Rival street gangs vandalize South Park neighborhood in Santa Rosa

A struggle for territory between rival gangs is behind a spate of vandalism in Santa Rosa’s South Park neighborhood, a trend police say could presage violence in an area which has seen a sharp decrease in gang activity in recent years.

A preschool building, fences, sidewalks, homes and cars around Martin Luther King Jr. Park have been tagged with spray-painted gang signs as a Roseland sureño street gang is trying to move into the area.

South Park had been dominated by a norteño street gang for more than a decade until a 2013 federal indictment by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in San Francisco took its leaders off the street.

Since then, gang activity has significantly decreased in the neighborhood, said Sgt. Tommy Isachsen, head of the Santa Rosa Police Department’s gang crimes team. “They basically became defunct. The leadership and the people recruiting went away.”

According to the indictment, there were around 90 active norteño members in 2013; eight were taken into federal custody for alleged racketeering, attempted murder, robbery and drug trafficking.

“Not everyone in the gang was arrested,” Isachsen said. “Now you’re seeing some fight back.”

While most of the conflict has taken the form of the rival gangs spraying over each other’s graffiti, there is fear that the turf battle in South Park could turn violent.

“We know that something is brewing,” Isachsen said. “It’s a big area of concern. Graffiti is a precursor to violence. It’s a nonviolent way to taunt a rival gang.”

No arrests have been made for the vandalism in South Park. The culprits are likely younger gang members “putting in work” to gain favor with their leaders, Isachsen said.

Outreach workers who specialize in connecting with young gang members and at-risk teens are also trying to intervene, said Gustavo Mendoza, program manager at California Youth Outreach.

“We’re actively seeking to engage them and give them other avenues,” Mendoza said. “But gang culture is so hush-hush it can be difficult.”

While Mendoza agreed with Isachsen that South Park is no longer a hotbed of gang activity and violence it once was, if the graffiti persists and sureños continue to move into South Park the threat of violence on the streets increases, he said.

“It’s only a matter of time before it stirs itself back up,” Mendoza said. “So we’re reaching out before violence strikes.”

You can reach Staff Writer Nick Rahaim at 707-521-5203 or nick.rahaim@pressdemocrat.com. ?On Twitter @nrahaim.