CA- Trial to decide Fairfield gang injunction
Trial to decide Fairfield gang injunction
By Brian Hamlin
A May trial date has been scheduled to determine if a preliminary injunction issued last year against the Norteño street gang in Fairfield should become permanent.
Solano County Superior Court Judge William C. Harrison on Wednesday set 10 a.m. May 11 for a court trial to rule on whether the injunction, aimed at curtailing the activities of the gang within a specified “safety zone” in Fairfield, should become permanent and if it should be altered in any way.
The court trial, which is conducted by a judge without a jury, is expected to last two days.
A request for the preliminary injunction was filed by the Solano County District Attorney’s Office on June 1 and subsequently approved in Superior Court.
The injunction prohibits gatherings of Norteño gang members and gang-related activities within a 4.2 mile area in central Fairfield, roughly bounded by Interstate 80, Air Base Parkway, Highway 12 and Sunset Avenue. In addition, it sets a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew for gang members.
Last year, Fairfield police reported that the Norteño gang was singled out because it was believed to be one of the largest and most violent gangs operating in Fairfield and had been linked to a host of serious crimes ranging from murder to extortion, drug-dealing and firearms’ violations.
Although the rival Sureños gang also operates in the Fairfield-Suisun area, no injunction has yet been sought against their membership as law enforcement authorities apparently have adopted a one-gang-at-a-time approach to the problem.
Two men identified in the injunction as Fairfield Norteño gang members — Mario Ernest Huezo and Lucio Gonzalez — have denied gang affiliation and have retained Point Richmond attorney Paul Feuerwerker to represent them in the matter.
