San Jose police have arrested 12 alleged gang members suspected of committing a range of crimes, including attempted murder, armed robberies and assaults, the department announced Thursday.
The crimes, which also included possession of firearms and narcotics, were allegedly committed between the fall of 2022 and this month, police said.
Authorities served search warrants throughout San Jose and at one East Palo Alto location, arresting nine adults and three juveniles. The suspects were arrested for warrants and other "on-view offenses," police said.
Authorities found multiple firearms, ammunition, gang indicia, narcotics and evidence of other crimes at the locations, police said.
Neighbors of Plata Arroyo Park in San Jose, a popular summer spot for kids and teens, applauded the arrests.
“We want the kids to come and enjoy this. Learn how to work together, learn how to skate together. Learn how to play together. Enjoy the park. That’s what it’s here for,” said Danny Garza, president of the Plata Arroyo Neighborhood Association.
But Garza said all the fun stops after 2 p.m. That's when bad things begin to happen.
Local
“We’ve had fights, guns, knives,” said Garza.
He said the tagging on the skate park itself is indicative of who really runs the area.
Get a weekly recap of the latest San Francisco Bay Area housing news. Sign up for NBC Bay Area’s Housing Deconstructed newsletter.
So, he’s applauding the announcement from San Jose police.
“Patrol officers and special operations conducted a large-scale gang sweep, ultimately arresting 12 individuals, nine of those being adults,” said Steve Aponte of the San Jose Police Department.
The nine adult suspects were identified by police as Antonio Flores, Brian Yanez, Jonathan Bordeaux, Armando Gutierrez, Miguel Bracamontes, Gabriel Gogue, Angel Paez, Joshua Rios and Alex Nguyen. The three juvenile suspects were not identified.
The adults were booked into Santa Clara County Jail, police said. The juveniles were booked into Santa Clara County Juvenile Hall.
“Gang members target juveniles as early as 10 to 12 years of age, to indoctrinate them and bringing them into a gang,” said Aponte.
Police say the investigation started as a response to escalating gang activity across the city.
“We’re really super happy that that happened. The fact that they did due diligence and did a lot of investigation, that really helps,” said Garza.
Neighbors say they hope to get their park back, and not just for part of the day.
