"Mike was in the meetings, he was at the park, he was taking to the young ones," Godinet said.Īlso in his corner: Oceanside Councilwoman Esther Sanchez, who grew up in the Eastside. Torres also had the support of people working ending gang violence, including Wayne Godinet, a longtime community advocate and prominent member of Save Our Streets, who said he noticed that Torres showed up every week,"tats and all," to represent the faith-based community. Torres - prior to petitioning the court for removal from the gang injunction, he was actively involved in various civic and community outreach type of activities where he was trying to give back to the community," Darrah said in an email to the Union-Tribune. George Darrah, who oversees the Oceanside Police Department's gang unit, said Torres earned his way off the injunction. Torres checked the right boxes - he had stayed out of trouble for at least five years and Oceanside police had determined he no longer met the state's criteria to be documented as a gang member. The injunction just reinforced the gang's power over you." "If you are stuck in a gang, part of the gang's power is to say you can never get out. "It struck a chord with me because I believe in it strongly," Roberts said of removing ex-gang members from injunctions. It was the first such request the veteran defense attorney "had ever seen or heard about." He filled out a petition for removal, available on the gang injunction page of the District Attorney's website, and started the lengthy process.Ī few months ago, Torres' request landed on the desk of Deputy Public Defender Matt Roberts. It was then, he said, that he knew he had to get out from under it. He soon wanted to minister to others and, as a liaison for Victory Outreach Vista, joined Save Our Streets, a grassroots group that formed about a decade ago to curb gang violence in Oceanside.Ī few years ago, while Torres was in Eastside serving the community, he found himself "sat on the curb" by police who ran his name and discovered he was on the injunction. He immersed himself in the church, where he met his wife Jennifer.
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