Santa Ana – The Orange County District Attorney’s Office has proactively filed a motion to dissolve 13 active gang injunctions against 317 individuals across Orange County from being restricted by the injunctions’ requirements, including associating with known gang members and wearing known gang clothing, in a specific area claimed by a criminal street gang. The injunctions were implemented between 2006 and January 2015.
Assembly Bill 333, enacted on January 1, 2022, significantly narrows what can be legally considered a “pattern of criminal gang activity” under Penal Code § 186.22 and changes the procedure for trial on gang enhancements, now requiring prosecutors to provide evidence of a pattern of criminal gang activity involving more than one gang member. At the time that each of the Orange County Gang Injunctions were signed by the Courts, a pattern of criminal gang activity by individuals could alone support a gang injunction.
The decision to dissolve the 13 gang injunctions was made after careful consultation with the Orange County Sheriff’s Department and the police chiefs of Anaheim, Garden Grove, Fullerton, Orange, and Santa Ana who patrol the previously enjoined gang territories, as well as members of the community. There has been no law enforcement objections to this action…