Troubling news from my corner of the world in California’s San Joaquin Valley.

The tiny town of Thornton, just northwest of Lodi off of Interstate 5, has become a hot bed of gang activity.

The Lodi News-Sentinel reported on January 11th that the two dominant Hispanic California gangs, the Sureños and the Norteños, use Thornton as a center for distribution of crank. [In Rural Thornton, the Spectre of Gang Violence Raises Its Ugly Head, Jake Armstrong and Layla Bohm, Lodi News-Sentinel, January 11, 2005]

Intimidated citizens are reluctant to call law enforcement to report suspected criminal activity. And even when they do, the police often have to travel for miles before arriving at the trouble spot. By then, everyone has fled the scene.

One Thornton resident, quoted in the News-Sentinel story, said:

“It used to be a calm town. But now it’s getting worse.”

According to other locals, alleged gang members are behind the increased numbers of thefts, home and vehicle break-ins and open drug dealing

Thornton is merely the latest California city transformed from a once pleasant place to live into a gang-controlled rat hole.