Officers saturate the streets in gang sweep

BARSTOW — By 7:20 p.m. on Friday night, officers from several different agencies had arrested 27 people during a citywide gang sweep.

About 78 officers from the 11 agencies involved in a High Desert gang task force flooded the streets of Barstow looking for weapons, drugs and evidence of gang activity.

They found methamphetamine, at least one stolen handgun and a number of people violating their parole terms in the course of the sweep, Barstow Sgt. Andy Espinoza, Sr., said.

At first the officers from various San Bernardino County police departments and sheriff stations targeted people with warrants, on parole, and on probation. The SMASH unit had a list of about 60 people on probation — 40 of them gang-involved — and 80 parolees to check on, as well as about 25 arrest warrants for crimes ranging from robbery to failure to appear in court. Later, they fanned out to check on any signs of suspicious activity throughout the city.

“It’s like saturating an entire area with police officers to get a zero tolerance on violations,” Espinoza said.

The officers conducting the sweep were part of the San Bernardino Movement Against Street Hoodlums (SMASH) Unit, a group of law enforcement officials who have undergone special training on dealing with gangs. Six of Barstow Police Department’s officers have undergone the training, Espinoza said. A total of 12 Barstow officers were on the streets Friday night. Officers from the Barstow California Highway Patrol station and Barstow sheriff’s station also participated.

The agencies participating in SMASH make a commitment to send officers to assist other agencies in periodic sweeps. The last SMASH sweep in Barstow was about six months ago, Espinoza said.

“We surprise them, show them that there’s more cops than there are bad guys,” Barstow Det. Keith Libby said.

Det. Adam Cortinas, who specializes in gang investigations, said Barstow’s gang activity mainly involves drugs and property crimes like burglary and vehicle theft. The turf battles typical of gangs in other cities have not occurred in Barstow, because many of the gangs have sprung up in the past five or 10 years and do not have established territory, he said.

Espinoza and Libby said an influx of gang members from San Bernardino, Los Angeles and elsewhere has increased Barstow’s gang problem. Like many others, the gang members are drawn by Barstow’s low cost of living, Libby said.

“In the old days, we knew who was who; we knew who was gang members,” Espinoza said. “... Now with people moving up from down below and down the hill, we don’t know who we’re talking to. It’s gotten out of hand — not out of control, but out of hand.”
Local residents had mixed reactions to the heavy influx of officers on the streets.

Tina and Tyrone Moore, who manage an apartment complex on Virginia Way, said they were happy to see the heightened enforcement.

“We need it more often,” Tina said, noting that she and her husband have made 88 calls to the police in a little more than a month for incidents at complex, many of which involved people who are not residents. “... We’re doing what we can to clean the place up.”

Tyrone said, “We have too much crime in Barstow, too many gang members.”

Peach Miller, who watched as officers lined up a group of about a dozen teenagers on the sidewalk on Collins Court, had a different take on the situation. Barstow Officer Roy Williamson said the boys had been fighting in the street and started running when they saw the police.
Miller said the police overreacted.

“Nothing happened,” she said. “They’re just kids.”

Except for one young man who ran into an unknown house to escape the police and was arrested on suspicion of burglary, all the boys were released.

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