The Long Beach Police Department continued to take a hard line against threats of witness intimidation Thursday with the arrests of five people who allegedly threatened to kill witnesses and their families in a high-profile gang murder case.
Jurors in the case of Eric Benites and Jason Trejo, two local teens accused of killing a 16-year-old Long Beach youth in 2008 and trying to kill three others, have heard from two witnesses that they were the victims of intimidation and threats from the defendants' gang when word spread that they had talked to police.
One witness was threatened at the courthouse during a lunch break by a relative of Benites' on the first day of trial last week.
The other witness testified this week that she was threatened after the preliminary hearing and before the trial. She also admitted she lied on the stand about being relocated by police because she didn't want the defendants' and their fellow gang members to know she was moving.
The current murder case -- which is still in trial -- is by no means the only incident in which intimidation has threatened to derail investigations and prosecutions, police said Thursday.
"It's not a one time incident," Police Chief Jim McDonnell said. "There's a lot going on behind the scenes."
McDonnell said Long Beach is much like any urban city struggling with gang issues. Though recent reports of intimidation in court cases have been in the public spotlight lately the problem has always been there when dealing with gang crimes.
"I think you have a couple of cases here that are good examples of why the gang culture has proliferated the way it has," the chief said. "The strength of gangs is due to their ability to intimidate citizens ... only by the intimidation factor can they continue to do what they want without regard for safety or lives."
One such recent case that shed light on the problem includes another high profile murder case of two other two gang members -- Tom Love Vinson and Daivion Davis -- charged with the shooting death a 16-year-old Wilson High honor student Melody Ross.
It was during Vinson's and Davis' preliminary hearing when police moved quickly to arrest two girls, one 16 and the other 17, after the girls threatened the prime witness in Ross's murder while inside the courthouse and later at school.
The suspects in that case were not identified because they are minors, though one is a relative of one of the defendants. They both pleaded guilty in juvenile court last May to the charge and were sentenced to 30 days house arrest and to remain on probation until they are 21.
They also will have a felony strike on their records that will remain after they turn 18, according to court authorities.
The police chief and members of his force vowed then to deal aggressively with any issues of intimidation, a message police officials issued again Thursday with the arrests of the five suspects tied to intimidation of witnesses in the Benites and Trejo case.
Those arrested are:
Efren Flores, 19, Long Beach
Jose Garcia, 19, Long Beach
Jorge Gomez, 32, Long Beach
Jesus Perez, 21, Long Beach
and Bernardo Villareal, 19, Long Beach.
Flores has also been charged with a 2009 murder and attempted murder -- also allegedly committed for the benefit of his gang but not related to the Benites and Trejo case -- Cox said.
All five people were involved in more than one instance of intimidation, Cox said.
Cox said detectives in his detail began working the intimidation case after witnesses testified in Benites' and Trejo's trial last week and this week about incidents that have left them fearing for their lives and the lives of their families.
The lieutenant said his investigators launched the investigations after court hours and worked late into the evening to put the case together.
The detail takes the threats seriously because it can destroy a case, Cox said.
"You have to have people who are able to go up on the stand and who are willing to tell the truth," Cox said. "You won't have that if people are being intimidated and if it's allowed to happen. That's why we will always aggressively go after anyone, and we have gone after people, for witness intimidation."
A big part of that pledge to go after those who seek to intimidate witnesses entails the police department's efforts to expand its technical capabilities, including the installation of CCTV cameras in some of the city's "hottest spots," for crimes, the chief noted.
"Because you can't intimidate a camera," he said.
In addition, the department is looking at better ways to use the Internet to tap into computers across the city, both public and private, to gain a better awareness of what criminal elements are up to, and may be planning, and investigators are looking at video evidence tied to many modern day crimes, McDonnell said.
Despite the recent arrests, however, the issue of gangs and crime in Long Beach is improving, the chief said.
While Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced that city's eighth straight year of crime reductions Thursday, Chief McDonnell said Long Beach is also showing vast improvements, including a 9.9 percent drop in overall crime for the first half of 2010.
Violent crime dropped 7 percent in that same time frame and property crime fell by 8.9 percent, the chief said.
While homicides were up four percent last year, this year has seen a 25 percent decrease, McDonnell added.
"All in all, we're looking surprisingly good considering all of the issues we're dealing with due to the economy," McDonnell said.
The chief added that residents can expect to see more actions like the warrants served Thursday.
And though some authorities in the city shied from publicizing sensitive witness intimidation cases in the past, most notably in the Bixby Halloween beating case, McDonnell said under his guidance the police department will not only pursue such crimes but will be open about it.
"I don't know how it was handled before, but I feel it's better that we be transparent, it is what it is, and we be aggressive about dealing with it," the chief said. "This was a good operation this morning and there are a lot more to come."
Jurors in the case of Eric Benites and Jason Trejo, two local teens accused of killing a 16-year-old Long Beach youth in 2008 and trying to kill three others, have heard from two witnesses that they were the victims of intimidation and threats from the defendants' gang when word spread that they had talked to police.
One witness was threatened at the courthouse during a lunch break by a relative of Benites' on the first day of trial last week.
The other witness testified this week that she was threatened after the preliminary hearing and before the trial. She also admitted she lied on the stand about being relocated by police because she didn't want the defendants' and their fellow gang members to know she was moving.
The current murder case -- which is still in trial -- is by no means the only incident in which intimidation has threatened to derail investigations and prosecutions, police said Thursday.
"It's not a one time incident," Police Chief Jim McDonnell said. "There's a lot going on behind the scenes."
McDonnell said Long Beach is much like any urban city struggling with gang issues. Though recent reports of intimidation in court cases have been in the public spotlight lately the problem has always been there when dealing with gang crimes.
"I think you have a couple of cases here that are good examples of why the gang culture has proliferated the way it has," the chief said. "The strength of gangs is due to their ability to intimidate citizens ... only by the intimidation factor can they continue to do what they want without regard for safety or lives."
One such recent case that shed light on the problem includes another high profile murder case of two other two gang members -- Tom Love Vinson and Daivion Davis -- charged with the shooting death a 16-year-old Wilson High honor student Melody Ross.
It was during Vinson's and Davis' preliminary hearing when police moved quickly to arrest two girls, one 16 and the other 17, after the girls threatened the prime witness in Ross's murder while inside the courthouse and later at school.
The suspects in that case were not identified because they are minors, though one is a relative of one of the defendants. They both pleaded guilty in juvenile court last May to the charge and were sentenced to 30 days house arrest and to remain on probation until they are 21.
They also will have a felony strike on their records that will remain after they turn 18, according to court authorities.
The police chief and members of his force vowed then to deal aggressively with any issues of intimidation, a message police officials issued again Thursday with the arrests of the five suspects tied to intimidation of witnesses in the Benites and Trejo case.
Those arrested are:
Efren Flores, 19, Long Beach
Jose Garcia, 19, Long Beach
Jorge Gomez, 32, Long Beach
Jesus Perez, 21, Long Beach
and Bernardo Villareal, 19, Long Beach.
Flores has also been charged with a 2009 murder and attempted murder -- also allegedly committed for the benefit of his gang but not related to the Benites and Trejo case -- Cox said.
All five people were involved in more than one instance of intimidation, Cox said.
Cox said detectives in his detail began working the intimidation case after witnesses testified in Benites' and Trejo's trial last week and this week about incidents that have left them fearing for their lives and the lives of their families.
The lieutenant said his investigators launched the investigations after court hours and worked late into the evening to put the case together.
The detail takes the threats seriously because it can destroy a case, Cox said.
"You have to have people who are able to go up on the stand and who are willing to tell the truth," Cox said. "You won't have that if people are being intimidated and if it's allowed to happen. That's why we will always aggressively go after anyone, and we have gone after people, for witness intimidation."
A big part of that pledge to go after those who seek to intimidate witnesses entails the police department's efforts to expand its technical capabilities, including the installation of CCTV cameras in some of the city's "hottest spots," for crimes, the chief noted.
"Because you can't intimidate a camera," he said.
In addition, the department is looking at better ways to use the Internet to tap into computers across the city, both public and private, to gain a better awareness of what criminal elements are up to, and may be planning, and investigators are looking at video evidence tied to many modern day crimes, McDonnell said.
Despite the recent arrests, however, the issue of gangs and crime in Long Beach is improving, the chief said.
While Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced that city's eighth straight year of crime reductions Thursday, Chief McDonnell said Long Beach is also showing vast improvements, including a 9.9 percent drop in overall crime for the first half of 2010.
Violent crime dropped 7 percent in that same time frame and property crime fell by 8.9 percent, the chief said.
While homicides were up four percent last year, this year has seen a 25 percent decrease, McDonnell added.
"All in all, we're looking surprisingly good considering all of the issues we're dealing with due to the economy," McDonnell said.
The chief added that residents can expect to see more actions like the warrants served Thursday.
And though some authorities in the city shied from publicizing sensitive witness intimidation cases in the past, most notably in the Bixby Halloween beating case, McDonnell said under his guidance the police department will not only pursue such crimes but will be open about it.
"I don't know how it was handled before, but I feel it's better that we be transparent, it is what it is, and we be aggressive about dealing with it," the chief said. "This was a good operation this morning and there are a lot more to come."
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