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| April 26, 1999 YAROSLAVSKY ANNOUNCES MAJOR CRACKDOWN ON MAR VISTA VIOLENT GANG ACTIVITY Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, joined by District Attorney Gil Garcetti, Councilmember Ruth Galanter, and City Attorney James Hahn, today announced a new crackdown on violent street gangs in the Mar Vista area of West Los Angeles, led by a court injunction to curtail activity by the notorious Culver City Boys. The injunction will establish a "Mar Vista Safety Zone" bordered by Venice Boulevard and Jefferson Boulevard on the north and south, and Sepulveda Boulevard and Centinela Avenue on the east and west. Within it, the 75 individuals subject to the injunction will be enjoined from a range of specified activities associated with potential criminal behavior. In addition, the individuals will be prohibited from driving together in the Oakwood area of Venice, bounded by Rose Avenue and Venice Boulevard on the north and south, and by Lincoln Boulevard and Pacific Avenue on the east and west. "This is part of our ongoing effort to take back our streets and permit law-abiding residents to once again walk without fear in their own communities," Yaroslavsky declared. "These gangs rule by intimidation, but we say today: Not in Mar Vista." The injunction was principally made possible through a federal Local Law Enforcement Block Grant allocation, which Yaroslavsky helped secure to fund the District Attorney’s participation. Noting that the injunction targets 75 of the most active and dangerous members, including 23 juveniles, Yaroslavsky said that the Culver City Boys are the most active gang on the West side, comprising some 300 members aged between 13 and 40, responsible for numerous drive-by shootings over the past 20 years. An entrenched presence in the LAPD’s Pacific Division for some 30 years , the Culver City Boys were responsible for the Thanksgiving 1993 firebombings of African-American families’ homes and cars, some but not all affiliated with the Venice Shoreline Crips. They are also known for continuing turf battles with neighboring gangs such as the Santa Monica 13, Helms-13, Venice Shoreline Crips, Venice-13 and Inglewood-13. Last fall, for example, a feud with the Santa Monica 13 resulted in eight shootings, including four fatalities and six injuries, in one three-week span alone. Another feud with the Inglewood 13 left LAPD Officer Brian Brown dead. Funding for the operation comes principally from a $43.1 million federal Local Law Enforcement Block Grant, secured in September 1997 and provided to the County and City of Los Angeles over the succeeding two-year period. Among the law enforcement activities it supports are cooperative anti-gang strategies including both tough street-level enforcement and early intervention programs; additional resources for the County’s jails and courts; and an innovative Superior Court-based Drug Court program utilizing intensive drug treatment services and rigorous court monitoring.
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