Five dozen gang members taken off the streets of Fresno, including two people accused of murder. It was the result of a gang sweep launched after a 33-percent increase in shootings.
This is just one of the arrests during a crackdown by gang officers in north Fresno.
CBS47 was the only camera there when 30-year-old john Michael Smith was taken to jail. He's accused of shooting a woman at a home on Thorne Avenue near Roeding Park last Monday.
The arrest was part of the gang sweep that began Wednesday just days after Fresno had two murders and three other shootings in less than 48 hours.
“We need to send a message to the gangs in Fresno that violence is simply not tolerated. We're not asking people to drop out of the gangs. We are asking them not to solve their problems with gun violence,” said Lt. Burke Farrah, with the Fresno Police Department.
On Super Bowl Sunday, 33-year old Roberto Briseno was shot and killed after he stopped a burglar who was breaking into a neighbor’s car. Police believe gang members were involved.
Ninety minutes later - 35-year-old Omar Silva was shot when he answered the door at his home after a Super Bowl party.
Gang officers arrested David Quevedo and Rayann Rodriguez for Silva's murder.
“Within hours of the operation we had both people in custody,” Farrah said.
During the five day sweep, officers made 72 arrests, 60 of those were gang members or their associates. And officers seized six guns.
