Man’s death creates change

Martin Rodriguez remembers the days when his stepson Israel Maciel would come home with a fresh-made pizza from Little Caesar’s — his favorite — and dish out hot slices, always with a smile. But that memory comes with a grimace these days as he also remembers the night one year ago when he ran outside to find his stepson shot to death in the alley behind their Westside home.

Rodriguez and his family have dueling memories today as they mark the one-year anniversary of the drive-by shooting on the 1300 block of West Baker Street that took Israel Maciel away from them, injured four others and roiled the community with racial tension.

“We’re sad but still handling it,” Rodriguez said, adding the family continues to visit the cemetery regularly to put flowers on his grave.

Police struggled for months, despite few clues, to locate the suspected shooters.

Police may have arrested three in the case, but nothing will bring his son back, Rodriguez said.

“I had a lot of hate at these people,” Rodriguez said. “Now I’m just sad.”

Both Rodriguez and Maciel’s mother, Agustina Mendoza, plan on attending the jury trial for Joshua Blount, the main suspect. That trial is scheduled to begin at the end of this month. David Ortega, 24, of Tustin was charged with accessory to murder and Anthony Nicholas Dispensa, 21, of Illinois, was charged with murder. Both are scheduled to appear in court again Sept. 14.

Costa Mesa Mayor Allan Mansoor said the city has “taken a lot of good steps forward in terms of making the community safer,” including hiring more gang officers and installing an immigration agent in the city jail.

“All these things combined, I believe, are working to improve the safety of the citizens of Costa Mesa,” Mansoor said.

This spring the City Council hired two gang officers. The gang crimes unit worked closely with the local Neighborhood Watch group to help ease concerns in the area.

The boost in manpower increased patrolling and allowed for more thorough investigations, police said.

“Since the shooting, that area it has improved,” Gang Officer David Casarez said Wednesday. “After the shooting happened we had a lot of citizens worried about … gang retaliation. I personally spoke to Neighborhood Watch about the difference between gang graffiti and regular graffiti.”

Having more officers definitely eases the case loads, he added.

“It allows us more time to do direct patrolling, you can parley info off to the other teams while we’re on our days off.”

Mansoor riled up some residents immediately after the shooting when he said the city needed to “remove the welcome mat” of job centers, soup kitchens and downscale rental units.

He wouldn’t say Wednesday whether he regrets the remark, but instead commented, “The point I was trying to make is that certain areas need revitalization. That’s the way the point was intended, and I hope that’s the way it was taken.”

A remembrance service has been planned for Sunday followed by a barbecue at the family’s home.