Police see surge in gang activity following deadly Ukiah shooting

Law enforcement officers in Mendocino County are battling a spike in gang activity and violence in the wake of a deadly shooting last month.

Officers from multiple police agencies in the county have been conducting patrols, making contact with gang members and conducting a probation sweep since the Oct. 9 death of Roman Elliott, 19.

Elliott was shot dead near a south Ukiah apartment complex where he often stayed. He died of multiple gunshot wounds in what police believe was a gang-related attack.

No suspects have been arrested, Ukiah Police Officer Chris Long said.

Gang activity - including assaults and graffiti - had been on the rise even before Elliott was killed, he said.

“Blues on red, that kind of stuff,” Long said of the assaults.

Since Elliott’s death, there have been several incidents of suspected gang crime and gatherings in the greater Ukiah area, according to Ukiah police and Mendocino County sheriff’s officials.

Those include a stabbing at the Grace Hudson soccer field in south Ukiah just before 9 p.m. on Oct. 25. The 18-year-old victim told sheriff’s deputies that two men who appeared to be between 18 and 20 years old asked him if he was a gang member because he was wearing a blue shirt.

The victim - who denied any gang affiliation - told police the men beat and stabbed him before he was able to break free and seek help.

Deputies a week ago broke up a gathering of suspected gang members near Lake Mendocino Drive and Eastside Calpella Road north of Ukiah, said sheriff’s Capt. Greg Van Patten.

The most recent suspected gang incident occurred early on Wednesday morning, when gunfire erupted outside an apartment north of Ukiah. Four people, including two young children, were in the apartment but no one was injured, sheriff’s officials said.

It’s unclear whether any of the recent incidents are related to Elliott’s death or could be retaliatory, Long said.

He said gang activity tends to go through surges and lulls. Statistics were not available.

Law enforcement’s efforts to control the recent spike include a sweep last week of gang members who are on probation.

Seven people were arrested, mostly for probation violations, including associating with known gang members.

One man, Javier Ramirez, 24, of Ukiah was arrested near Grace Hudson School on suspicion of possessing drug paraphernalia and an 18-inch machete, which he had concealed in his pants, Long said.

You can reach Staff Writer Glenda Anderson at 462-6473 or glenda.anderson@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MendoReporter