Herrera files against notorius street gang

City Attorney Dennis Herrera
Photo(s) by Luke Thomas

By Brent Begin, Bay City News Service

October 23, 2006

SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) - San Francisco City Attorney Dennis Herrera hopes to free a community under siege from gang violence by convincing a judge next Monday to grant a civil injunction against a notorious street gang. Oakdale Mob, a 10-year-old criminal street gang, is believed to have played a part in at least 12 homicides in the last three years along with a laundry list of criminal activity from assaults to drug dealing, according to Herrera.

While other cities such as Los Angeles have used civil complaints to abate gang violence, this complaint for injunctive relief to abate a public nuisance is a first for San Francisco.

The injunction would turn a patch of land in the Bayview district - from Palou Avenue and Navy Road to Griffith and Ingalls streets - into a safety zone where police could arrest known Oakdale Mob gang members for infractions as minor as violating a 10 p.m. curfew or associating with other members.

According to Herrera, neighbors in the area deserve the added protection because their freedom is constantly threatened by the gang's intimidating methods.

"These citizens have a right to live without fear," the complaint reads. "They have the right to have the peaceful and quiet enjoyment of their community. Their children have the right to play in their own front yards and to ride their bikes down the sidewalk in front of their own homes without fear of harm from gang violence."

The injunction goes before Superior Court Judge Peter J. Busch on Oct. 30 in Room 301 of the San Francisco Superior Court Civic Center Courthouse at 400 McAllister St.

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