By Daily Press staff
PICO NEIGHBORHOOD — A Santa Monica man targeted by police last year for allegedly being connected with a rash of gang-related shootings was arrested here early Sunday morning for possession of a loaded handgun.
Richard C. DeLaCruz, 31, was arrested at about 3 a.m. after Santa Monica Police officers patrolling the area saw a group of men drinking in public in the 1900 block of 17th Street. When officers noticed DeLaCruz allegedly in possession of a handgun, they attempted to detain him, police said. That’s when he ran into a nearby home, police said.
Officers arrested DeLaCruz and a juvenile. DeLaCruz is currently being held at the Santa Monica Jail for possession of a firearm and violation of probation. He has no bail, police said. The juvenile was transported to a juvenile detention facility.
DeLaCruz was arrested by the SMPD last May after a SWAT team raided his apartment, as well as three others. Police at the time described DeLaCruz as a “subject of interest” in the rash of shootings that had occurred in the neighborhood in the month leading up to his arrest.
The raids netted several arrests and officers recovered weapons they believed were related to the gang-related shootings. DeLaCruz was arrested and charged with probation violation after police found evidence in his apartment that allegedly linked him to the shootings. It’s unknown if he was convicted of any charges.
Known as the Pico neighborhood and considered part of the city’s east side, it has been plagued with gang violence and drug dealing for years. Most of the tension is territorial — between the Graveyard Crips and the Santa Monica 17th Street gang — as well as racial. One gang is black, the other Latino.
For the past decade, most of the gang activity has been in a relatively small section of the neighborhood — 17th Street and Michigan Avenue. And many of the gang members are youth and young adults who are on parole or probation, police said.
Anyone having additional information to Sunday’s incident is encouraged to contact the SMPD at (310) 458-8491. Callers who wish to remain anonymous can also call the We-Tip national hotline at 1-800-78-CRIME (27463).
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 18, 2004. Read the original PDF.