DISTRICT ATTORNEY ROD PACHECO & SUPERINTENDENT KENN YOUNG ANNOUNCE ANTI-GANG EFFORTS

RIVERSIDE, CA: District Attorney Rod Pacheco and Riverside County Office of Education Superintendent Kenn Young have created a campaign to decrease gang membership and increase public awareness. This program has several facets and is entitled "Say No to Gangs."

DA Pacheco and Superintendent Young will be meeting with Riverside County school board members and superintendents, along with administrators, to coordinate outreach efforts countywide.

One facet includes events that will feature presentations to students, parents and teachers regarding various issues related to gang activity. Highlights will include warning signs for parents and teachers regarding gang activity, how to help youths avoid gang recruitment and will show the realities of gang life, which are often misunderstood or misrepresented in modern media. Participants will also have the chance to speak with representatives from their local Gang Task Force to discuss gang threats specific to their communities.

Dates for the events will be announced as they approach.

Another facet includes the Riverside County Board of Supervisors, with District Attorney Pacheco and Superintendent Young, declaring the month of November "Say No To Gangs" Month. The month commemorates the murder of Christina Barraza in November of 1988.

On November 11, 1988, a newlywed of three weeks, Christina, was stopped at a red light in the city of Riverside. Andrew Lamont Brown, a gang member from Los Angeles, walked up and shot Ms. Barraza in the neck and stole her custom truck. She died six weeks later only days before Christmas. It was the first carjacking murder in Riverside County history. As a senior deputy district attorney, DA Pacheco tried Brown. He was convicted of all charges and given the death penalty.

Other parts of the prevention plan will be announced in the month of November and include other notable prevention efforts with other agencies and members of the community.

"As Riverside County Superintendent of Schools, I am supporting the work of the District Attorney's Office in disseminating information to our Riverside County schools on gang awareness in an effort to make them safe," Superintendent Kenn Young said.

"Enforcement is just one way of eradicating the threat gangs pose to our children," District Attorney Pacheco stated. "Working with the Office of Education, we can prevent youths in our community from joining gangs before they can be recruited."