El Paso Times
TEXAS — It’s too bad that a procedural mistake by the county attorney led to the dismissal of a temporary restraining order against a couple of dozen alleged members of the Bloods street gang.
County Attorney José Rodríguez and his office should continue to go after the Bloods and any other gangs that pose a threat to El Paso. And it appears that will be the case, because the county attorney’s staff immediately requested a new temporary restraining order against 24 alleged Bloods members.
The original restraining order had forbidden Bloods members from being out late or gathering in parks or on streets anywhere in El Paso County. It’s a good idea.
Rodríguez has successfully used this tactic before. In 2003, he partnered with the El Paso Police Department by invoking the city’s first civil gang injunction. The injunction covered the Segundo Barrio and targeted the Aztecas.
Such an order provides some peace of mind and a measure of security for El Pasoans. It provides police with a handy tool to keep an eye on gangs and intervene when they break the order.
We hope Rodríguez pursues this strategy -- this time, of course, with every i dotted and t crossed. He will be working with the state attorney general’s office to get permission for the court to issue a new temporary restraining order.
Meanwhile, it was good to see some gang members get what they richly deserved.
On Monday, U.S. District Judge David Briones sentenced five members of the Barrio Azteca gang to life behind bars and an associate to 15 years.
Briones is to be commended for dealing the harsh sentences to the Barrio Azteca members, and the sentences drew praise from law enforcement and federal prosecutors.
This is the kind of tough sentencing that’s needed in such cases. Barrio Azteca is known as a prison-based gang, and was founded in the 1980s by El Paso inmates. According to an El Paso County Web site, “The Aztecas grew in numbers; they became involved in the now standard activities of prison gangs: narcotics, extortion, assaults, murders, theft and intimidation.
“The Aztecas recruit directly from the pool of street gang members who have been arrested or imprisoned; however, they also form alliances and intimidate various street-level gangs who have not progressed to the prison system.”
Justice and the public safety were well-served when Briones handed down those sentences.
Copyright 2009 El Paso Times, a MediaNews Group Newspaper