SMALL TOWN FACES BIG PROBLEMS CRIME CONCERN IN LAKE LOS ANGELES.

Byline: GIDEON RUBIN Staff Writer

LAKE LOS ANGELES -- It sits miles from nowhere amid barren desert, with humble one-story homes nestled around picturesque rock formations along the hillsides of the Lovejoy Buttes.

Lake Los Angeles, an unincorporated town of about 13,000 some 30 miles east of Antelope Valley city life, enjoys clean air and virtually no traffic. Many residents keep farm animals at their homes and allow pet cats and dogs to roam the streets freely.

In many ways though, Lake Los Angeles is full of contradictions. Despite it's small-town feel, the town is grappling with big-city problems, among them crime.

Originally slated to be a resort community built around a man-made lake when it was first built by developers in the 1960s, Lake Los Angeles is now among the Antelope Valley's least affluent areas.

The lake has long since been allowed to evaporate, as has the vision of the town becoming a vacation wonderland.

According to the most recent census in 2000, 19.7 percent of Lake Los Angeles families live below the poverty line -- nearly twice the percentage of Palmdale households (10.6) in that category.

And many residents are now concerned about the growing presence of gang activity and fearful that law enforcement lacks the resources to adequately serve their community. Others are equally mistrustful of law enforcement.

On Jan. 1, the body of Jasir Ayuso, a 25-year-old Latino man, was found stabbed and beaten at his home.

Neighbors say homicide investigators and sheriff's deputies swarmed the block the day the body was discovered, but they haven't seen any detectives visit the area since.

Los Angeles County homicide department Lt. Dan Rosenberg said detectives are actively investigating the case.

Neighbors say they have no evidence that would dispute Rosenberg's assertion but are skeptical about the ability of law enforcement to provide adequate services to such a remote area.

``You're lucky if you see a police car on this block once a year,'' said Chris, a neighbor of the victim who declined to give his last name.

``I wish there were more cops out here,'' Chris said. ``I can't pump gas out here without somebody trying to stare me down.''

Lancaster sheriff's Lt. Williams Hindman said the county is committed to providing Lake Los Angeles adequate public safety services, noting that it is one of the few towns in the county that has a full-time resident sheriff's deputy, and has at least two patrol cars servicing the area at all times.

Not all Lake Los Angeles residents are dissatisfied with the conditions.

Patti Greene, who heads a Neighborhood Watch group she started up about 10 years ago, said law enforcement officers have responded in a timely manner when she's complained about nuisances and stray animals.

``I know all my neighbors and we look out for each other,'' she said.

Lake Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce President Peter Cordova said response times are better in Lake Los Angeles than at his home in Palmdale.

Carol Helferich, a parks and recreation leader, said county Park Police have in recent weeks stepped up their efforts to rid Steve Sorensen Park -- a small park in the center of town named for a slain resident sheriff's deputy -- of graffiti, which has created a safer environment.

She said she's tried to reach out to gang members.

``It's their community, too,'' she said.

But others complain sheriff's deputies are often nonresponsive to complaints and aloof in their demeanor.

Longtime Lake Los Angeles resident Cheri Stout said law enforcement hasn't responded to the town's increased crime and gang activity.

``I've lived here 10 years, and I couldn't even tell you what one of them looks like,'' she said.

Stout said law enforcement failed to respond in a timely manner when she's complained of fistfights in the middle of her street and an apparently intoxicated man passed out on her lawn.

``I live here and I see it every day,'' she said. ``A lot of it doesn't even get reported. What's the point?''

A woman who wished to be identified only by her first name, Elizabeth, described law enforcement in the area as ``arrogant,'' and ``unapproachable.''

Elizabeth paints a picture of near anarchy in a community she lives in on the eastern fringe of Lake Los Angeles, where she hears yelling at all hours of the night and can smell noxious odors she believes emanate from makeshift labs where methamphetamine is produced.

She said chatter among neighbors insists that law enforcement is unwilling or unable to restore order.

``They know what's going on,'' she said. ``Either they're scared, or they're getting paid off.''

Hindman said he doesn't believe deputies are intimidated by criminals, and insists all law enforcement activity is subject to stringent review.

``We police ourselves,'' he insists.

Lancaster sheriff's Deputy Kelly Simon said the hiring of a full-time crime prevention officer for rural communities such as Lake Los Angeles -- a position he said will be filled in April -- will help bolster neighborhood watch groups many believe to be essential.

Greene believes residents need to be proactive to maintain the quality of life that attracted them to the area in the first place.

``This is one of those towns where there's no in between,'' Greene said. ``People either love it or they hate it, and I love it.''

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CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) The Antelope Valley Indian Museum, shown with mountains behind it, is on Avenue M in Lake Los Angeles.

(2 -- color) The lake in Lake Los Angeles has long since been allowed to evaporate.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer