San Bernardino police cracking down on gangs; 30 arrested

SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. (KABC) -- San Bernardino police arrested more than 30 people and confiscated dozens of weapons in a months-long operation cracking down on gang violence.

"It's a message to these cowards and local terrorists," San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael Ramos said. "We're not going to stand for that in San Bernardino County and we're going to hold you responsible."

Earlier this year, law enforcement started to see a jump in the number of carjackings, robberies, murders and attempted murders. The spike motivated the operation that culminated in all the arrests a week-and-a-half ago.

As a result, authorities believe they arrested the murderer of 19-year-old Michael Martinez Jr., who was gunned down in August 2013. Cory Thomas, 20, an alleged gang member, allegedly murdered Martinez and one other person.

"Michael was a good kid, who didn't deserve what happened to him," father Michael Martinez Sr. said.

"When are we going to wake up and stop killing each other. I'm not begging. I'm not pleading with you. I'm telling you, wake up, stop playing the game, stop falling into the trap. There's so much more out there," Martinez Sr. added.

San Bernardino Police Chief Jarrod Burguan considered the operation a success.

"We took a lot of bad guys off the streets. We took a bunch of guns out of people who have no business owning guns," Burguan said.