Posted on 03/06/2015 10:01:35 AM PST by Theoria
Aaron Harvey was leaving his Las Vegas apartment to get some food one day in July 2014, when, suddenly, “man, Seal Team 6 came out of nowhere, pretty much. Guns drawn, dogs, helicopters.”
It was the U.S. Marshals, who’d come to take Harvey back to San Diego.
“They told me that I was wanted for murders in the state of California,” Harvey said. “I laughed. I started laughing. I told ‘em, ‘You’ve got the wrong guy.'”
Harvey isn’t charged with murder, though. That’s precisely why his case is so controversial.
District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis is using an obscure criminal statute, Penal Code section 182.5, for what appears to be the first time ever in California to prosecute a group of 15 San Diego men, including Harvey. The DA has admitted that some of the men had nothing to do with the underlying crimes at the heart of the case – a series of shootings by Lincoln Park gang members in 2013. Rather, they’re charged with conspiracy for belonging to the same gang as the shooters. For that, they could go to prison for life.
It’s guilt by association, basically, and if federal law is any guide, it’s perfectly constitutional.
The law says a person who “willfully promotes, furthers, assists, or benefits” from a gang crime can be charged with conspiracy. The benefit Harvey received out of the shootings, according to the DA, is street cred. If someone in the gang commits a crime, the reasoning goes, the whole gang gets a boost to its reputation.
“They’re saying I benefited because my stature, my respect, went up. I didn’t even know I had any stature. I don’t understand how someone can benefit from something they don’t even know exists,” said Harvey.
(Excerpt) Read more at voiceofsandiego.org ...
I thinks this is a next step forward to complete tyranny. but the dumbasses who were cheering it obviously have no such concerns
So if I belong to a ‘group’ that is declared a ‘gang’, like the NRA, and a person also in the NRA commits a crime, then I am guilty as well?...............
“Home of the Brave, Land of the Free?”
Nope, it’s been ‘fundamentally transformed’ into a “Homeland Free of the Brave”
Guilt by ‘Free Association’ guaranteed by the Constitution..................
Sure, you are also a member of FreeRepublic...>6<
>>>He sounds like a scumbag who cleaned up nice for the picture in the article.<<<
Uh he didn’t even live near the gang anymore. He had no criminal record. And from the info presented in the article, the man was busy trying to get a legit career started.
His charge was a crime for being in a gang. At best if the state is correct, he is a former gang member who has turned his back on his former life. At worst, he’s just a guy from the hood who knew gang members. Should we start to jail the tens of thousands of gang members and possibly the hundreds of thousands of men who might be friends with them?
It’s embarrassing to come to FR and see wingnut comments like this so frequently. And FWIW, the presumption of innocence is something I’ll extend to this man since the circumstances of his arrest are so damn weak. If the state can prove something more substantial so be it. I won’t judge him guilty now.
Never heard of ‘em!...................That’s my story and I’m sticking to it!..................
Be careful because this could one day be used against conservatives and tea party folks. Suppose you are a member of a group and suddenly there is a false flag operation with someone who has joined the organization and maybe even moved up to a leadership position. all it could take is a couple of members discussing and everyone in the group could be implicated.
This could easily be used against those who belong to gun clubs, militias, etc. etc. All it would take is for one member to turn out to be closet nut who goes postal.
I would rather hunt them down like in “TOMBSTONE”. “Any man wearing a red sash, I’ll kill them.”
Just remember what they tried to do to the Hutarees.
We had better hope no Freeper goes off the rails. I don’t like some of these precedents if you follow them to where they could go.
Where's the fun in that?
Hey, fair's fair. If they start rounding up Tea Partiers, will they overlook me just 'cause I haven't blown up any regime targets yet? (Is the < /sarc > needed?)
I agree. Why haven’t all the unions in Philly been shut down, indicted and imprisoned for that old SOB who stored weapons and encouraged people to shoot GWB? HMMM?.
If so, this has major federal Constitutional First Amendment implications, with a conviction almost certainly being thrown out on appeal.
OTOH, figuring out what is really going on in a court case, from media other than specialist legal publications, is pretty much useless.
I meant fry all the despicable gang members. Don’t tell me he joined the gang for the free baseball hat and the numerous community service opportunities. Was this an Amish gang?
man I have said that for yeeeeeeears...gangs are no different than terrorists or insurgents by every definition of those terms. i’d be ok with shooting them on site
“They’re saying I benefited because my stature, my respect, went up. I didn’t even know I had any stature. I don’t understand how someone can benefit from something they don’t even know exists,” said Harvey.
According to the state, a person can be entered into the CALGANG database if he or she meets any two criteria from a list that includes: admitting to being a gang member: being arrested alongside known gang members; being ID’d as a gang member by a reliable source; being seen affiliating with documented gang members; displaying hand gestures affiliated with a gang; frequenting gang areas; wearing gang dress; or having gang tattoos.
Consider the implications if a similar list were made for other politically unpopular groups, say, abortion opponents.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.