RSSThe innocent are caught in the line of fire
Yakima Herald-Republic
E-mail
Print
Comments
Recent Yakima Valley shootings
More 'Local'
- Forum will focus on developmental disabilities
- Friendly 'surgeons' will mend dolls, stuffed animals
- Toys for Tots collection begins
- Mattawa man injured in rollover
- Memorial held for slain Seattle officer
- Wapato council says no to only applicant for open seat
- State agencies sign water quality roadmap
YAKIMA, Wash. -- Twice in less than a week, gang violence in Yakima has injured the innocent.
It's all part of a spike that's been going on for more than a month now.
The latest attack happened Sunday when a 23-year-old Michigan woman was hit in the leg by a stray bullet while visiting her grandmother with her husband and two boys.
The shooting came just six days after a 13-year-old girl who lived two blocks down the same street in north-central Yakima was seriously injured by gang gunfire.
Since April, there have been at least nine gang shootings in the Yakima Valley, including an incident last month in Yakima that claimed the life of a 20-year-old man and another shooting in Grandview in which authorities estimate as many as 25 shots were exchanged.
Police acknowledge that while gang violence has a tendency to rise and fall, injury to bystanders is relatively rare in the Yakima Valley.
"It's disturbing and unusual," said Capt. Greg Copeland, "but we just don't know for sure if there's any kind of connection right now."
The first shooting happened June 1 when a 13-year-old girl was hit in the abdomen when bullets were fired into her home in the 1100 block of Roosevelt Avenue. The girl remains hospitalized.
To date, police have not identified suspects in the case. Detectives have said the girl's family was not involved in gangs, and the motive behind the attack remains unclear.
Police and witnesses said Sunday's shooting happened about 2:20 p.m. when a young man later identified as a known gang member opened fire on a group of youths lounging in the back yard of a home in the 1300 block of Roosevelt Avenue.
Also in the back yard next door was Marie Richmond, a 23-year-old mother of two from Lansing, Mich., who had arrived by train from Pasco only hours earlier to visit her grandmother, Darlene Duffey.
According to family members, Richmond was having a cigarette out back -- her grandmother doesn't allow smoking in the house -- when a bullet tore through her right leg above the knee, nicking an artery.
Richmond was rushed to a hospital in Yakima and then transferred to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle, where she remained Monday in serious condition.
Police have since identified the gunman as 18-year-old Jesus G. Cazarez, who remained at large as of Monday evening. He is wanted for suspicion of first-degree assault and attempted murder.
Richmond's father, Edward Duffey, said he heard the gunfire and then heard his daughter screaming that she'd been shot.
"I've never seen that much blood in my life," Duffey said. "I mean, it was shooting out both sides of her leg."
Darlene Duffey said she's lived in the same modest little house on Roosevelt for close to 50 years and has been saddened to witness the neighborhood's gradual decline.
Like other neighborhoods in north-central and northeast Yakima -- the areas hardest hit by gang crime -- the condition of homes vary from house to house.
Half appear well tended, with yards mowed and flowers in bloom. The other half are blown out, with weeds and garbage lining the homefront.
"It was never like this when my kids were growing up," Duffey said. "Now it's not safe for their children."
According to police, the youths next door are either in a gang or "gang-affiliated." Duffey said she's seen the boys next door grow up over the years and is all too aware of their gang connections.
About a year and a half ago, the police arrested five or six youths behind the house, she said. Another time, she watched some kind of organized beating that was being videotaped by someone in the group.
"It kind of bothers me," she said, "but I never had any problem with them."
Her son, a pool installer who works for The Clover Leaf company in Union Gap, said he once spoke to one of the boys about how the young man's car window got blown out. This was about a year ago.
"He said somebody took a shot at him," Edward Duffey said. "I said, 'Don't you want to get away from that? You're having a baby.' You'd think that would make them think, but it didn't seem to faze him at all."
An older woman who lives nearby said she's seen the neighborhood going downhill too and is now too afraid to talk to most of her neighbors, many of whom are renters who don't stay long.
The woman, who didn't want to be named, said she's seen groups of 20 or 30 youths and young men fighting in the street. Although none of her children lives with her, she takes care of her grandchildren during the day and tries to keep the gates closed to keep the stray dogs that roam the neighborhood out of her yard.
She heard the shots Sunday and was immediately reminded of the attack six days earlier two blocks down the street. The neighborhood, she said, is a disaster.
"I don't want to get involved," she said in Spanish. "If I need something (like an egg or flour), I'd rather not ask."
Alex Santillanes, an expert on gangs whose intervention program known as Barrios Unidos lost its funding earlier this year, said many victims and witnesses of gang crime are too afraid to cooperate because they fear retaliation.
He said there has been a notable increase in infighting among gang members right now, which is consistent with police accounts that the fatal shooting of a Yakima gang member last month was perpetrated by a man from the same gang.
Santillanes said he is convinced that better communication with the city's large Latino population and a renewed emphasis on intervention is the only way to combat gangs.
"People are talking," he said, "but the focus on getting the whole community involved isn't there."
Mayor Dave Edler said he was aware of the uptick in violence and feels frustrated at the seeming intractability of the gang problem.
He noted Yakima's leading role in the passage of new gang legislation last year and the efforts of the new Violent Crimes Task Force in tracking gang crime across jurisdictional lines.
The community group Citizens for Safe Communities, which helped lobby the Legislature to pass the gang bill and strengthen the penalties for eluding police, has begun focusing almost exclusively on gang crime, he said.
Yakima is still trying to live down its reputation as a drug trafficking hub, and gang crime has long been a problem.
"It's something that's become more the norm in our culture, driven by social issues we don't understand," Edler said, adding, "Clearly we've got more work to do."
* Chris Bristol can be reached at 577-7748 or at cbristol@yakimaherald.com.
I for one am sick of all the gang crap going on in this neighborhood. I have seen firsthand a side that i never thought i would and i am not letting anyone try to intimidate me anymore. It is time we all no matter the race stand up strong together and take our neighborhoods back. I believe all this could have been prevented had the consequences for these kids actions been alot more serious like boot camp or something. As long as we all continue to let them get away with this stuff it will continue and it will escalate. By taking away funding for anything that might help prevent or stop this stuff all it does it make the matter worse. Enough is enough!!!!!! How many more innocent people are going to get hurt before this town sees how big the problem is. It can no longer be swept under the rug. We need a solution to all this before it gets alot worse.
Report Violation(This comment has been removed by a Yakima Herald-Republic moderator)
Foolmeonce, said straight out as it should be allowed to be said without the "word police" interfering and charging you with a "hate crime" or something. There is actually some truth to what you say, probably related to cultural factors, NOT race. But only a few understand the difference and will take exception.
As to a reason that may make this city realize that there is an impact to our local pocketbooks other than graffiti, crime, and personal safety, how about the impact on tourism - a subject dear to the hearts of our City Fathers lately? Here, a lady from Michigan gets shot while visiting. I can hear it now, when she goes home and tells her friends NOT to visit Yakimexico - it isn't safe there. They can't control their gang problem because they are all buffaloed by the ACLU and the race-card activists into not calling it what it is. What a bunch of hypocrites! Get a backbone and wake up.
Street gangs are nothing more than bullies. And I was taught that the only way to deal with a bully was to walk up to him and punch him in the mouth... Regardless of race, it's time to take our neighborhoods back. This has gone on too long.
Report ViolationIt is time to take OUR neighborhoods back - how do WE do that? Really - how do we do that? I would appreciate hearing some well thought out, doable solutions here. I've just been trying to reason through the problem and the only practical solution I can come up with is people stepping up and reporting suspicious behavior and insisting on intervention. If the police indicate they can't do anything unless a law has been broken, take it to the City Council. If we don't report crimes and suspicious behavior, nothing will ever change. It's not good enough to talk to your neighbor about how horrible things are and it's totally stupid and dangerous to walk up to a ganger and punch them in the face.
Report ViolationWays of ridding gangs.
1. Stores won't sell them jack. If stores don't sell them food, and other items they will move to some where that does. This worked in a town in Arizona, I believe.
2. Neighborhood watch groups. Seattle last year got sick of all the drug dealers, prostitutes and gangsters last year. People wore orange vests and patrolled the streets from 11pm-4am consistently. The Seattle police did not condone this stategie, but ultimately had unit cars ready if anything broke out.
3. Getting gangsters of welfare. Washington has the MOST lax welfare system in the country. There is supposedly a 5 year max, which always gets extended. Drop it down to a 2 year and the gangsters will move back to California.
4. Put up cameras on N. 6th ST and N. 7 St. where most of them live.
Time for a surge of our own. To our elected officials, if you want the businesses to start suffering from income loss just sit there on your kiesters. It's time we quit worrying about G-strings and get with the program. Zais and the boys need to get tough. Tell the ACLU to stick it where the sun don't shine, it's our city not theirs. I for one would support paying a little more in taxes to defend ourselves in court. Start rounding theses turds up and send them packin and if they return tell them they'll end up as a mound out in the desert. Thats how Vegas does it. Ever notice any gang members hanging out on the strip in Vegas? Guys, it's time for a gut check... It's time for Yakganistan to take back their city.
Report ViolationThe Center for Immigration Studies reported recently,” the
growth of gang activity is directly related to the growth of illegal immigration. In fact, the most rapidly-expanding gangs are primarily immigrant-based. Up to 90 percent of some gang membership is illegal alien. Many gangs are already playing pivotal roles alongside drug cartels, in some cases acting as frontline offense as they make their way into the United States. The bottom line is that the United States cannot stop the spread of dangerous gangs into our neighborhoods without addressing immigration. More
enforcement and state/local cooperation with federal agencies is imperative. Conversely, anything that amounts to an “amnesty” would only benefit the gangs and facilitate more crime."
But somehow our politicians ignore this and continue attempting to provide more "magnets" to attract illegal immigrants, like the amnesty "comprehensive" bill, the DREAM act, non-enactment of E-Verify while providing lavish benefits for those who do arrive. And then they consider those who react to the crime and costs as "anti-immigrant."
I am also sick and tired of this crap making news daily, but THIS CRAP IS NOT IN MY HERITAGE OR CULTURE. Ask any Mexican if its in their culter and you will hear the same setiments of the law abiding citizents of yakima. Gangsters are looked down on and seen as trash the last time I was in Mexico. This is a social problem that plaques every culter and race that faces inpoverished conditions.Coupled with lack of education and no family values and this is what you get. Just the other day a car full of cuacasion kids, some with bandanas covering there faces, were throwing their gang signs and even followed me for a few blocks to make sure I seen them. With no clear respect for my 6 month old in the back seat and my girl friend who was frightend. but just goes to show that its not just Mexicans. We need to look beyond colors and race and realize the true root of the problem or else we will never get anywere.
Report ViolationI believe the Yakima Herald and the City council needs to lock their doors and focus on the more important issues such as the Mocha Stand dress codes, etc.... The gang bangers are there due to the State Legislators, who could care less, judges and police, whose hands are tied by the legislators. The ACLU is a large part of the problem as well. Try to pass a law or enforce a law who comes out to help the guilty? ACLU. I recommend that every citizen who feels threatened go out and practice your 2nd Amendment right and learn how to properly use a firearm, and more importantly, only if you feel you could actually use a firearm. Do not be the unarmed person in a gunfight.
Report ViolationI am disappointed in how Yakima county has deteriorated since I last lived there back in 2002. Gang related crime could be significantly reduced by inhibiting the game of politics.
When there are people of the community the create ideas to arresting the process of gang violence, a few issues always develop:
1. The idea promotes racism.
2. Police are not doing enough.
3. Police are doing too much.
4. Teachers need to act more like parents than educators.
5. Why must parents put in the effort to discipline their children?
6. Every publication and idea will suffer from the lack of being politically correct.
What cultural understanding? Parents need to be more proactive in enforcing and instilling positive values, morals and appropriate discipline to their children. Many parents of cultural backgrounds from several Asian countries teach their children the value of education and the rights of their wrongs. Parents need to take responsibility of their children. But I guess that what teachers are for and I suppose if we keep calling each other racists, this will go away. Lets look at the minority-majority demographic. I see a pattern. I may be considered a racist for this comment but at least, I care enough for EVERYBODY to deserve to live without gang violence.
I'd like to hear the ideas of some candidates. What is Ben Soria's vision for the gangs? I'd like to hear Sonia Rodriguez express a view on anything (searching YHR, she's never gone on record, even during her re-election announcement). YHR and Mayor Redler are quick to tout her ethnicity "In the process she became Yakima’s first Latino on the council. It wasn’t a sheer coincidence — Mayor Dave Edler made no bones about his desire for ethnic diversity on the council." So what does that get us?
We have a latino Police Chief who was hired after two searches. The first search produced a white guy from the real Palm Springs. Gangs have grown, violence has exploded and chaos has erupted in the YPD ranks during Chief Granato's tenure. At least he's had a lot of fun while racking up the lawsuits that WE have to pay off.
The City Council should fire Dick Zais and seek the dismissal of the police and fire chiefs. There is a lot we can do to quickly silence the gangs. The best solutions usually don't cost much. Close a city park with an already closed pool and turn it into a gang detention facility. Pick up all the gang bangers for existing warrants or minor violations, YPD has a database and knows who they are. Round 'em up!
Don't you just love the First Amendment.
Thank you YHR for taking out the part of my comment saying "that it is too darn bad that such a few gives so many of a GOOD,HARD WORKING,DECENT PEOPLE such a black eye".
And don't even bother to call me a racist,both of my son-in-laws,and some cousins are part of the good,hard working,decent part of the people I refer to as Mexican.
My x-wife is Latino but from a different part of the culture,making my children half Latino.
But the YHR is more afraid to offend the local LA Raza(The Race) chapter than to have some people call a horse a horse,when it is very obvious a horse.
And yes,(ForYourInfo),there are definitely gangs and such of all races and colors.
Some of the people on these boards want their
"good citizen" gang to obliterate the "bad A$$,chicken do-do,punk"gangs. So there you go.
As far as jails and prisons go.This country already spends more on jails and prisons than we do on education.
And it hasn't helped a darn bit.
So stutter and stammer,jump up and down,stomp your feet in rage,call each other names,because nothing will ever change.
Problem is thats not all you said. If I remember right you stated that its in the hispanic culter and heritage.
You cant justify an offensive comment just becuase you were once married to a "latino" or have family that are half or this or that.
Regardless of that spat, I do agree building more jails is not the solution. Jails are nothing more than a learning ground for criminals to pick up new trades and make partners in crime. Its so easy to say lock em up for ever and this and that, but that will never solve this problem.
WELL FIR$T OF ALL YOU ALL ARE NOTHING BUT A BUNCH OF JOKE$ RUNNING YOUR GUMS WHITE PEOPLE ACT LIKE THEY DONT HAVE GANG$ LOOK AT THE KKK''$ ARIAN NATION AND ALL THO$E OTHER RACI$T GANG$ YOU WHITE PEOPLE HAVE $O DONT TRY TO $IT HERE AND JUDGE ME OR FOR THAT MATTER ALL OF U$ $O THINK ABOUT THAT DONT $IT HERE AND TRY TO $AY $TUFF ABOUT U$ AND FYI AND FOR A FACT THE BIGGE$T GANG IN YAKIMA I$ THE YPD AND GANG ENFORCEMENT THEY ARE CROOKED COP$ THAT HARRA$H U$ FOR NO RE$ON WELL ALRATOZ VATO$ NORTENO$ 21 VE CE VE VARRIO XX1 509 YAKTOWN WASHINGTON
Report ViolationEXCUSE ME NORTENO21,
BUT WHOSE FAULT IS IT THAT THE YPD IS CORRUPT? MAYBE YOUR FELLOW CHOLOS WHO OFFER THEM BRIBES TO LOOK THE OTHER WAY??? I DON'T DOUBT THAT THERE IS CORRUPTION AMONG YPD, AS I'M SURE THERE IS IN ALMOST ALL POLICE DEPARTMENTS IN AMERICA, AND DON'T GET ME WRONG I AM NOT A FAN OF THE POLICE BUT DON'T YOU DARE CALL THEM A GANG!!!! DO THEY HARASS OR SHOOT INNOCENT PEOPLE WHILE COMMITTING CRIMES?? NO! AND YOU MAY SIT THERE AND SAY THAT YOU ARE INNOCENT, BUT YOU ARE NOT. YOU ARE DETERIORATING A CITY THAT HAS POTENTIAL TO BE A GREAT PLACE. HERE YOU ARE, TEARING AT THE SEAMS OF A COMMUNITY THAT WOULD LIKE TO OFFER YOU A CHANCE TO BETTER YOURSELF BUT YOU WON'T. YOU CALL YOURSELF INNOCENT, YET YOU RECRUIT YOUNG BOYS AND GIRLS INTO YOUR POISON AND ROB THEM OF THEIR FUTURE. YOU CALL YOURSELF INNOCENT, YET IN THE PAST TWO WEEKS, TWO YOUNG TEEN GIRLS WERE ACCIDENTALLY SHOT IN THE NAME OF SURENOS OR NORTENOS OR WHATEVER THE @#$%. I DON'T CARE IF YOU WEREN'T INVOLVED AT ALL IN THOSE SHOOTINGS. THOSE WOUNDS ARE YOUR FAULT. I DON'T CARE WHAT COLOR YOUR BANDANA IS. IF YOU WEAR ONE, YOU ARE NOT INNOCENT. QUIT LYING TO YOURSELF ABOUT THAT, MAN. I SUGGEST YOU LOOK HARD WITHIN AND REALLY TAKE A LOOK AT WHAT YOUR ACTIONS ARE CAUSING. I MEAN, THE RIPPLE EFFECT, MAN. YOU MAY HAVE NEVER YOURSELF SHOT A GUN---BUT-- BY HANGING AROUND AND DEFENDING YOUR CLIQUE YOU ARE THE PROBLEM, NOT THE INNOCENT BYSTANDER BEING HARRASSED BY CROOKED COPS. LIKE I TOLD YOU LAST TIME, YOU ARE JUST PERPETUATING A STEREOTYPE AND FUELING THE FIRE IN THIS RACISM TALK. PICK UP A GOD DAM BOOK AND READ SOMETHING! WOULDN'T YOU RATHER BE A HERO TO YOUR COMMUNITY THAN A VILLAIN? LIKE CRAIG'S DAD SAYS IN THE MOVIE FRIDAY. " A GUN DON'T MAKE YOU A MAN." AND FOR THAT MATTER, NEITHER DOES A GANG, DUDE. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, THINK ABOUT THAT @#$%. FOR THE SAKE OF OUR COMMUNITY'S FUTURE AND YOUR OWN.
YakRob...
I agree...find doable solutions.
There are many things each resident can do...keep porch lights on at night... have a active block watch in place....call police immediately when gangs of youth gather together in one area, or just passing through your neighborhood...ask the police to beef up patrol in the area and if you don't see police patrolling more often call in and INSIST they be a more present. The squeeky wheel gets fixed first, so keep calling as many times as needed to get the police to respond. Also have good conversations with your neighbors and make sure everyone is on the same page in your thinking process. Man...it's a creepy situation, but doing nothing but yammering about it won't get things done. Just my opinion, for what it's worth.
(This comment has been removed by a Yakima Herald-Republic moderator)
Norteno has a point....there are other gangs of other colors....Aryan Brotherhood, KKK, skinheads (nazi white supremists); Hell's Angels; Nazi Lowriders; the bloods, the crips....
American street gangs are reported to have gotten their start after the Revolutionary War in 1783. They were known as Smith’s Vly gang, the Bowery Boys, the Broadway Boys, the Long Bridge Boys & the Fly Boys. The first three were white & the last two were African-American. These gang members were in their early teens & twenties, they were not all from the poorer classes, nor were they necessarily criminals.
By the mid 1920’s there were 1313 gangs in Chicago, with more than 25,000 members. Gang warfare in Chicago was widespread. Many of the gangs had no noticeable cultural or ethnic ties & consisted mostly of white gang members.
The 1920s & 1930s also saw a rise in Hispanic or Chicano (Mexican-American) gangs in Los Angeles. By the 1940s Chicano gangs had established their place in Los Angeles, their zoot suits, a style of dress incorporating tapered pants, long wide-shoulder coats & broad-brimmed hats, had become a familiar sight. Fighting back against harassment from white residents & soldiers during the so-called zoot suit riots in 1943 strengthened their cause & gang membership grew.
It was not until the late 1960s when the Crips & Bloods--the two most violent & criminally active African American gangs--originated. The Crips originated in southeast Los Angeles where they terrorized local neighborhoods & schools with assaults & strong-arm robberies. They quickly developed a reputation for being the most brutal & feared gang in the Los Angeles area.
I agree, something needs to be done to stop the violence and innocent people getting shot and killed..all this hate & racism is not helping, infact, it might even be adding fuel. Latino's were not the first 'gangs' in the U.S.
THANK YOU SEE WHITE PEOPLE STARTED THIS HATE WERE NOT THE CAUSE SO THINK ABOUT THAT WELL ALL U GUYS KNOW THE TRUTH DEEP DOWN IN SIDE THAT ITS NOT US WERE JUST TRYING TO DEFEND ARE SELFS FROM PEOPLE LIKE U GUYS THAT TRY TO DISCRIMINATE AGAINST US
Report ViolationNORTENO21VCV...
I find it interesting that you read the on-line paper and also take the time to voice your comments. Doesn't seem like something a gang person would much be interested in....
hmmmmm...I'm thinkin there may be more to you than you want people to know. The more you participate here the less scary you seem, and actually, I'd rather have you reading the paper and commenting here all day long if it keeps you off the streets...this is wayyy more constructive...don't ya think? The feedback here can be brutal at times, but not as brutal as a bullet. Think about it....and keep reading and writing.
Norteno21vcv,
Oh gracias mi amigo,that must be why you shoot little girls and innocent people visiting from out of town.That must be why you shoot other people of your own ethnicity because
your defending yourselves from being discriminated against by whites.
That must be why you protect your "hood" from other
"boy's clubs" such as the $ureno'$.
What do you think,ForYourLife,do you agree with that way of thinking??
Opps,I'm sorry.
the preceding question was for ForYourInfo,not ForYourLife.
but anyone may answere
I have a feeling you been fooled more than once as your judgment needs adjustment.
Now what would even prompt you to think I would agree with that load of crap. Keep showing your ingnorance buddy.
I believe racial tension only adds fuel to their cuase of distruction. Not saying thats why there is gangs in yakima but this display of hate only adds to the fire. I dont buy into norteno's reasoning, YOU ARE NOT THE VICTIMS, you do not have to denfend your self from anyone but your own distructiveness. Get a clue, get an education and get a dam job. Last time I checked being in any Yakima gang doesn't pay a dime.
Lets be real here... Yes their are other gangs from other cultures, but it is obvious that the gangs here are from the Mexican Culture. I don't see KKK rallies or anything of that nature. As for racism, you can only play that card for so long till it gets played out. If that is the only justification you have, then you don't have much. Are opinions are locally based from what we see and hear. So let's stay focused here.
OK Norteno21 we will give you one chance. What are some good things gangs do for our community?
Because that is the real issue here, everyone black, mexican and white person wants a safe community for us and our children. And it has been proven that gangs destroy that dream.
Job security for everyone in law enforcment!
Report Violation
Posting Guidelines - Updated Aug. 21 2009
Readers are encouraged to use these forums to discuss issues affecting the
Yakima Valley. Debate the ideas presented in stories and other comments, but
refrain from personal attacks and offensive remarks aimed at others; e.g.,
you may call an idea idiotic, but don't say the person is an idiot. The
Herald-Republic reserves the right to remove any comment for any reason.
Examples include material that is obscene, encourages illegal activity or
stereotypes based on race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs and
other factors. Continued violation of these guidelines can lead to
suspension or revocation of your ability to post comments. If you believe a
comment is inappropriate, you can bring it to our attention by clicking the
"report violation" link by each comment. Guidelines revised Aug. 21, 2009.
Registered User?
