OGDEN — In light of recent gang activity, Mayor Matthew Godfrey says he is initiating an aggressive plan to eradicate it.

"I think that while gang shootings and this kind of violence we have seen in Ogden this past few days is a regular occurrence in the Salt Lake Valley, it is not in Ogden and it is not going to start to be a problem in Ogden," Godfrey said.

Sunday, Sabrina Prieto, 22, and Resendo Nava Nevarez, 29, were shot and killed while at a wedding party in Ogden. Four others in attendance were injured when a man pulled up in a maroon SUV and fired shots into a crowd of about 30 people. Early the next day, a 28-year-old man was found along the roadside of Commerce Way— the man had been shot seven or eight times, police said.

Ogden Police Chief Jon Greiner, said the incidents are the result of an internal feud being played out among members of one gang.

"This is an (internal) gang fight for control," Greiner said. "One gang is responsible ... it has been in the community for a while and is seeing some outside influence."

Officials say they plan their own quick response.

"We want those neighborhoods and the community as a whole to know that we don't take this kind of thing lightly," Godfrey said. "We don't find this to be 'business as usual' when these kinds of crimes occur, so we are going to grab the bull by the horns and take care of this problem. "

The mayor's plan includes six initiatives, including zero tolerance for any gang activity.

"Zero tolerance with my officers is going to be any law on the books that can be enforced at that time and place to the full extent of the law," said Greiner. "If we arrest you for one violation, could we have arrested you for three? Well, we are going to arrest you for all three."

The plan also includes a ninth police area with six new officers, two additional immigration agents to deport illegal aliens engaged in criminal activity, expediting the hiring of six "crime-reduction" unit officers, working with the Good Landlord Program to identify and evict convicted gang members from rental units and working with state officials to get more prison space for Ogden's criminals.

This is the initial phase of the mayor's crackdown on gang activity. He plans on releasing additional facets of the program in the coming weeks.

"We want to send out a strong message that this is not acceptable in our community, and we are going to take care of this problem," Godfrey said. "We are going after them with a vengeance."

Ogden police announced late Tuesday that a suspect in the wedding party murders had been arrested in Layton. Rico Perea, 19, was booked into the Weber County Jail for investigation of two counts of capital murder, two counts of criminal homicide and two outstanding warrants, officials said.

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Contributing: Rebecca Palmer

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