By The Porterville Recorder : By Aaron Burgin
Local police by this time last year were investigating three homicides and assisting with another homicide investigation which was deeply rooted in Porterville.

Nine people were victims of homicide by the end of the year, a record for Porterville. Combined with the previous record set just two years ago, some worried it was a start of a deadly trend. Those residents can breathe a little easier: There have been no homicides during the first seven months of the year, according to Porterville police statistics.

“It’s definitely a welcome change to last year,” Police Chief Chuck McMillan said Monday in a discussion about the half-year report released last week. “There are certain things that we can’t control, but we can do everything we can to curb gang violence, and I think our officers are doing everything they can to bring the city’s gang problem under control.” Police have cracked down on gang activity in earnest since last August, according to a previous interview with Porterville Special Investigations Unit Sgt. Jake Castellow.

Police attribute several of the city’s nine homicides in 2006 to gang-related activity: The May 28 shooting death of Cesar Garcia, the June 1 shooting death of Eduardo Luna, the July 30 stabbing death of Jose Lopez, the Nov. 18 shooting death of Raymond Murrieta and the Nov. 19 shooting death of Donald Nathan Buford. Family members of Murrieta contest with the city’s classification of Murrieta’s death as gang-related.

Some of the other killings, however, pointed to some of Porterville’s social ills: The February stabbing death of Melissa Martin and the Aug. 13 stabbing death of Joseph Roderick “Rod” Fox cast a harsh light on the methamphetamine scourge that still grips many locales in the Central Valley. Fox’s death also brought attention to the city’s homelessness epidemic, as Fox’s killer, Miguel Ceja Calderon, was a transient.

The other two killings were believed to be random acts: Maria Ruiz was allegedly stabbed to death by her own son, Miguel Ruiz, and Jose A. Gonzalez was shot and killed in an apparent road-rage incident.

The absence of homicides also shows the fickle nature of statistics. Last year’s homicide rate was higher than any city between 40,000 and 50,000 in the state, and rivaled traditional “murder capitals” such as Oakland and Compton.

This year’s rate is among the state’s lowest. “You have to look at data over comparative periods of time,” said City Manager John Longley, who was wary of looking at the 2006 as a beginning of a trend.

“(The absence of homicides) indicates what appears to be successful efforts on behalf of the Police Department and the city in general. We are extremely appreciative in our officers and our department heads for their great effort that appears to have been successful thus far this year.” No one, however, is closing the books on 2007 — there are still a bit more than five months to go.

“It is really important that the data is more favorable than last year, but nothing should make us reduce our concerted efforts,” Longley said. McMillan echoed Longley’s statements. “We can’t slow down or let up,” McMillan said. “There is too much at stake, namely lives.”