Focus On West Fullerton - MONDAY at 6PM

Focus On West Fullerton

UPDATE - FPD Takes Down West Fullerton Tagger

FULLERTON - "On Friday evening our detectives arrested a subject who goes by the tag name of 'Saker'," said Capt. Dan Hughes. "[FPD] rolled back to his house and discovered the items in the attached photo." (see photo at left)

Hughes says he believes "Saker" is responsible for a large amount of graffiti in West Fullerton.

"He is associated with a tagging crew called Lost For Life Krew (LFLK). We have gathered additional suspect information."

This is the third arrest in as many weeks by FPD of suspected taggers who have caused thousands of dollars in damage to public and private property. 

FPD asks that if you see any crime being committed, including tagging, to call 911 immediately.  You can also report graffiti to the City's 24-hour Graffiti Hotline at (714) 738-3108.    You can also email GraffitiH@ci.fullerton.ca.us or enter a graffiti removal request here.

***UPDATE***

In an email from Captain Dan Hughes late Monday, he said the initiating officers are Detective James Bolden and Sergeant Jeff Stuart.  Bolden and Stuart are assigned to Fullerton's gang unit with Bolden also assigned to investigate tagging crimes in West Fullerton. 

The suspect whose moniker is "Saker" is a juvenile.  That means their name is not going to be released unless they are tried as an adult.

According to Hughes, Detective Bolden was patrolling in the area of Gilbert Park with Sergeant Jeff Stuart.

 

"They saw the 16 yr old juvenile," says Hughes "at Gilbert Park and were aware of him due to previous graffiti investigations."

Detectives located a graffiti instrument on him and arrested him.  

Hughes also said that, since the juvenile was on probation and subject to search and seizure, a search of his residence was conducted and the additional items in the photograph were located.  

Detectives believe that LFLK is a Fullerton based tagging crew with about 8 members.

The investigation is ongoing and Captain Hughes declined to comment further saying he didn't want to jeopardize the case. 

FPD Takes Down West Fullerton Tagger

FULLERTON - "On Friday evening our detectives arrested a subject who goes by the tag name of 'Saker'," said Capt. Dan Hughes. "[FPD] rolled back to his house and discovered the items in the attached photo." (see photo at left)

Hughes says he believes "Saker" is responsible for a large amount of graffiti in West Fullerton.

"He is associated with a tagging crew called Lost For Life Krew (LFLK). We have gathered additional suspect information."

This is the third arrest in as many weeks by FPD of suspected taggers who have caused thousands of dollars in damage to public and private property. 

FPD asks that if you see any crime being committed, including tagging, to call 911 immediately.  You can also report graffiti to the City's 24-hour Graffiti Hotline at (714) 738-3108.    You can also email GraffitiH@ci.fullerton.ca.us or enter a graffiti removal request here.

Focus On West Fullerton - Recap

At Wednesday's Focus On West Fullerton Community Dialogue in the new Library Conference Center I was asked by a City official why I didn't blog about these positive events.  I gave the official my blog address (GregSebourn.Blogspot.com) and said that I was pretty good about announcing these opportunities when they came up.

So, I figured a recap of the meeting was in order.

Some of the officials present included City Manager Joe Felz, Community Services Director Al Zelinka, Police Captain Dan Hughes, and Council Member Sharon Quirk-Silva.  Noticeably absent from the panel was Public Works Director Don Hoppe. 

Also present were various commissioners like my self. 

I attended the meeting acting in my official capacity as the Chair of your Citizen's Infrastructure Review Commission (CIRC).  I took notes and asked questions. 

The somewhat informal meeting kicked off at 6pm with about 40 people present.  City Manager Joe Felz spoke briefly and gave a general State of the City report.  Community Development director Al Zelinka acted as the facilitator.

The bulk of the meeting consisted of Captain Dan Hughes and questions by residents.  One of the single best things I heard was from Captain Hughes who told the audience, "Hold me accountable."

Some of the discussions included crime prevention, crime mapping, and how to deal with the police department effectively. 

Also, discussed were quallity of life issues like tagging.  Captain Hughes described a recent crackdown on taggers that used a number of plain-clothed officers from the patrol division.

If you have a Police Department issue, please use the following phone numbers:

Front Desk 714-738-6816

Dispatch 714-738-6800 (press zero)

Capt. Hughes 714-738-6840 

My short mention of the lengthy discussion doesn't do justice in describing the depth and breadth of Captain Hughes' nearly 2-hour attempt to inform the public.

Many residents complained of poor lighting, deteriorating roads, and "abandoned" buildings.

Some residents proposed turning the vacant Fullerton Dodge property at 1100 W. Orangethorpe into a park.  Many were concerned about too much high-density residential development on the west side. 

Many of the comments and questions pertaining to lighting and roads would have been best directed to Public Works Director Hoppe.  In his absence, the other officials made attempts to address the concerns.

The people speaking need to use a microphone.  A large number of the residents appeared to be senior citizens and many told me that it was very hard to hear.

City Manager Joe Felz explained that the City is looking at a shift in the use of Redevelopment Agency funds.  Felz explained that state law requires 20% of the funds be spent on affordable housing.  The remaining funds could be spent on infrastructure needs like roads and sidewalks.  He said there were a couple of pending law suits which would ultimately decide if the money could be used in such a manner. 

Those who know me also know how I feel about the Redevelopment Agency.  Since this post is specifically to address the meeting, I will refrain from expressing my opinion of the Fullerton Redevelopment Agency.

Lastly, and most importantly, the department heads (PD, Community Development, City Manager) are talking to one another.  They are attempting to reorganize a downsized City Hall and address the issues which many feel were ignored by their predecessors. 

I will give the Citizens Infrastructure Review Committee a brief report on the meeting to share the concerns brought forward by the public.  Tentatively, the next CIRC meeting is scheduled for November 14 at 4PM at City Hall.  The public is encouraged to attend and speak about infrastructure related issues or just listen. 

REMINDER - FOCUS ON WEST FULLERTON - TONIGHT

You’re invited to…

A Dialogue with
Fullerton City Manager Joe Felz

Fullerton Police Captain Dan Hughes

Fullerton Community Development Director Al Zelinka

And other members of your City of Fullerton team

TONIGHT!

WHY?
Over the next several months, meetings will be organized to facilitate dialogues between the Fullerton community and members of its City of Fullerton team.

The purpose of this planned meeting is to have a productive dialogue between West Fullerton community members and City staff about quality of life issues and explore approaches, ideas, and solutions related to them.

WHEN?
TONIGHT - Wednesday, November 2, 2011 – 6:00pm-8:00pm

WHERE?Fullerton Main Library – Conference Center
353 W. Commonwealth Ave. Fullerton, CA 92832

MORE INFORMATION…For more information, please contact Al Zelinka, Community Development Director for the City of Fullerton at 714-738-3347 or alz@ci.fullerton.ca.us.