ORANGE COUNTY PERSPECTIVE : Bumps in an Anti-Crime Sweep

With crime high on the public’s list of priorities, law enforcement agencies have been making commendable efforts to cooperate with each other in reclaiming troubled neighborhoods. One such effort in Santa Ana hit a snag, however, when charges against six suspects apprehended during Operation Roundup, a high-profile drug sweep, had to be dismissed. Although having to drop the charges proved embarrassing, the situation offers a cautionary tale.

Last week, charges against four men wrongly identified as selling drugs to an undercover informant were dropped. The week before, a suspect was released after it was confirmed that he was in state prison at the time he was alleged to have sold drugs in Santa Ana. Previously, charges against a sixth suspect were dismissed after it was determined he had been misidentified.

Police later said that an informant sent out to buy drugs on the streets of Santa Ana stole from police, lied about it and helped misidentify the six who were later exonerated. Clearly, police, the FBI and prosecutors need to be on guard against unscrupulous informants and take extra care to be able to corroborate what informants say or do.

Authorities still say they believe they can successfully prosecute the more than 100 Operation Roundup cases now under review as a result of the misidentifications. According to FBI reports, the informant had been dispatched to build rapport with members of the Sixth Street gang, which had a grip on Santa Ana’s 3rd Street neighborhood for years.

At one point last spring, the agencies actually halted the operation because of concerns about the informant’s reliability. Prosecutors now must attempt to get jurors to look beyond the informant and see the larger picture of a troubled neighborhood. Prosecutors need to have strong cases that will hold up in court.

The cooperative effort of the FBI, Santa Ana police and the district attorney’s office has been a worthy attempt to ease crime in a troubled neighborhood. The dismissals prompted a worthwhile review of all the cases in the gang and drug sweep, and they act as a reminder that authorities need to take extra care in these tricky investigations.