Sunday Safety Update 06/01/2015 to 06/14/2015

So, we start with the bad news. There was a homicide at 17th and Altimos on 06/05/2015. It took place around 10pm.

Police responded to two similar calls Friday, both for young men shot in the upper chest, both ending in death

The calls came within two hours of each other, according to Long Beach Police Department press statements.

In the first incident, police were called about 10 p.m. to the 1200 block of E. 17th Street. Anthony Holston of Long Beach had been struck in the upper body by gunfire, police said. He was transported to a local hospital, where was pronounced dead.

Police believe Holston had become involved in a dispute with other men, though they don’t know how many, according to Long Beach police.

The dispute escalated and there was an exchange of gunfire, officials said. The suspect or suspects remain outstanding.

The incident is being investigated as possibly gang-related, police said.

Anyone with information regarding the first incident on 17th Street is asked to contact Long Beach Police Homicide Detectives Hugo Cortes and Oscar Valenzuela at (562) 570-7244.

Anonymous tips for both crimes may be submitted by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477), texting TIPLA plus your tip to CRIMES (274637), or visiting lacrimestoppers.org.

I have looked for suspect pictures or more information on the story and have, so far, not been able to find any. This was the second homicide in Long Beach that night, the other one being in North Long Beach.

Now notice what the map above shows, the loitering and tagging are all trending north east. They either begin at Altimos and 17th or Walnut and 14th street. The pattern is very obvious. The loitering and the tagging and the fireworks all tends to begin around 9pm. 

The loitering at 17th and Altimos, at times exceeds twenty people. While law enforcement has cracked down, it hasn't stopped and many of the loitering parties are drinking hard liquor from Ritchie's Liquor Market, at the corner of the intersection or hanging out in front of the laundry mat south of it, after it's closed. This liquor store, called an Alcoholic's Disney World in one Yelp review, is the starting point for most all of 17th street's problems, which tend to often follow it all the way to Gardenia.

Do you notice the exact same pattern here? All activity trends north east. It usually begins about 9:00pm. The loitering around 14th and Walnut is upwards of twenty people, and the tagging follows Walnut right now to Anaheim street and across 14th, where earlier tagging has been crossed out and written over. You will also notice a pattern of incidents on Anaheim leading into the vehicle recoveries on the east end of the MacArthur Park neighborhood.

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All activity in both maps trends north east and centers at 14th and Walnut.

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If you look at the two maps side by side, you can see a pretty clear central starting point on both weeks just south of Walnut and 14th.  

In response to increased crime, there will be an additional safety report on Wednesday of this week. Also, the MacArthur Park Neighborhood Association and the resource center will continue working even harder to keep all neighborhood resident's safe. We will also be creating a safety tool kit for this website. This will be followed by tool kits to increase resident's access to educational resources and after school and summer programs for kids.