Second Thoughts On La Mesa (Jackson: apartment complexes, violent crime, buying a home)

[SD Observer]

Well after reading all of the complimentary posts about the city of La Mesa and visiting the town several times, I was considering buying a home there.

That was until a friend steered me to this website :

La Mesa, CA - Official Website (La Mesa Police Dept. Press Releases)


I could not believe the amount of armed robberies that are apparently happening in La Mesa. These are actual police reports of violent crimes.

Most of the articles showed the offenders to be black gang members.

Is there a large gang presence thats out of control in La Mesa ?

This is supposd to be the "Jewel In The Hills" town of East County.

Are there any La Mesa residents who tell us whats going on there lately ?

[AFTERSHOCK]

No, La Mesa is not gang territory. But it is the fanciest part of East County hence the nickname. If you were going to rob, hoping to score big, would you go to skid row or La Mesa? I think that says it all.

[SD Observer]

Originally Posted by AFTERSHOCK

No, La Mesa is not gang territory. But it is the fanciest part of East County hence the nickname. If you were going to rob, hoping to score big, would you go to skid row or La Mesa? I think that says it all.

That makes sense about robbers wanting to score bigger in La Mesa.

What is disturbing to me is the number of armed robberies by older adolescents at Subway, 7-11, taco shops and even a Jiffy Lube, as well as juveniles comitting strong arm (without guns) robberies at Grossmont Mall and near local high schools.

If the gangsters don't live in LM, where are they coming from ?

And are the La Mesa Police deploying more officers to meet this increasing problem ?

[AFTERSHOCK]

Oh I see what you mean. I have no idea...Sassberto probably knows. They probably come from other areas of the county ya know...I really don't know but I have never heard of any gangs claiming La Mesa...maybe I'm wrong.

[SD Observer]

What I find surprising is that usually in more affluent towns there is heavier and more vigilant police patrols.

In poorer areas the police response is often slower and less frequent.

I hope the La Mesa PD and the SD County Sherriff's Dept. can stem the tide of these armed robberies. Its bad for business, not to mention bad for the safety of the inhabitants.

My guess is that bceause of the gang injunctions some of these punks find it hard operating on their home turf. They see easy and wealthy targets in La Mesa.

[Huckleberry3911948]

kidnap and torture of sandy vigne an elderly lady 3 weeks ago
captors were hispanic not black.
ameicans handle criminals same way they handle naughty children, they dont.
when i was a kid the cops shot and jailed criminals
now its the reverse.

[SD Observer]

Originally Posted by Huckleberry3911948

kidnap and torture of sandy vigne an elderly lady 3 weeks ago
captors were hispanic not black.
ameicans handle criminals same way they handle naughty children, they dont.
when i was a kid the cops shot and jailed criminals
now its the reverse.

Actually, I was referring to the armed robberies in La Mesa. And so far no one has been killed by the robbers. Most offenders were black males, although some were hispanic or white.

I'm well aware of the details of the cowardly teens attack on the elderly woman in La Mesa.
(two Hispanic males and one black/white bi-racial woman)

(I started a thread on this forum with regard to that shocking crime)

There was also a carjacking of a teen's car in La Mesa at Grossmont Mall by a white female offender, who was later arrested.

We as a nation, do not have a handle on violent crime. Its way out of control all over.

[Sassberto]

Couple of things here....

Yes there has been a big surge in violent crime in La Mesa in the past few years. Mostly it is young black and hispanic males, robberies and carjackings. Some people blame the trolley but I am not so sure that is the whole story. I personally think what is going on is that a combo of gentrification in places like North Park and gang injunctions in SESD are raising rents in those areas and pushing apartment dwellers to La Mesa where there are a lot of large, shabby apartment complexes (in particular around University Ave and around Jackson Drive near Grossmont Center).

That said La Mesa is a big area and if you are truly concerned about it, just live in the areas north of 8. The big problem seems to be a real lack of security at the La Mesa trolley stops, but in the residential neighborhoods it's still pretty quiet.

[SD Observer]

Originally Posted by Sassberto

Couple of things here....

Yes there has been a big surge in violent crime in La Mesa in the past few years. Mostly it is young black and hispanic males, robberies and carjackings. Some people blame the trolley but I am not so sure that is the whole story. I personally think what is going on is that a combo of gentrification in places like North Park and gang injunctions in SESD are raising rents in those areas and pushing apartment dwellers to La Mesa where there are a lot of large, shabby apartment complexes (in particular around University Ave and around Jackson Drive near Grossmont Center).

That said La Mesa is a big area and if you are truly concerned about it, just live in the areas north of 8. The big problem seems to be a real lack of security at the La Mesa trolley stops, but in the residential neighborhoods it's still pretty quiet.

I did not realize that there were alot of scuzzy apartment complexes in La Mesa. I guess that explains the rising crime near Grossmont Mall.

Hell, the armed robbers don't even have to drive to the mall. They can walk over from the scuzzy apartments on Jackson !

Maybe the City Of La Mesa should start an injuction to drive out the punks from City Heights and SE/SD who are causing all of this crime !

In any case I hope the police crack down on the punks and make their existence in La Mesa a temporary thing.

[Sassberto]

Originally Posted by SD Observer

Maybe the City Of La Mesa should start an injuction to drive out the punks from City Heights and SE/SD who are causing all of this crime !

In any case I hope the police crack down on the punks and make their existence in La Mesa a temporary thing.

Doubtful on both counts. This has been happening for about 3 years now, I don't think LMPD is going to be able to do anything about it. These cities are completely broke now, they don't have money for basic services like public safety anymore.