Gang Investigations Detail tracks and documents gang members in the City and around the county in order to stay current on local gang trends. They are charged with investigating all criminal gang activities and submitting cases directly to the District Attorney’s Office for vertical prosecution. The detail also uses preventative measures; these would include presentations to members of the community on gangs and gang violence.
The Gang Investigations Detail is also responsible for the management of Oxnard’s two civil injunctions against the Colonia Chiques gang and the Southside Chiques gang. This management includes preparing and delivering considerable testimony in gang-related prosecutions. Gang Investigators are also tasked with providing gang awareness presentations to other law enforcement agencies as well as local community and nonprofit organizations. In 2013, they provided 40 gang awareness presentations to various community groups and schools.
In November of 2013, a gang member shot at a rival gang member and fled the scene. A witness obtained a detailed description of the suspect vehicle with a partial license plate number. As police were investigating the shooting, a security guard at the other end of the City called in a suspicious vehicle parked in a no parking zone. That suspicious vehicle matched the suspect vehicle description including the partial license plate. VCU investigators were called to the scene and conducted background investigation on the vehicle and the registered owner. The owner of the vehicle was found to be a documented gang member and a rival to the shooting victim. VCU investigators authored a search warrant for the suspect’s residence and located two guns. The suspect is currently wanted for the shooting and a warrant has been issued for his arrest.