez paid tribute Monday afternoon with a makeshift memorial in front of 19950 Roscoe Blvd., where the teen-ager was fatally shot. ``He was a sweet, good kid,'' said friend Lorena Castro, 21. ``I still can't believe it happened. It still feels like I'm dreaming.'' Relatives were finalizing funeral arrangements with Brandon's uncle, Elmer Guzman, 33, who flew from his home in New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of to be with the grieving grieving Mourning, see there family. ``I'm still in shock,'' Guzman said. ``I can't sleep. It didn't seem like he'd get involved in anything (bad). He was a good kid.'' About a mile away, in the shade of an apartment building, family and friends set up a memorial to Flores that included the letters ``R.I.P.'' spray-painted in silver on the carport CARPORT Cardiology A clinical trial–Coronary Artery Restenosis Prevention on Repeated Thromboxane-Antagonism Study that evaluated thromboxane A2-receptor blockade in preventing restenosis after PCTA in Pts with CAD. walls. Javier Hernandez, 13, who lives in the apartment complex, said he rushed outside Friday night after he heard gunshots. ``I was crying,'' Javier said. He said Flores lived with a cousin in Reseda and was hanging out with friends at the Winnetka apartment complex when gunshots were fired. ``When I went over there, he was dead.'' Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer CAPTION(S): 4 photos, map Photo: (1 -- color) Friends stand by flowers in a Winnetka carport where Aaron Alejandro Flores, 20, of Reseda was gunned down Friday. (2) Elmer Guzman stands at a sidewalk memorial to his slain nephew Brandon Garmendez, 15. (3 -- 4) Photos at impromptu memorials show victims of drive-by gunfire in the Winnetka area last week. Aaron Alejandro ``Alex'' Flores, 20, left, was slain on Friday and Brandon Garmendez, 15, the previous night. Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer Map: Alabama Street gang boundaries |
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