Friends of Ours

Weekly Gang Roundup

*** In Atlanta, GA an unidentified Latino street gang is targeting the cash and drug stashes of the Mexican drug cartels:

Mexican drug trafficking organizations -- with their large stashes of narcotics and cash -- are becoming an enticing robbery target for criminal street gangs, according to gang investigators from throughout Georgia. A string of recent drug rip-offs are causing cartels to arm themselves more heavily, which could prove dangerous for law enforcement officers, said John Houston, supervisory special agent for the FBI Atlanta Division. * * * Investigators said the Latino street gang that has been targeting Mexican cartels in the metro Atlanta area is violent, brash and increasing in numbers. * * * "They are hitting stash houses," Bright said. The members of this gang are extremely violent and have been known to cut the ears off children or burn them with hot irons to get what they want, Sgt. Larry Bright of the Gwinnett County Police Department said. The gang is operating in at least five states, but most of its members are foreign nationals. Gangs and drugs often go hand-in-hand, and nowhere is that more evident than in Atlanta. Authorities say gangs are attracted to Atlanta because of its size, location, large immigrant population and the city's reputation for being a drug trafficking hub.

***  In the six-month period ending on Sept. 30, ICE agents arrested 1,785 gang members and associates "as part of a nationwide crackdown that targeted gangs involved in cross-border smuggling of people and weapons, drug trafficking, identity theft and other crimes."

***  Twin brothers and reputed Vice Lord members who allegedly were shooting at rival gang members in Chicago, IL have been charged with the bystander death of a 20-year-old mother of three.

***  In Chicago, IL a member of the Insane Dueces whom a prosecutor described as an enforcer who "sent children out to kill other children" has been sentenced to twenty years in prison.

***  Hartford, CT is suffering from a "gang infestation" with more than 138 street gangs and 4,000 members according to a new police report:  "Many of the gangs, such as C-Block, Affleck Street Posse, Orange Street Killas, Wes-Hell/WHCF, York Street Posse, have ties to large national gangs — Latin Kings, Los Solidos, Bloods and Crips, the memo says."

***  Two MS-13 members from El Salvador sentenced to life in prison for the murder of a rival from Southside Locos in Springfield, VA.

***  In Harrisonburg, VA eight reputed members of Sur-13 are among those arrested on 71 indictments involving "property damage, attempted malicious wounding, gang participation, hazing, grand larceny and gang recruitment."

***  In California the Avenues street gang and Mexican Mafia may have assassinated Los Angeles County Deputy Abel Escalante as "payback for the spectacular LAPD shootout on Drew Street in June 2008 that forced the closure of local streets, caused the evacuation of two nearby public schools — and left AK-47–wielding menace Danny 'Clever' Leon bloodied and dead in the street":

Deputy Escalante had nothing to do with LAPD’s killing of Leon last year. The 27-year-old officer most likely heard about it on the news, like everyone else. But, federal prosecutors believe, Escalante died for it. Seeking revenge, the dead man’s friends months later went looking for a cop who would be an easy target at his home. Escalante was killed because he was convenient. The scenario suggests a new level of chaos in the area’s streets. As LAPD Captain Bill Murphy, of the Northeast Division, says, "It's a different breed of gangs. Not a lot are out there, shooting at and killing cops. That's when it gets way out of control."

***  ICE agents in Los Angeles, CA "have arrested eight people, and were seeking a ninth, with ties to the Drew Street clique of the Avenues gang on suspicion of drug trafficking and human smuggling":  "the ring charged people up to $4,500, provided phony immigration papers and smuggled the human cargo into the United States from Mexico concealed in trucks and hidden compartments of vehicles."

***  A 17-year-old "alleged Blythe Street gang associate was charged Tuesday with the killing of a 4-month-old boy who was shot when gang members opened fire . . . on a group they believed were rivals from another gang" in Los Angeles, CA:  "the infant is the latest victim in a long-running feud between the Blythe Street and Barrio Van Nuys gangs that has claimed a number of lives over the years, including some innocent bystanders."

***  Reputed Bloods leader sentenced to 21 years in prison following his conviction "for sexually abusing and assaulting a woman during a violent home invasion in Yonkers," NY.

Weekly Gang Roundup

***  Members of the West Side Street Mobb in Seattle, WA plead guilty to running a prostitution ring which included girls as young as 15 years old:

Shawn Clark, a 21-year-old West Seattle man who authorities said pimped out two teenage girls, then took all of their earnings to support his lifestyle, pleaded guilty in King County Superior Court today. His plea was followed by guilty pleas from fellow West Side Street Mobb gang member Thomas Foster, 20, to four counts, including promoting prostitution, assault and conspiracy to commit prostitution; and Gerald Jackson, 21, to one count of promoting prostitution. Clark, Foster and Jackson are the latest members of the West Side Street Mobb to enter guilty pleas after Seattle police, the FBI, the King County Sheriff's Office, as well as county and federal prosecutors, started investigating the gang last year for allegedly running a large juvenile prostitution ring. * * * Federal prosecutors say that the West Side Street Mobb was formed only three years ago but now has 50 members and associates, and has been tied to two fatal shootings and to bank fraud. A handful of members are currently being prosecuted in U.S. District Court. Teen prostitution has become a growing problem in Seattle.

***  In St. Paul, MN an enraged father, a reputed member of the Bloods, allegedly hits his four-year-old son for wearing a shirt which was the color of a rival gang.

***  Over 100 members from 14 different gangs have been arrested "following an investigation that revealed drug-running activities stretching from Arizona to the East Coast":

A task force led by Phoenix police and the FBI announced they arrested 63 of the suspects early Wednesday. Two others turned themselves in, and nearly 40 people are outstanding, authorities said. The far-reaching criminal conspiracy case compiled by the FBI's Violent Street Gang Task Force received its nickname, Operation Trident, because investigators initially focused on three street gangs. Since January, investigators unraveled drug operations that supplied the local market and as far away as New York and Delaware.

***  Several members of MS-13 arrested in Long Branch, NJ on cocaine trafficking charges in an operation that brought in $600,000 a month.

***  In San Antonio, TX high ranking members of the rival Mexican Mafia and the Texas Syndicate gangs have been busted for allegedly peddling heroin, and more than $300,000 of junk was seized.

***  Deadly gang violence in El Paso, TX "is not likely to go away soon":

The deadly stompings, gunplay and street fighting that claimed the lives of three teenagers became the focus of three separate murder trials last week. Each case provided a glimpse of a violent gang subculture in El Paso that is not likely to go away soon. "It's inherent that it will increase," said Mary Lou Carrillo, a retired El Paso police sergeant, who spent most of her career investigating gangs. "There is no way we will see a decrease in gang violence with a population increase." El Paso is not only a growing city but also a prime spot on one of the busiest narco-trafficking corridors in the nation.

***  A member of the Crips in Wichita, KS has been sentenced to 96 months in prison following his conviction on federal racketeering and drug trafficking charges.

***  Police in Sioux Falls, SD busted a drug ring whose participants included "members of a Chicago-based street gang known at the Mickey Cobras":

"They are very well organized street gang from the Southside of Chicago and they are trying to spread out to other cities in the Midwest,” Lt. Steve Haney of the Sioux Falls Police Department said. Investigators believe they're doing that to expand their drug market.

***  Two members of the Insane Deuces receive life sentences in Chicago, IL following their convictions on federal racketeering and drug trafficking charges:

They are the seventh and eighth men to receive life sentences from the 2005 sweep. "The Insane Deuces was a diabolical group," [Judge Harry] Leinenweber said at one point during the hearings. "I can't feel particularly sorry." Of the 16 men charged, 14 were convicted, one pleaded guilty and one is still missing. The racketeering convictions tied the men to three murders, five attempted murders and up to $1.25 million in drug trafficking in 2002.

***  A Top 6 gang member was arrested for a double shooting in 2006 outside a Lake Worth, FL restaurant, and "is also a suspect in numerous shootings":  "the Top 6 street gang is linked to at least 150 shootings and 14 murders in Palm Beach County in recent years, according to authorities."

***  A member of the Third Shift gang in Manatee County, FL got sixty years in prison following his conviction on state racketeering charges, and the sentence "is the longest ever handed down to a gang member since the Attorney General's Office of Statewide Prosecution began using the racketeering statute to prosecute criminal gangs."

Weekly Gang Roundup

***  Dozens of reputed gang members tied to the Mexican Mafia have been arrested for allegedly operating a methamphetamine trafficking ring in Los Angeles, CA.

***  In the Bronx, NY the NYPD has arrested 21 members of the Bloods "on 54 charges, including murder, conspiracy to murder, drug sales and illegal gun possession," and four of those arrested are accused of recruiting "gang members as young as 13 or 14 to sell drugs, stash firearms and carry out shootings."

***  A 13-year-old girl was "sexed-in" to a Crips gang in Fredericksburg, VA.

***  Police have arrested 165 gang members in East Orange, NJ, and 76 of them belonged to the Crips and Bloods gangs.

***  Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested 17 illegal aliens with gang affiliations and criminal records in Wichita, KS:

All the arrests involved Mexican men with criminal pasts that included convictions or arrests for involuntary manslaughter, assault, burglary, unlawful possession of drugs and firearms and battery, the agency said in a news release. The men were allegedly members or associates of street gangs known as Kings of Destruction, Players For Life, Sureños-13, and the Vato Loco Boys.

***  The owner of a beauty salon in Houston, TX stands up to MS-13 demands for protection payments which results in the arrests of seven gang members:  "Despite her fear, she was also angry that the same crimes she saw in her native El Salvador were happening in the United States."

***  An illegal alien who was a member of MS-13 has pleaded guilty to the murder of a 14-year-old boy in Montgomery County, MD.

***  The leader of Hollywood Locos Salvatrucha, an offshoot of MS-13, has been convicted for the 2007 murder of a rival member from the 18th Street gang in Springfield, VA.

***  Three MS-13 members arrested in Santa Cruz, CA in a methamphetamine drug bust.

***  The arrest of an alleged MS-13 member leads to a tense stand off between police and other gang bangers who demanded his release in Guttenberg, NJ.

***  In Chicago, IL a member of the Insane Deuces has been convicted for the 2006 murder of a Marine veteran from the Iraq war in a tragic case of mistaken identity.

***  In Florida "generations of gang rivalries play out in St. Petersburg and leave bloody trails."

***  24 alleged members of the Chain Gang -- also known as Wolf Pack -- have been indicted on federal racketeering charges involving the murder of a 15-year-old girl, several attempted murders and drug trafficking in Rochester, NY over the last decade.

***  Atlanta police have launced a new website to combat the city's gang problem.

Weekly Gang Roundup: Wolfpak; Insane Deuces; Nuestra Familia; Houstones; Tango Blast; Bloods; & Crips

***  In Hawaii a group of diehard surfer boys known as Wolfpak "use fear and their fists to command respect in the surf along the North Shore of Oahu, a seven-mile stretch of some of the world's most renowned waves":

At the celebrated Banzai Pipeline, they determine which waves go to whom, and punish those who breach their code of respect for local residents and the waves.  * * * The Pipeline is "like any surf spot," said Randy Rarick, executive director of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing, which includes the Pipeline Masters. "You have locals, and you have locals who enforce the unwritten rules," Rarick said. "And sometimes that leads to violence, sort of shady characters dictating. It's kind of like Mafia control in the surf." * * * The Wolfpak's loosely affiliated membership comes mostly from the neighboring island of Kauai. It includes professional surfers like the three-time world champion Andy Irons, 30, and his brother, Bruce, 29, a talented free surfer. The most notorious member is the group's enforcer, Kala Alexander, a professional surfer with muscular tattooed arms and "Wolfpak" inked across his knuckles. In 2007, Alexander starred in "The 808," a reality television series about the Wolfpak and the North Shore, and appeared in the films "Blue Crush" and "Forgetting Sarah Marshall." But he has also gained fame for YouTube videos that show him pummeling surfers on the sand several years ago.

***  A federal judge in Chicago, IL has handed down three more life sentences against members of the Insane Deuces who were convicted last month on racketeering charges:

Federal Judge Ruben Castillo admitted he initially had reservations about hearing a local gang case in federal court. Were the U.S. courts -- places often reserved for bribery and public corruption -- the appropriate venue to try a bunch of neighborhood gang leaders? But after hearing the evidence against members of Aurora's Insane Deuces, Castillo said he became convinced federal courts were exactly where sophisticated, organized and deadly gangs must be dismantled. And [last] Wednesday, Castillo handed down the third, fourth and fifth life sentences to the gang members convicted of participating in a racketeering conspiracy that killed four people, attempted to kill five others and netted $1.5 million in drug profits.

***  In Salinas, CA state and local lawmakers held a private summit "in what the meeting's organizer called a bid to 'immediately take control of the streets' from 'organized crime' elements":

Assemblywoman Anna Caballero, D-Salinas, called the meeting at Salinas City Hall. She said it was a chance to start anew in the fight against gangs by seeking collaboration, commitment and resources from every level of government and law enforcement — the city, the county, the state and federal agencies. A former Salinas mayor, Caballero said such meetings were successful during her administration and led to the jailing of major gang leaders and the creation of such tools as the Monterey County Joint Gang Task force. And make no mistake, Caballero said in an impromptu, pre-meeting press conference, "Organized crime is really what this is all about." It was a reference to the belief in some circles that, as Salinas' interim police Chief Daniel Ortega suggested in an earlier press conference Friday, that the recent violence and robberies might be tied to the notorious prison gang, Nuestra Familia.

***  "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested nearly 2,000 gang members and gang associates in the Los Angeles area in 2008 as part of the agency's ongoing national anti-gang effort known as Operation Community Shield":

"Using criminal prosecutions and deportations, we're taking dangerous gang members off the street and disrupting the cycle of gang violence," said Brian DeMore, field office director for ICE's Office of Detention and Removal Operations in Los Angeles. "In cases where gang members are in the United States illegally, we not only remove them from the community, we seek to remove them from the country." As part of Operation Community Shield, ICE works with federal, state and local law enforcement agencies to target transnational street gangs. Transnational street gangs have a significant number of foreign-born members and are frequently involved in human and contraband smuggling, immigration violations and other crimes with a connection to the border. Since Operation Community Shield was launched in 2005, ICE has arrested more than 11,850 gang members and associates nationwide and seized more than 450 firearms. Of those arrested, 145 were gang leaders.

***  In Hoston, TX federal authorities arrested ten suspected members of the Houstone street gang and are seeking four others on drug trafficking charges:

The three-year investigation that led to the 14-person indictment was dubbed Operation Broken Star, referring to the Astros logo that the Houstone gang members use to identify themselves with their clothing and tattoos, said acting U.S. Attorney Tim Johnson. "Most gangs deal with roots in the prison system," Johnson said. He said gangs are useful protection in prison and embolden the members on the outside. He noted that "10 working together with the same goal," have a magnified effect. "The Houstones are an offshoot of the Tango Blast prison gang," said Andrew Bland III, special agent in charge of the FBI in Houston. "Make no bones about it, we are here to collectively wage battle, wage war on any gang and all gangs." The 14 indicted men, ages 22 to 36 and mostly from the Houston area, are charged with distributing marijuana and cocaine with a wholesale value of $18 million and could have a street value much higher, maybe $40 million, authorities said. Also seized from the suspected gang members were 10 cars, including a Hummer, a Mercedes, a Bentley, a Maserati and a Range Rover.

Video of Arrests

***  Film director Stacy Peralta takes a look at the Bloods and the Crips in Los Angeles in his new documentary Crips and Bloods:  Made in America:

Weekly Gang Roundup: 18th Street Gang; Mexican Mafia; Insane Deuces; Bakersfield Crips; Texas Born Hustlers; MS-13; Shotgun Crips; Conservative Vice Lords; Latin Kings; Bloods; & Crips

***  The city of Los Angeles has sued "nine imprisoned members of the 18th Street Gang, including two leaders of the Mexican Mafia, and demands civil damages on behalf of residents of two city neighborhoods":

If successful, the suit would distribute proceeds from seized homes, businesses and other assets to neighborhood residents who cannot file suit themselves because they fear retaliation, prosecutors say. "Today, we're sending a message to gang leaders across this city: If you break the law, we will not only find you, arrest you and put you behind bars, we will also take away your money, your property, your homes and your cars," City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo said. "Every penny we strip away will be returned to the neighborhoods."

Prison allegedly has not prevented the gang members from profiting from their enterprises:

Delgadillo said the action is necessary because the gang leaders, even though they are in prison, collect profits from illegal "street taxes" imposed on residents of the Pico-Union and Westlake areas, where drug dealers, store owners and even ice cream vendors must pay protection.

Among those named as defendants in the civil suit are Mexican Mafia leaders Ruben "Nite Owl" Castro and Frank "Puppet" Martinez:

Castro, 46, is a leader, or carnal, of the Mexican Mafia, also known as the "La Eme" prison gang. Authorities say Castro controls two cliques of the 18th Street gang -- the Shatto Park Locos and the Hoover Locos. Castro is alleged to have run those gang cliques from a federal maximum-security prison in Colorado, where he is serving multiple life terms and was recently sentenced to an additional 27 years and three months for racketeering. Prosecutors say that from behind bars, Martinez, another La Eme carnal, allegedly made as much as $40,000 a month from criminal activity.

***  In suburban Chicago seven members of the Insane Deuces -- "an organization that lived to kill, maim and sell drugs" -- were convicted on federal racketeering charges:

It is unusual for federal prosecutors to bring charges in local murders. But the keys to these cases were tape-recorded conversations. While working with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, an Aurora man wore a wire to gang meetings and gang funerals, secretly taping plots to kill rivals and better organize young members. The racketeering convictions tie the men to three murders, five attempted murders and up to $1.25 million in drug trafficking. Most of the allegations focus on a bloody 10-month period in Aurora, between February and November 2002.

Last April additional members of the Insane Deuces were convicted for their participation in the enterprise. 

***  Four members of a Baltimore gang were convicted on federal racketeering charges involving five murders.

***  Police have shut down an alleged weapons house belonging to the Crips gang in Baltimore:

Inside, police recovered several hundred rounds of ammunition, a fully automatic pistol, a sawed off shotgun, a revolver and another shotgun. "The weapons that were recovered here were significant. Sometimes these organizations, the guns are in this house, and the drugs are in this house. So you may have a big drug seizure with no weapons and then you'll find the weapons house. This was a weapons house," said Maj. Terry McLarney, commander city Homicide Unit. Baltimore Police task forces do these kinds of raids every morning.

***  In Howard County, TX three alleged members of the Texas Born Hustlers have been indicted on oranized crime charges involving drug trafficking.

***  After a two-year investigation the FBI has arrested 46 members of the Bakersfield Crips in California on drug trafficking charges.

***  In Columbus, OH authorities arrested 15 alleged members of MS-13:

Scott Best, resident agent in charge for the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of Investigations, said the probe began after an arrest by Columbus police in 2004. A 2005 operation netted nine "international" gang members, meaning they'd traveled to and from the country, he said. "This is part of a nationwide crackdown, Operation Community Shield," Best said. "Columbus is one of the key areas."

***  After a two-year investigation in Oklahoma City the FBI arrested 19 alleged members of Shotgun Crips, and is looking for another ten:

Gary Johnson, FBI special agent, said the goal of the Oklahoma City Metro Gang Task Force is to target the most violent and active gangs and try to remove as many of the most dangerous members as possible. "The Shotgun Crips was identified as one of the most violent gangs in the area,” Johnson said.

***  Police have arrested 14 alleged members of Conservative Vice Lords in connection with a drug trafficking operation on Chicago's West Side:  "Officials recovered 3,000 grams of crack cocaine, 850 grams of heroine, more than $43,000 cash, three vehicles, two handguns and two shotguns."

***  New Jersey's anti-gang Strategy for Safe Streets and Neighborhoods has netted "more than 1,800 arrests and more than $4 million in drug seizures since its launch this summer":

The statewide initiative, directed by Jose Cordero, the statewide director of gangs, guns and violent crime control strategies, led to the arrest of 29 suspects in connection with 17 murders. Another seven suspects were arrested in connection with three attempted murders. About one-third of those arrested had violent criminal backgrounds and 530 were suspected street gang members, belonging to various sets of the Bloods, Crips, Latin Kings and other gangs.

The state also plans "to create 'Gangstat,' a police intelligence model which will allow prosecutors and law enforcement officials throughout the state to share gang-related information."

***  Four high school kids in Kansas have been arrested on a new felony law prohibiting the recruitment of criminal street gang members.

***  A high school student who was a member of a Crips gang in Fayette County, GA was sentenced to four years in jail for his gang-related crimes, and admitted that he recruited a middle school student.