Gang activity on the decline in Othello

OTHELLO — While there have been high-profile incidents and arrests within the last year, gang activity in Othello seems to be decreasing.

“I don’t want to say our gang problem has gone away, but we’ve seen a decrease recently,” said Othello Police Department Detective Steven Perez. “We used to meet once a month with the (Othello) School District, however, the last six months or so I think we had about two (meetings).”

A 16-year-old Quincy girl was killed in what officers said was a gang-related shooting in October 2022. Justin Gonzalez-Luna, 18, pleaded guilty in September to second-degree murder and second-degree assault in relation to the case. A 50-year-old man was shot and killed in the Othello area in June 2022, although not in the city limits. Adams County Sheriff Dale Wagner said that murder too was gang-related. Arturo Pineda-Feliciano, 16 at the time of the shooting, has been sentenced in the case.

Othello Police Chief Dave Rehaume declined to give specifics on gangs in Othello but said that they are generally associated with F-13 and F-14. Both have what he called “very long roots” in Othello, having been active in town since the 1950s, he said.

Rehaume said the murders in 2022 weren’t really typical of gang activity in Othello.

“I would say the sporadic gang violence we’re experiencing is being perpetrated by a small number of citizens in our jurisdiction that are gang active and affiliated. And we rely upon intelligence-led policing to identify those people,” Rehaume said.

Monitoring the issue

Keeping track of gang activity, and identifying who’s doing what and where, is part of the job for Perez and Sergeant-Detective Brent McFarlane. They also work with the OPD’s school resource officers, Sergeant Aaron Garza and Officer Fernando Lopez.

The key, Rehaume said, is for officers to know the community, and for community members to know their neighborhoods, so law enforcement can be proactive rather than reactive.

“It begins with our school resource program. We utilize their expertise by developing relationships with students and trying to influence them in the right direction,” Rehaume said. “As far as where the gang influence is coming from, they have a lot of information as far as which direction of the state that we’re seeing, and the ebb and flow.”

McFarlane said OSD administrators and the police department work together to identify students who may be actively involved in a gang, or who may be at risk. Amy Parris, OSD director of student services, said that cooperation has helped as the OSD works to combat potential gang activity at school and activity involving students.

In a relatively small town like Othello, a few people can have an outsize impact on gang activity and crime in general, the officers said.

“Especially in small communities, putting a few — not just gang members — putting a few career criminals away can change the dynamic of crime in the city,” Perez said.

McFarlane said that change isn’t always permanent.

“You put a couple of gang-involved guys in prison, that makes a big difference. But eventually most of the time those guys get out of prison,” McFarlane said.

Gangs are broken up into lots of smaller subsets of larger gangs, Perez said. As a result, gang intervention in Othello may not have much effect in neighboring communities.

“Now that particular subset of a gang has no leadership, so they’ve kind of lost their direction,” Perez said. “Where an additional subset (in another community) could be an entirely different subset that does have an established leadership structure. It’s based on leadership.”

An effective leader, in a gang as elsewhere, could make the gang look more attractive. Younger potential recruits into a gang, or younger gang members, are influenced by the older members, Perez said.

Ounce of prevention

Residents of a community also play an important role in combating gang activity. Sometimes it’s as simple as a security camera — Rehaume said the proliferation of home security systems has made a difference in identifying perpetrators.

“And the community trusting us enough to disclose their security camera information,” Rehaume said.

Perez said in his experience, sometimes people just get tired of disorder.

“Once a community gets to that point where they’re fed up, they do call us more,” he said.

Where the sight of a bunch of people dressed in similar colors might have been ignored, once they reach a tipping point people start calling the police, he said.

“It may not be a crime but it diverts our attention that way, and if we’re seen, they know we’re seeing them,” Perez said. “So that’s another way we can act as a deterrent, is help from the community.”

People should call the police if they see unusual activity in their neighborhood, the officers said. Residents know who should and shouldn’t be in their neighborhood, whereas law enforcement officers don’t. Reporting incidents can stop trouble before it happens. Perez used the example of a developing fight.

“If there’s about to be a fight in the park and one of us drives by, that fight is going to go on hold,” Perez said.

That type of deterrent is what law enforcement refers to as displacement, Rehaume said. Those committing illegal acts obviously don’t want to do them in front of officers, so the presence of law enforcement can defuse the situation.

“Displacement works,” Rehaume said.

When there is unusual activity, people should get details and then report it, the officers said.

“How I put it is, be a good witness,” McFarlane said. “Get relevant information.”

License numbers are relevant, he said, and so is unusual activity around a house, or unfamiliar people in a neighborhood.

Officers warned that residents shouldn’t intervene directly, because that can put them in serious danger or make the problem worse than it is.

“Don’t interject yourself into what’s going on,” Perez said.

“Juveniles about to fight, there’s no point in a civilian jumping in to separate it. Just step back and make the call. Just tell us what they’re seeing,” McFarlane said.

“And call for the little things. The 3 a.m., ‘Somebody’s in my alley.’ We will respond to that,” Rehaume said.