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Orem police arrested a gang member they accuse of a drive-by shooting this weekend at the home of a rival gang member.
The neighborhood has been trying to weed out signs of gang activity, including graffiti, in recent weeks, and the Orem Police Department has created a gang unit to deal with gang-related crimes.
But now a fight between two rival gangs has neighbors pledging to take their neighborhood back. Orange paint marks on the street show where police recovered the four shell casings from a 9mm handgun, and on the bricks of an apartment, you can see exactly where the bullets struck. Michael Whitehead lives nearby. He said, "I was awakened at four in the morning by four gunshots, very loud. I came downstairs to see what was happening and notified the police."
Orem detectives believe the shooting was the result of a fight between gang members earlier in the night when a beer bottle broke out the window of an SUV. Six hours later, a gang member returned and fired the shots in what police believe was retaliation.
The intended victim, a 17-year-old rival gang member, was not very cooperative with detectives, but the investigation led police to 22-year-old Juan Vazquez. Lt. Doug Edwards, with the Orem Department of Public Safety, said, "They did find the dark colored SUV at Mr. Vasquez's home and subsequently searched the home and found a couple of rifles and drugs and other things at the time they made the arrest."
Neighbors are trying to help weed out the gang problem. They are contacting city hall for help and trying to work with landlords about who they are renting to. Whitehead said, "To have people who don't belong in these neighborhoods, that are doing these type of things, removed and see if we can clean this up and be better citizens in our area and be aware and proactive to these things."
The suspect in the case faces charges of gang-enhanced aggravated assault and is still in jail tonight.
Neighbors plan to keep the pressure on the justice system in this and other criminal cases involving gangs in Orem to make sure the gang members stay in jail.
E-mail: spenrod@ksl.com
E-mail: cwall@ksl.com
