$2.5 million couldn't keep Anaheim gang member from his old friends

[CactusCarlos]

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-munoz17-2008jun17,0,7292818.story

Nobody wanted Jose Luis Muñoz to fail.

The Anaheim gang member raised by a single mother had received a second chance -- or maybe it was his first -- to turn his life around when he settled a lawsuit against the city and police for $2.5 million.

In December, he was waiting for the check and paving his future with good intentions. But four months later he was back in prison for violating parole; he had been caught associating with other gang members.

When he was released from prison, Muñoz, 23, said he was eager "to do the right thing." He said he was going to move out of his gang-infested neighborhood and buy a house for his mother, who had worked two jobs while raising him.

Muñoz's mother declined to comment last week when contacted at her Anaheim home where Muñoz grew up. She and just about everyone else, including the police, hoped that a financial cushion would steer Muñoz away from a lifestyle that had already cost him four years in prison and Juvenile Hall. His current prison sentence is 16 months.

"We were all pulling for him. All he had to do was stay away from friends who could only get him in trouble," said Anaheim gang Sgt. Dennis Briggs, whose unit is well acquainted with Muñoz, whose moniker is Dopey.

In 2005, Muñoz, on foot, was struck from behind by a police cruiser as he surrendered after a brief chase.

He was wedged in the vehicle's undercarriage and severely injured. Muñoz said he bolted from police because he was afraid they were going to send him back to prison.

Muñoz sued the city of Anaheim and the Police Department over his injuries and was awarded $2.5 million.

Attorney Arnoldo Casillas, who represented Muñoz in the lawsuit, said he knew there was a possibility that his client would revert to his old ways.

"I knew his background all too well," he said. "But I had high hopes and expectations. It's tragic that he's right back in prison."

In a December interview with The Times, Muñoz said he had been visited by two Anaheim gang detectives after he was paroled in October. One of the officers took a special interest in him, he said. She gave him her business card with her cell number and encouraged Muñoz to call if he needed help or was in danger.

"There was a safety risk. He had all this money. She went to his house two or three times to make sure things were OK with him," Briggs said. "You always hope you can convince at least one gang member to get away from that lifestyle. Jose had a perfect opportunity to get away, but he didn't. It's sad."

Muñoz said his parole officer also encouraged him to move and offered to help him get settled in another county. The parole officer could not be reached for comment.

On April 10, gang officers patrolling the northeast Anaheim neighborhood where Muñoz lives spotted an SUV stopped in the street. The driver -- Muñoz -- was talking to a female gang member who was on probation, Briggs said. The officers questioned Muñoz and three other gang members in the vehicle.

Muñoz and the girl were arrested on suspicion of associating with gang members, a violation of their parole and probation. He was returned to prison the following day.

Attorney Richard Longoria, who represented Muñoz in a criminal case, said his client lacked self-esteem, "which makes it extremely difficult for him to find a way out."

"If you didn't grow up in that lifestyle, it's much harder to get out than you realize," Longoria said.

Richard Ramos, a gang expert and author who grew up in Highland Park, agreed that identity and fitting in have a lot to do with Muñoz's recidivism.

"People who don't have money transform their lives all the time," Ramos said. "In this case, $2.5 million wasn't enough. To kids like him, identity and belonging are powerful forces that keep them in gangs. There has to be an inside-out transformation or a life-changing event to bring change. Gangs compete with your family for loyalty.

"It appears that his gang won."

[Lord Undies]

9. Its sad that he is back in prison but the justice system is wrong for putting this young man back in prison for associating with other suspected gang members...If he was commiting a crime then I would change my tune but you cannot assume he was going to hold up a liquor store...but that is what our system does, it is nothing but human storage and you get out worse than you were before...they dont call prisons "crime schools" for nothing....rehabilitation my a$$...just my tuesday rant!!!! Go Bucks beat USC Sept.13th
Submitted by: E in Columbus Ohio (Moonbat Outpost)
3:16 PM PDT, June 17, 2008

Typical leftist idiot who does not understand "Provisions of Parole". 

Who started the lie all leftists pretend to believe about the primary purpose of prison is "rehabilitation"?