Witnesses to Gang Shooting Keeping Mum : Investigation: Police officials tell City Council members it is often harder to get information in gang-related cases.

SANTA ANA —  Police officers investigating last week’s gang shooting of a father of three in a school parking lot are hitting a wall of silence among witnesses who may have key information, according to officers familiar with the case.

Police Chief Paul M. Walters told City Council members late Monday that investigators had encountered witnesses who refused to cooperate even when a reward was offered.

Police officials said that generally, gang-related incidents are more difficult to investigate because witnesses either fear retribution or are afraid to be labeled a “snitch.”

Walters spoke briefly about the investigation during the session that lasted past midnight and where council members and community leaders sniped at each other over charges of a lack of political leadership on the gang issue.

Despite pleas that council members set aside their longstanding political rivalries and work together, no consensus was reached on any of several anti-gang action plans proposed during the session.

Instead, after offering his own plan, Mayor Daniel H. Young asked Mayor Pro Tem Miguel A. Pulido Jr. to lead a study of the issue, which will examine all proposals.

That outcome left many dissatisfied.

Distrustful of the mayor’s plan and of rival Pulido, Councilman John Acosta said Tuesday that he and other community leaders would proceed with their own ideas--including calling for a summit with known gang members--in an attempt to end the increasing violence.

The Latino community, Acosta said, “has to have confidence in the people that are leading them.”

But Young said Tuesday that Pulido had been placed in charge of the effort because as a Latino he could relate to the community.

“This is a time of heightened sensitivity, and people’s nerves are on edge, and they are concerned and they are suspicious,” Young said. “We are going to take every idea seriously regardless of who has proposed it.”

Santa Ana’s serious gang problem forced its way onto the political agenda after last week’s shooting of 31-year-old Mauro Meza. He was slain and three relatives injured following an evening game of basketball at Santa Ana High School. Police said gang members harassed Meza and his companions, blocked the parking lot exit, and then riddled Meza’s van with bullets.

One of Meza’s brothers injured in the attack, Winulfo Meza, 24, suffered a head wound and Tuesday remained in fair condition at UCI Medical Center.

Police officials described how difficult it is to get cooperation when investigating gang-involved crime.

Walters said several witnesses were asked if they would be willing to “testify for money, and their comments were, ‘Absolutely not.’ It would not make a difference to them.”

The area of the shooting is claimed by one gang from Myrtle Street, although at least two other groups are known to frequent the area.

Police Lt. Robert Helton declined Tuesday to discuss the investigation in detail but said police “are working on some good leads.”

During their meeting Monday, some council members suggested that neighborhoods join in the war against gangs because government, alone, cannot solve the problem.

Among the proposed solutions:

* Councilman Robert L. Richardson urged citizens to join him at the intersection of Myrtle and Parton streets on May 2 and said “we will take back that street, starting one day at a time.”

* The mayor asked that federal funds be used for a police program, in which families of gang members would be required to meet with officials to learn the evidence of their child’s gang involvement.

* In addition to the meeting with gang members, Acosta recommended a reward fund be established to encourage the reporting of gang activities.

* Santa Ana attorney Alfredo Amezcua, past president of the Orange County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, expanded on an existing 10-point plan and suggested recreational, jobs and drug counseling programs for youths.

Young, Richardson and Santa Ana Unified School Board President Robert W. Balen also admonished Acosta for statements last week that “Anglos don’t understand” the problem.

“Let’s calm down enough to get away from the cheap shots,” Young said as he offered his proposal.

Earlier in the meeting, Young had been criticized by some for his previous comments that the problem exists only in the Latino community, which has to be persuaded to stop the killings.

“This cannot become an ‘us’ and ‘them’ issue,” Rancho Santiago Community College board member John Raya told the council. “Anguish over the loss of a loved one is a human condition. Action of compassion should not be reserved for high-propensity voters alone.”