Weekend gang sweep nets 24 arrests

BARSTOW • Law enforcement agencies from around the county helped the Barstow Police Department make 24 arrests during a sweep Friday.

Around 80 officers and deputies from several agencies in San Bernardino County participated in a sweep that targeted gang members and other high risk criminals in Barstow, according to Lt. Albert Ramirez of the Barstow Police Department.

The officers that participated in the sweep are part of the county’s SMASH — San Bernardino County Movement Against Street Hoodlums — program. Ramirez said the program is funded through grants, but the Barstow Police Department pays for its own officers’ overtime. The department had 10 officers involved in the sweep.

The officers operated from the California National Guard Armory, but they operated from Lenwood to East Main Street.

Officers discovered a 41-plant marijuana grow when they attempted to serve a warrant at a house on the 400 block of McBroom Avenue. Sgt. Andy Espinoza Sr. said the target of the warrant was not at the residence. Brian Depue and Joelle Depue were arrested on suspicion of cultivating marijuana plants and possession of marijuana for sale at the house.

A San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department inmate transportation bus was on scene at the armory and served as a holding tank as people were brought in. Ramirez said they were later transported to West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga.

Although the sweep netted more than 20 arrests, it is far less than the 60 that were made during last year’s SMASH sweep. Espinoza Sr. said he is unsure why there were fewer arrests, but speculated that a lower crime rate reduced arrests this year.

Espinoza Sr. said there was no further information on arrests made during the sweep available as of midnight Friday.

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(760) 256-4126 or dheldreth@desertdispatch.com