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Lawmen attack North County gang violence

September 9, 2011

Law enforcement personnel blanketed Paso Robles over the Labor Day weekend as authorities rolled out their “Safe Streets” campaign, making 35 arrests and issuing 30 traffic citations.

It was the first appearance of a joint agency force, officials of which announced its formation just last week, intended to confront a growing gang problem in the North County.

The “three days of directed enforcement” was a combined effort of the Paso Robles Police Department, San Luis Obispo County Sheriff’s Department, and County Probation, Lt. Ty Lewis said. Arrests were for narcotics, probation, and parole violations, arrest warrants, and numerous traffic violations.

Enforcement operations will continue “for an indefinite period of time,” Lewis said, noting the intent is to “leverage all law enforcement assets to address violent crime in the north county.”

The North County has been plagued over recent months by a surge in gang activity resulting in shooting and stabbing incidents. One victim of gunplay earlier this month remains in critical condition in a local hospital following an incident police believe may have been drug related.


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In reference to the graffiti showing up all over Paso that a commenter mentioned to me elsewhere… I think the last sentence is important for people to understand, to prevent the kind of strife that is already starting to occur.


If you don’t like graffiti, paint over it.. It’s a simple solution. The fact is that throughout recorded history, the underclasses have used graffiti to express themselves. It doesn’t matter whether it’s ignorant, or it’s offensive, it’s a fact, a reality, something you are not going to suddenly make go away. When they excavate Roman cities they find graffiti on the walls, and they find it quite informative.


If Paso wants to continue to grow as a cultural hub and enjoy the benefits that the wine producers bring to the economy, they are going to have to accept the presence of people who they do not understand, who are not like them, and may in fact, not even like them. Life has many paradoxes, it’s not simworld.


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rOy, mkaney and other doubters: do any of you live in Paso? Do you realize that it’s been turned into a Sanctuary City for illegals while Police Chief Lisa Solomon Chitty, the cops and city council have all turned a blind eye? Gangs, drugs, grafitti and increased crime are directly related to the increasing # of these ‘undocumented workers’ in our town. Locals are FED UP.


As for criticizing increased traffic stops as “profiling”, well heck YEAH! it’s about time!


Just leave the comfy SLO city limits and drive to Paso’s WalMart or Food4Less or Oak Park housing complex some evening around 7. You’ll see Lincoln Navigators crammed with 10+ people or older-model Honda accords crammed with 6 or 7 folks including babies and toddlers–no car seats necessary because Paso cops tend to give them a pass. If you’re hungry, just hang around a while and you’ll be approached by a non-English speaking someone who’s selling watermelons or homemade tamales. (No business license required)


Paso’s turning into a ghetto straight outta Tijuana and the non-Paso resident doubters on this chatboard complain “waaaa…it’s racial profiling….waaaa the brownshirts are coming!”


Well, if my husband & I snuck into Mexico illegally and I promptly popped out 2 or 3 anchor babies…then obtained free medical, free dental services, food, housing vouchers, not to mention free education for my kids… Local Mexican citizens would be outraged! Of course that ludicrous scenario would never happen because the Mexican government wouldn’t allow it. They send their poorest, most uneducated citizens North to Estados Unidos because they know that Sanctuary Cities like El Paso de Robles will take care of them there.


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I hate to tell ya this pasoparent, but from my perspective Paso has ALWAYS been ghetto. You may prefer WHITE ghetto (redneckville) over BROWN ghetto, and that may be a transition for you, but to me it’s 6 of one half dozen of another. That’s funny that you think Paso was some idealic bastion of country culture and morality at some point in the past. If anything Paso has been gentrified. Look around you, all that money you see pouring out of all those grapes, that was nothing 20 years ago.


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Oh this is rich…

Paso is not a ghetto but one of the most vibrant communities in the county.

Funny that you think that Paso Robles is any thing less than a bastion of country culture and morality

All you see is a hate filled half glass,when most of us in the north county find it’s darn near paradise and the glass is more than half filled…


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EXACTLY my man.. I’m trying to make that point that Paso was not always one of the most vibrant communities in the county, how could anyone say that it has gone downhill?! I was a little egregious in my wording, I apologize for that because I know it’s not a ghetto anymore. That’s one of the reasons why I find these views amusing. Actually that’s the only reason they amuse me, otherwise they really truly bother me.


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IMHO, Paso Robles has passed SLO in being “the” destination for travelers wordwide and very soon will overtake it for the most populous city. There are simply more and better destinations with little to no down side in Paso compared to any other community in the county. Now, if the gang problem is dealt with(and I for one think it is) Paso will continue to blossom…


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And by the way, I’m not “my man”…


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Sorry, chica. :)


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How old are You?


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Old enough to know better, you enough not to care. I think you just need to relax a little, get a sense of humor.


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Seriously, either you have not lived in Paso that long or you have a horrible memory of what Paso used to be like. I’m actually shocked to realize that there are people in Paso that think their town is going to hell because it’s some kind of sanctuary city for illegals, and of course gangs. You know that Mexicans are Catholic right? You they tend to hang out in large family groups, right? They do things like share big cars and houses because they are POOR!!!! They are willing to work all day for CRAP money! They are just trying to save up enough to pull their family out of DESTITUTION. I would HOPE you would do the same for yours, if you had no other options that you could see available. Even if the “local mexican citizens were outraged” You people are seriously sick. I can’t even believe that you actually wrote all of the things you said and you don’t think you’re a racist.


Do you even really know what a racist is? Look in the mirror, you are the definition. You are only seeing the world through your own eyes.


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I personally would rather live next door to a thousand Paso Robles rednecks than one illegal Mexican.


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The racist community is San Luis Obispo. They refuse to build their share of low cost housing projects (mandated by the state) because they don’t want people of poverty (including brown skinned illiterate Mexicans) living in their city. Meanwhile, their share of illegals and first generation kids and Hispanic gang activities are dumped on communities like Paso who do provide low cost housing. SLO is racist ,without saying a word, by the policies they have set up to keep poor people out of their city.


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You’re right, it is. I am definitely not trying to argue that it’s not. A large percentage of this county is racist.


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Oh and by the way, you should actually send the Mexicans in your community a thank you card. You see, some of those immigrants bring drugs across with them, and that has moved the manufacture of meth to Mexico.. because of that, you don’t have trailers blowing up all over town any more. LoL oh people have such short memories.


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What’s seems a little strange to me is we have a large group of law enforcement already here that is trained on gang intervention. That being our beloved Narcotics Task Force led by Rodney John. Now with the budget cuts from Sacramento, the NTF will most likely be disbanded by Jan 2012. Why, because they have wasted tax dollars and time trying to bust medical marijuana providers that sure seem to be the most ruthless group around. They could have been infiltrating gangs long ago but instead have wasted their time and our tax money messing with non-violent mmj people and the law we passed in 1996. They just don’t want to believe it so they continue to enforce their own brand of the law. This is a shame.


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