By Mary Shelton

Concerns and questions about a recent civil injunction filed by the Riverside County District Attorney's office against the Eastside Riva gang dominated a forum held in Riverside on Sept.6. 

The meeting, which took place at the Caesar Chavez Community Center in the heart of the Eastside attracted over 70 people who had many questions for the Riverside Police Department which sent representatives and the Riverside County District Attorney's office which did not.

The Riverside County District Attorney's office decided against sending a representative from its office to the meeting, citing security concerns in relation to a threat that was allegedly made against District Attorney Rod Pacheco through a classified advertisement in the Press Enterprise. 

Chief Russ Leach, who was joined by Asst. Chief John De La Rosa and Area Lt. Larry Gonzalez from the police department, told people that the injunction would serve as another enforcement tool in the department's arsenal.

Leach said that the intent of the injunction was not to hunt anybody down.

"Riverside isn't going to march rows and rows of police officers, line them up in riot gear and march them down University," Leach said.

Few people in the audience appeared to believe him. Many asked questions about its enforcement and why the city was not providing more gang intervention programs in the neighborhood.

"We're not the bad guys in the black hats," Leach said. "We're not going to tolerate 13 year olds being shot to death."

People in the audience continued to ask why there was not more funding of gang intervention and prevention programs as well as job training programs.

"We want to put our money into prevention," Leach said.

"When," several people in the audience said in unison.

Some individuals believed that the person who could best answer their questions was not present at the meeting.

"Rod Pacheco should be the one answering the questions," said Mary Figueroa, who chairs the Eastside Think Tank.

Figueroa urged Riverside County Supervisor Bob Buster, who was in attendance to talk to Pacheco.

"Bob Buster is Rod Pacheco's boss," Figueroa said, "After that threat, he showed up at the Corona Chamber of Commerce."

Buster told the audience he was greatly concerned about the injunction and had questions about it. So did many others in the audience given that the crime rate in the Eastside had decreased about 11 percent and there had not been a homicide linked to the Eastside Riva in over a year. Residents who attended said that many of the 114 people listed in the injunction as gang members were in prison or jail and some were no longer living in the area. Even though the injunction lists specific individuals, it is open-ended in terms of who the terms of it are applied against.

Riverside County Superior Court Judge Edward Webster is set to review the injunction on Sept. 14. Leach said that the judge can alter its language and that the current injunction is not necessarily the final product.

Several individuals said that they had received letters in the mail that their children had to register as gang members and that at least one person on the list had been fired from his job when he was served at his workplace. Rita Nieto, a member of the Eastside Think Tank said that a 200-paged document had been circulated with information about different individuals listed in the injunction. Leach denied that the department had circulated this information.

"I will look into our role," Leach said, "but I don't personally think we did anything."

What also bothered many residents was that Pacheco and representatives from the police department had held the press conference announcing the injunction at Patterson Park. Residents of the neighborhood and representatives of different city departments had worked hard to improve the safety of those who used the park over the past year, they said.

Woodie Rucker-Hughes, who is president of the Riverside chapter of the NAACP, said that the situation was a Black and Brown problem, that tensions between these racial groups needed to be addressed. She added that she had problems with an "injunction for life".

"Where's the redemption," Rucker-Hughes said, "They need jobs. They need skills. They need an opportunity to work without being harassed."

Other residents said that steps were necessary to take in addressing the problems with gangs.

"It's not fun marching to bury 12,13-year-olds," said Gloria Willis who ran for city council two year ago. Willis praised the work of the District Attorney's office. 

The same day as the forum, the man arrested in relation to the classified advertisement incident made an appearance in Riverside County Superior Court.

Chandler William Cardwell has been charged with several felony accounts including threatening a public official, making criminal threats, forgery and two weapons charges in connection to an incident where he allegedly placed a classified advertisement about a "blowout sale" in East Riverside with proceeds that would "benefit the Rod Pacheco memorial fund."

The advertisement included Pacheco's personal contact information including his address. If convicted of these charges and if the gang enhancements are found to be true, Cardwell could be sentenced up to 11 years in state prison, according to Deputy Attorney General Michael Murphy. His office is prosecuting the case because the District Attorney's office had to recuse itself because Pacheco is considered a victim.

Cardwell plead not guilty to the charges and denied the gang enhancements. Currently being held on $1 million bail, he awaits a bail hearing on Sept. 12. 

Murphy stood outside the courthouse after the brief hearing to address the media's questions.

"Obviously we feel we have plenty of evidence to support these charges," Murphy said, who has not yet talked to Riverside Police Department investigators about the case.

Murphy also explained that the gang enhancements did not require someone to actually be a gang member for a conviction but that the individual could be committing crimes to benefit a gang.

"He's not being charged as being a gang member," Murphy said.