More than 50 shootings have rocked Santa Ana so far this year. Local Police Chief Carlos Rojas says there is a “surge in brazen, gang-related crime.”
On Wednesday, gang member Carlos Michael Rodriguez opened fire at patrolling officers injuring one. Rodriguez spent 8 years in jail for assaulting a police officer, and prosecutors said he used an automatic weapon in his latest attempt.
On Thursday, an unidentified man checked himself into a hospital with a gunshot wound. Later that day, officers fatally shot two of four suspects in a burglary including Jose Manuel Quintanilla.
Violent crime in Santa Ana climbed by 29 percent with much of it driven by a 39 percent rise in aggravated assault, according to local police and the FBI.
Forty-one shootings occurred in January 2015, up from 24 in January 2014.
Chief Carlos Rojas cited Proposition 47 as a potential factor in the rise of crime. The measure passed in 2012 reclassifies some non-violent felonies as misdemeanors potentially leading to shortened jail sentences.
“We’re seeing more gang activity now, and I think a lot of that has to do with gang members being released into the community and more of a soft-on-crime approach,” Rojas said.
Police are also facing a shortage in man power due to a budget crisis in the 2009-10 fiscal year.
In 2013, the local SWAT team was disbanded.
The chief has openings in the department for 67 more officers.
The chief says the 13-member gang unit is “sufficient” in facing the 100 documented gangs in the city and their 4,500 members.
