Police Given Green Light To Enforce Indio ‘Safety Zone’

A judge in Indio ruled on Thursday morning that prosecutors can begin serving warrants to 125 people named in a gang injunction lawsuit designed to establish a 13.8-mile “safety zone” perimeter within the city.

Authorities say that area, roughly from Burr Street southeast to Highway 111 and Avenue 48, with Interstate 10 as the northern boundary and Avenue 48 as the southern extreme, is home to 17 schools and seven parks.

Thursday’s ruling comes on the heels of Tuesday’s military-style sweep involving about 1,000 local, state and federal law enforcement officers. It was said to be the biggest gang crackdown in Riverside County history.

In addition to the South Side Indio gang, the Campo and Jackson Terrace gangs were also targeted. Their histories go back decades.

Law enforcement officials estimate there are about 695 gang members in the city. They say those from North Side Indio, South Side Indio, Campo, Jackson Terrace, Penn West, Mecca Vineyards, Reservation Boys, Valle Coachella Rifa, 12th Street Mafia, Tre Nine, Four Trey and Barrio Dream Homes were either investigated or contacted by law enforcement during Operation Eastern Encore, as the sweep was dubbed.

City officials reject the characterization that gangs run Indio, especially given their relatively small number compared to the general population. But they also welcomed the show of force and the prospect of a gang- deterring injunction.

Similar injunctions were filed against the East Side Riva gang in Riverside in 2007, the Barrio Dream Homes gang in Cathedral City in 2008 and the West Drive Locos and True Crime Boys gangs in Desert Hot Springs in 2009.

Under the judge’s orders, known gang members in Indio are now under curfew in the “safety zone” from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m.

They will also be cited for possessing drugs or drug paraphernalia, trespassing, reckless or unlawful driving, giving false information to a law enforcement officer, intimidating or harassing anyone who lives, works or passes through the so-called safety zone, possessing a gun or illegal weapon, possessing graffiti or vandalism tools, loitering, uttering or flashing gang signs or wearing gang apparel.

According to the Riverside County District Attorney’s Office, the targeted gang members or associates have been responsible for a collective 518 crimes since 1998, including killings, drug sales and other felonies.