Crips and Bloods: Made in America
A gang mentality for no good reason
Former Crips gang member Scrap is profiled in ''Crips and Bloods.'' (Bryan Wiley)
By Wesley Morris
Globe Staff / April 24, 2009
Stacy Peralta's documentary "Crips and Bloods: Made in America" means well, I suppose. It sits one or two academics down in front of a vibrantly graffitied wall and lets them explain the provenance of Los Angeles's gang wars. It permits community activists and "gang interventionists" to say a word or two. And the montage of people who've lost someone to gang violence is touching, as each stands before a similar vibrant background and fights back tears. To this the film adds somber narration by Forest Whitaker.
But for every somewhat intelligent thought about black power and every angry remark about the double scourge of drugs and racism, there is the movie's own scourge: a steady stream of what must be hundreds of gang photos. The pictures keep coming - black men with bandanas over their faces, with teardrops tattooed below their eyes, crouching, their fingers and hands fixed in the palsied contortions we've come to know as the gang sign. These photographs look old, from an era when rap music was still urgent and dangerous.
The photos also look authentic and personal - like someone with a bandana and gold fronts took them of his friends. How they came into Peralta's possession is unclear, but they come in flurries amid all the teary eyes, outrage, and talk of history, that last largely courtesy of Josh Sides, a fratty-looking professor whose book on blacks in Los Angeles appears to be the only one the filmmakers have read. The photos fade in and out of view, like a slide show, while a cheap beat stutters on the soundtrack. This is not the stuff of reasonable documentary filmmaking. It's what happens when you arrive at a MySpace page.
Peralta has made other nonfiction films. His previous two focused on skate culture ("Dogtown and Z-Boys") and surfing ("Riding Giants"). Those were well within his professional ambit; Peralta is a legendary name in board sports. Gangs are another matter. He stands off-camera as the men justify their vocation with received wisdom ("It's kill or be kilt"). Peralta listens, but the tough questions go unasked. "Did you have a normal childhood?" is the best he can do.
The role gangs play in the drug wars never comes up. The role they play in the fashion wars does - one photo shows a gangsta ironing his jeans. Drugs, we're told, have made junkies of so many mothers. Those women had babies with men who are now missing. What else is a kid to do besides shoot other kids? The movie tries to say something cogent about how South Los Angeles became a war zone. But sensationalistic overproduction sullies all. (When is a sniper's target positioned in front of Martin Luther King's head followed by a "blam!" ever necessary?)
The film seems afraid or incapable of locating the men behind the bravado (they can't even spare a real name) or what the city is doing to curb or, if you're so inclined, foment the violence. "Crips and Bloods" hasn't been made out of moral anger or a sense of conspiracy. As matters of journalism, sociology, and humanitarianism, the movie is incurious at best. At worst, it's a recruitment video.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Affidavit Places Spotlight On Gang (BGF)
Smuggling Alleged In Md. Prisons
By Henri E. Cauvin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 18, 2009
An unlikely meeting unfolded this week not far from the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.
About 100 people gathered in a park for what authorities say was an open-air meeting of the Black Guerilla Family, the gang at the center of a newly disclosed federal investigation into smuggling in Maryland's state prisons.
After police broke up the gathering in Druid Hill Park, a leader of the gang scolded a subordinate for holding the meeting in such a way that it drew the attention of police, federal prosecutors said in an affidavit.
"I been tellin' you and tellin' you and you ain't listenin'," Eric Brown, speaking from a Baltimore prison, told Rainbow Williams in a phone conversation.
Federal agents were listening, though -- on wiretaps.
Informants had given investigators cellphone numbers for several imprisoned BGF members, including Brown, according to an affidavit filed in court.
Federal prosecutors thrust a spotlight on the gang Thursday by unsealing indictments against 24 alleged members and associates, including Brown, Williams and four current or former state prison employees.
BGF, as it is known, was founded in 1966 in San Quentin State Prison in California. It is the biggest and most powerful prison gang in Maryland, where its smuggling operation is unrivaled, authorities said.
"The BGF runs the prison system when it comes to controlling contraband," said Capt. Phil Smith, assistant director of the state prison system's intelligence unit.
In Maryland, BGF has been involved in extortion and the smuggling of drugs and other contraband, sometimes with the help of guards, often for the purpose of selling to other inmates, prosecutors say. The gang's leaders have also indulged more decadent tastes, arranging for deliveries of champagne, salmon and crab imperial.
But after decades of operating primarily behind bars, BGF has been establishing a bigger presence on the streets of Baltimore, expanding its footprint into the city's volatile narcotics trade, prosecutors said.
Like some other prison gangs, BGF fashions itself as a movement, Smith said.
"I think you do have some who generally want to educate and want to teach the guys, but . . . you have a certain group or certain faction that's all about the criminal element," Smith said.
Traditionally, the gang's members have been older prisoners, in their 30s and 40s, who are serving longer sentences, Smith said. They remain its leaders, but as the group has branched out into Baltimore, it has recruited younger members as well, Smith said. "You have to have your foot soldiers who you need to do the work," he said.
Like other prison gangs, it is also enlisting people without criminal backgrounds who can, for example, obtain jobs in prisons, Smith said.
"I strongly believe that the majority of our staff are good," he said, "but it only takes a few bad seeds to make everyone look bad."
Organized along paramilitary lines, the BGF has a charter, code of ethics and oath of allegiance, according to government documents.
Brown recently published "The Black Book -- Empowering Black Families and Communities." According to the publishing company's Web site, the book is designed to make people "aware of the vision of comrade George Jackson" -- the founder of BGF -- "and the struggle that he lived and died for."
A BGF member who is cooperating with investigators told them that the book is a ploy to make the group appear legitimate, according to an affidavit filed in support of the charges.
When the crowd dispersed from Druid Hill Park on Monday, police found copies of "The Black Book" and a gun.
By Henri E. Cauvin
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 18, 2009
An unlikely meeting unfolded this week not far from the Maryland Zoo in Baltimore.
About 100 people gathered in a park for what authorities say was an open-air meeting of the Black Guerilla Family, the gang at the center of a newly disclosed federal investigation into smuggling in Maryland's state prisons.
After police broke up the gathering in Druid Hill Park, a leader of the gang scolded a subordinate for holding the meeting in such a way that it drew the attention of police, federal prosecutors said in an affidavit.
"I been tellin' you and tellin' you and you ain't listenin'," Eric Brown, speaking from a Baltimore prison, told Rainbow Williams in a phone conversation.
Federal agents were listening, though -- on wiretaps.
Informants had given investigators cellphone numbers for several imprisoned BGF members, including Brown, according to an affidavit filed in court.
Federal prosecutors thrust a spotlight on the gang Thursday by unsealing indictments against 24 alleged members and associates, including Brown, Williams and four current or former state prison employees.
BGF, as it is known, was founded in 1966 in San Quentin State Prison in California. It is the biggest and most powerful prison gang in Maryland, where its smuggling operation is unrivaled, authorities said.
"The BGF runs the prison system when it comes to controlling contraband," said Capt. Phil Smith, assistant director of the state prison system's intelligence unit.
In Maryland, BGF has been involved in extortion and the smuggling of drugs and other contraband, sometimes with the help of guards, often for the purpose of selling to other inmates, prosecutors say. The gang's leaders have also indulged more decadent tastes, arranging for deliveries of champagne, salmon and crab imperial.
But after decades of operating primarily behind bars, BGF has been establishing a bigger presence on the streets of Baltimore, expanding its footprint into the city's volatile narcotics trade, prosecutors said.
Like some other prison gangs, BGF fashions itself as a movement, Smith said.
"I think you do have some who generally want to educate and want to teach the guys, but . . . you have a certain group or certain faction that's all about the criminal element," Smith said.
Traditionally, the gang's members have been older prisoners, in their 30s and 40s, who are serving longer sentences, Smith said. They remain its leaders, but as the group has branched out into Baltimore, it has recruited younger members as well, Smith said. "You have to have your foot soldiers who you need to do the work," he said.
Like other prison gangs, it is also enlisting people without criminal backgrounds who can, for example, obtain jobs in prisons, Smith said.
"I strongly believe that the majority of our staff are good," he said, "but it only takes a few bad seeds to make everyone look bad."
Organized along paramilitary lines, the BGF has a charter, code of ethics and oath of allegiance, according to government documents.
Brown recently published "The Black Book -- Empowering Black Families and Communities." According to the publishing company's Web site, the book is designed to make people "aware of the vision of comrade George Jackson" -- the founder of BGF -- "and the struggle that he lived and died for."
A BGF member who is cooperating with investigators told them that the book is a ploy to make the group appear legitimate, according to an affidavit filed in support of the charges.
When the crowd dispersed from Druid Hill Park on Monday, police found copies of "The Black Book" and a gun.
Prison Guards Accused of Supplying Gang Members
Reported by: Jeff Hager
Reported by: Delia Goncalves
Last Update: 4/16 10:52 pm
Manager of troubled nightclub involved in gang arrests.
Police said it was a string of violent crime that led them to crack down on Club 410. They successfully padlocked the trouble spot last week, when manager Tomeka Harris vowed to fight the closure. She told us, “There is no drug activity going on here it's all rumors it's all lies."
Come to find out Harris, who so openly defended the club, was under investigation herself. “I'm a law abiding citizen I do what I'm supposed to do so I don't commit crime," she said on April 8th. Now investigators say Harris was a member of the Black Guerrilla Family. They arrested her - and 23 others - on drug, extortion and conspiracy charges. The indictment even alleges members coordinated hits from their jail cell - where the gang, which dates back to the 1960’s, originated. “Gang members of BGF when they're incarcerated continue to involved in gang activities using contraband cell phones in our prisons to call out to fellow members outside the prison," explained U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein.
A major crack in the case, came just a few days ago when police spotted nearly 200 gang members at Druid Hill Park. Two were arrested. Baltimore Police Commissioner Fred Bealefeld said, “It's a great opportunity for us not to wait for fire. Someone smelled smoke and we went and were able to get some bad guys off the streets."
Police won't comment on the link between Tomeka Harris' gang arrest and their efforts to shut down Club 410 but neighbors are relieved it looks like the club is gone - for good.
It’s a prison gang that dates back to the sixties, but the federal indictments suggest the Black Guerilla Family, or BMF, used modern-day, state-of-the-art technology to continue operating its drug trade and to order hits from behind bars.
"Using contraband cell phones in our prisons to call out to fellow members outside the prison... even to call other members that are located in other prisons," said U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein.
Among the two dozen gang members or associates arrested in prisons across the state, the feds busted four current or former corrections employees.
"These are bad examples of the profession and they need to be weeded out... rooted out for everybody's safety," said Maryland Public Safety and Correctional Services Secretary Gary D. Maynard.
In addition to contraband cell phones, here at the Metropolitan Transition Center in Baltimore, we're told gang leaders would courier in fancy food and liquor including champagne, vodka and seafood.
As the investigation inside the prisons came to a head, it left gang members on the outside in chaos.
City police, acting upon information provided by state and federal agents, broke up a Black Guerilla Family gang meeting in Druid Hill Park on Monday.
"We got great intelligence,” said Baltimore City Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld, “We responded in a good comprehensive way and we were able to capture some of the guys with guns."
In an effort to further crack down on active gang operations behind bars, prison officials are using phone-sniffing dogs to locate contraband cell phones, and in a few months, proposed federal legislation may lead to signal-blocking devices for those, which remain in the inmates’ hands.
Copyright 2009 The E.W. Scripps Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Reported by: Delia Goncalves
Last Update: 4/16 10:52 pm
Manager of troubled nightclub involved in gang arrests.
Police said it was a string of violent crime that led them to crack down on Club 410. They successfully padlocked the trouble spot last week, when manager Tomeka Harris vowed to fight the closure. She told us, “There is no drug activity going on here it's all rumors it's all lies."
Come to find out Harris, who so openly defended the club, was under investigation herself. “I'm a law abiding citizen I do what I'm supposed to do so I don't commit crime," she said on April 8th. Now investigators say Harris was a member of the Black Guerrilla Family. They arrested her - and 23 others - on drug, extortion and conspiracy charges. The indictment even alleges members coordinated hits from their jail cell - where the gang, which dates back to the 1960’s, originated. “Gang members of BGF when they're incarcerated continue to involved in gang activities using contraband cell phones in our prisons to call out to fellow members outside the prison," explained U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein.
A major crack in the case, came just a few days ago when police spotted nearly 200 gang members at Druid Hill Park. Two were arrested. Baltimore Police Commissioner Fred Bealefeld said, “It's a great opportunity for us not to wait for fire. Someone smelled smoke and we went and were able to get some bad guys off the streets."
Police won't comment on the link between Tomeka Harris' gang arrest and their efforts to shut down Club 410 but neighbors are relieved it looks like the club is gone - for good.
It’s a prison gang that dates back to the sixties, but the federal indictments suggest the Black Guerilla Family, or BMF, used modern-day, state-of-the-art technology to continue operating its drug trade and to order hits from behind bars.
"Using contraband cell phones in our prisons to call out to fellow members outside the prison... even to call other members that are located in other prisons," said U.S. Attorney Rod Rosenstein.
Among the two dozen gang members or associates arrested in prisons across the state, the feds busted four current or former corrections employees.
"These are bad examples of the profession and they need to be weeded out... rooted out for everybody's safety," said Maryland Public Safety and Correctional Services Secretary Gary D. Maynard.
In addition to contraband cell phones, here at the Metropolitan Transition Center in Baltimore, we're told gang leaders would courier in fancy food and liquor including champagne, vodka and seafood.
As the investigation inside the prisons came to a head, it left gang members on the outside in chaos.
City police, acting upon information provided by state and federal agents, broke up a Black Guerilla Family gang meeting in Druid Hill Park on Monday.
"We got great intelligence,” said Baltimore City Police Commissioner Frederick Bealefeld, “We responded in a good comprehensive way and we were able to capture some of the guys with guns."
In an effort to further crack down on active gang operations behind bars, prison officials are using phone-sniffing dogs to locate contraband cell phones, and in a few months, proposed federal legislation may lead to signal-blocking devices for those, which remain in the inmates’ hands.
Copyright 2009 The E.W. Scripps Co. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Gang-related bus murders rattle Guatemala capital
Fri Apr 17, 2009 5:13pm EDT
* Dozens of bus employees attacked so far this year
* Extortions said to generate nearly $10,000 a day
* Guatemala president points to international traffickers
By Sarah Grainger
GUATEMALA CITY, April 17 (Reuters) - Guatemalan police have arrested a street gang leader on suspicion of organizing the murders of dozens of bus drivers, part of a wave of attacks on the capital's public transport system.
Police say 21-year-old Axel Ramirez, alias "El Smaily" ("Smiley"), belongs to the "Mara 18" gang and ordered more than 20 shootings of bus drivers and fare collectors for not paying extortionists.
Ramirez, arrested on Thursday after a shootout, had been released from prison in December after serving about four years for murdering a rival gang member.
"He was doing a lot of harm, not just extorting our country but organizing murders and generating terror wherever he lived," Interior Minister Salvador Gandara told local radio.
Gangs have attacked more than 40 bus employees this year. Usually the killers pull up to rickety city buses on motorcycles and open fire, or climb aboard and shoot the drivers.
Some 135 bus drivers were slain last year, 50 percent more than in 2007 and more than twice the number murdered in 2006.
Buses often crash after the shootings and passengers are killed or injured in the mayhem. Some bus companies have staged transit strikes in protest.
A 2-month-old baby recently was killed by a stray bullet when gunmen boarded a bus and shot the driver. The same week, an 85-year-old man died in a similar incident.
With more than 6,000 murders last year in a country of 13 million people, Guatemala is one of Latin America's most violent countries. Still scarred from a 1960-96 civil war, it is struggling to contain youth gangs and drug cartels.
Gangs like the "Mara 18" and the rival "Mara Salvatrucha" have thousands of members in vast criminal networks spanning Los Angeles to Central America. They live off extortion, armed assault and drug dealing. Many are adolescents.
Bus extortions in Guatemala City now generate close to $10,000 a day, according to the head of the bus owner's association, and murders of drivers have exploded.
The government is phasing in a $35 million program to replace cash fares with prepaid plastic cards on buses.
This week President Alvaro Colom linked the murders with increased drug smuggling into Guatemala as Mexican cartels move south to avoid an army crackdown at home and seek new trafficking routes.
"The violence is planned and managed by those with political and economic interests who participate in organized crime and international narco-trafficking," Colom said. (Editing by Xavier Briand)
© Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved
* Dozens of bus employees attacked so far this year
* Extortions said to generate nearly $10,000 a day
* Guatemala president points to international traffickers
By Sarah Grainger
GUATEMALA CITY, April 17 (Reuters) - Guatemalan police have arrested a street gang leader on suspicion of organizing the murders of dozens of bus drivers, part of a wave of attacks on the capital's public transport system.
Police say 21-year-old Axel Ramirez, alias "El Smaily" ("Smiley"), belongs to the "Mara 18" gang and ordered more than 20 shootings of bus drivers and fare collectors for not paying extortionists.
Ramirez, arrested on Thursday after a shootout, had been released from prison in December after serving about four years for murdering a rival gang member.
"He was doing a lot of harm, not just extorting our country but organizing murders and generating terror wherever he lived," Interior Minister Salvador Gandara told local radio.
Gangs have attacked more than 40 bus employees this year. Usually the killers pull up to rickety city buses on motorcycles and open fire, or climb aboard and shoot the drivers.
Some 135 bus drivers were slain last year, 50 percent more than in 2007 and more than twice the number murdered in 2006.
Buses often crash after the shootings and passengers are killed or injured in the mayhem. Some bus companies have staged transit strikes in protest.
A 2-month-old baby recently was killed by a stray bullet when gunmen boarded a bus and shot the driver. The same week, an 85-year-old man died in a similar incident.
With more than 6,000 murders last year in a country of 13 million people, Guatemala is one of Latin America's most violent countries. Still scarred from a 1960-96 civil war, it is struggling to contain youth gangs and drug cartels.
Gangs like the "Mara 18" and the rival "Mara Salvatrucha" have thousands of members in vast criminal networks spanning Los Angeles to Central America. They live off extortion, armed assault and drug dealing. Many are adolescents.
Bus extortions in Guatemala City now generate close to $10,000 a day, according to the head of the bus owner's association, and murders of drivers have exploded.
The government is phasing in a $35 million program to replace cash fares with prepaid plastic cards on buses.
This week President Alvaro Colom linked the murders with increased drug smuggling into Guatemala as Mexican cartels move south to avoid an army crackdown at home and seek new trafficking routes.
"The violence is planned and managed by those with political and economic interests who participate in organized crime and international narco-trafficking," Colom said. (Editing by Xavier Briand)
© Thomson Reuters 2009. All rights reserved
Friday, April 17, 2009
Gang Quintet Guilty of Racketeering
Wichita, Kansas
April 15, 2009
Five members of Crips street gangs in Wichita have been found guilty on conspiracy to engage in racketeering and other charges; a sixth defendant was convicted on a firearms charge.
A federal jury returned a verdict Wednesday morning in Wichita, ending a trial that began Feb. 24, and went to the jury on March 30. The verdict marks the second time in Kansas that a jury has found street gang-members guilty of racketeering. Last November, the first trial ended in the convictions of three members of the Crips: Clinton A.D. Knight, Tracy Harris, and Chester Randall, Jr.
Both trials were the result of charges brought after a major investigation by the Wichita Police Department into gang crimes. Last May 2008, Wichita police and the U.S. Attorney’s office teamed up to file the first federal indictments in state history under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
The indictments alleged that the defendants and other members of Crips street gangs in Wichita conspired to create and maintain through acts of violence and intimidation a drug trafficking operation.
“The Wichita Police are encouraged by today’s guilty verdicts,” said police chief Norman Williams. “Over the past 21 years, these criminal gangs have used fear, intimidation, and violence to terrorize our community. Today’s verdicts reflect the tremendous partnership between federal, local and state law enforcement agencies that have worked together for many years to bring these people to justice.”
The jury returned the following verdicts:
*Jonearl Smith, 30, Wichita: guilty on one count of conspiracy to engage in racketeering, and one count of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine. He was found not guilty on one count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana. The jury did not reach a verdict on one count of participating in a racketeering influenced and corrupt organization.
*Lonnie Wade, 29, Wichita: guilty on one count of conspiracy to engage in racketeering, one count of maintaining 1815 E. 23rd in furtherance of drug trafficking, and two counts of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine. He was found not guilty on one count of maintaining 505 N. Rock Road, Apt. 1111 in furtherance of drug trafficking. The jury did not reach a verdict on one count of participating in a racketeering influenced and corrupt organization.
*Corey Cornelius, 30, Wichita: guilty on one count of conspiracy to engage in racketeering, one count of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and one count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana. The jury did not reach a verdict on one count of participating in a racketeering influenced and corrupt organization.
*Darryn Frierson, 36, Wichita: guilty on one count of conspiracy to engage in racketeering, one count of distribution of cocaine, one count of distribution of crack cocaine, two counts of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, one count of maintaining 2249 N. Minneapolis in furtherance of drug trafficking, and two counts of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine. He was found not guilty on one count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana. The jury did not reach a verdict on one count of engaging in racketeering.
*Calvin Williams, 29, Wichita: guilty on one count of conspiracy to engage in racketeering. He was found not guilty on one count of threatening a witness, and one count of threatening a person for information relating to a crime against a law enforcement officer. The jury did not reach a verdict on one count of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and one count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana.
*Jermall Campbell, 27, Wichita: guilty on one count of unlawful possession of ammunition after a felony conviction. He was found not guilty on one count of racketeering, one count of conspiracy to engage in racketeering, and one count of murder.
Some defendants are facing mandatory minimum sentences because of prior convictions.
The Wichita Police Department led the federal investigation. The police department’s Cold Case Task Force also included members from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; Housing and Urban Development - Office of Inspector General; Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General, the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office; the U.S. Marshal Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Also assisting with the investigation were the Kansas Department of Health and Human Services; the state Bureau of Alcohol Beverage Control; the Kansas Attorney General’s Office; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office and other agencies.
April 15, 2009
Five members of Crips street gangs in Wichita have been found guilty on conspiracy to engage in racketeering and other charges; a sixth defendant was convicted on a firearms charge.
A federal jury returned a verdict Wednesday morning in Wichita, ending a trial that began Feb. 24, and went to the jury on March 30. The verdict marks the second time in Kansas that a jury has found street gang-members guilty of racketeering. Last November, the first trial ended in the convictions of three members of the Crips: Clinton A.D. Knight, Tracy Harris, and Chester Randall, Jr.
Both trials were the result of charges brought after a major investigation by the Wichita Police Department into gang crimes. Last May 2008, Wichita police and the U.S. Attorney’s office teamed up to file the first federal indictments in state history under the Racketeering Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO).
The indictments alleged that the defendants and other members of Crips street gangs in Wichita conspired to create and maintain through acts of violence and intimidation a drug trafficking operation.
“The Wichita Police are encouraged by today’s guilty verdicts,” said police chief Norman Williams. “Over the past 21 years, these criminal gangs have used fear, intimidation, and violence to terrorize our community. Today’s verdicts reflect the tremendous partnership between federal, local and state law enforcement agencies that have worked together for many years to bring these people to justice.”
The jury returned the following verdicts:
*Jonearl Smith, 30, Wichita: guilty on one count of conspiracy to engage in racketeering, and one count of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine. He was found not guilty on one count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana. The jury did not reach a verdict on one count of participating in a racketeering influenced and corrupt organization.
*Lonnie Wade, 29, Wichita: guilty on one count of conspiracy to engage in racketeering, one count of maintaining 1815 E. 23rd in furtherance of drug trafficking, and two counts of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine. He was found not guilty on one count of maintaining 505 N. Rock Road, Apt. 1111 in furtherance of drug trafficking. The jury did not reach a verdict on one count of participating in a racketeering influenced and corrupt organization.
*Corey Cornelius, 30, Wichita: guilty on one count of conspiracy to engage in racketeering, one count of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and one count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana. The jury did not reach a verdict on one count of participating in a racketeering influenced and corrupt organization.
*Darryn Frierson, 36, Wichita: guilty on one count of conspiracy to engage in racketeering, one count of distribution of cocaine, one count of distribution of crack cocaine, two counts of possession with intent to distribute crack cocaine, one count of maintaining 2249 N. Minneapolis in furtherance of drug trafficking, and two counts of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine. He was found not guilty on one count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana. The jury did not reach a verdict on one count of engaging in racketeering.
*Calvin Williams, 29, Wichita: guilty on one count of conspiracy to engage in racketeering. He was found not guilty on one count of threatening a witness, and one count of threatening a person for information relating to a crime against a law enforcement officer. The jury did not reach a verdict on one count of conspiracy to distribute crack cocaine and one count of conspiracy to distribute marijuana.
*Jermall Campbell, 27, Wichita: guilty on one count of unlawful possession of ammunition after a felony conviction. He was found not guilty on one count of racketeering, one count of conspiracy to engage in racketeering, and one count of murder.
Some defendants are facing mandatory minimum sentences because of prior convictions.
The Wichita Police Department led the federal investigation. The police department’s Cold Case Task Force also included members from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Drug Enforcement Administration; Housing and Urban Development - Office of Inspector General; Health and Human Services - Office of Inspector General, the Sedgwick County Sheriff’s Office; the U.S. Marshal Service, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Also assisting with the investigation were the Kansas Department of Health and Human Services; the state Bureau of Alcohol Beverage Control; the Kansas Attorney General’s Office; the U.S. Postal Inspection Service; the Sedgwick County District Attorney’s Office and other agencies.
Monday, April 6, 2009
Graffiti tagger David Miera sentenced to life in prison for 2006 shooting death
WestWord.com
By Jared Jacang Maher in Follow That StoryFriday, Apr. 3 2009 @ 2:25PM
Battles between tagging crews can sometime get violent in West Denver.
A member of a West Denver tagging crew will have lots of time to work in his blackbook after being sentenced to life in prison yesterday.
A Jefferson County judge slapped twenty-year-old David Miera Jr. with a life sentence plus 32 years for being the triggerman in a 2006 shooting that killed one man and caused serious injury to another.
Miera belonged to EMS, a loose collection of as many as 200 taggers known for scrawling their insignia on property across Denver's west side. Such crews are known within the graffiti community and among law enforcement as "tagbangers" for their low spray can skills -- no "pieces," just ugly tags -- and propensity for gang-like violence. For the past several years, EMS has been in heavy competition with rival crew WKS for turf and respect. In 2006, this escalated from the walls (the traditional way crews do battle) into stabbings and shootings.
Westword chronicled some of the drama in the June 2007 story, "Tagging up Denver." Here's an excerpt from that article:
At last summer's Taste of Colorado festival, a rumble between more than two dozen WKS and EMS members resulted in one teen getting stabbed. And on December 17, Jonathan "Roman" MacLagan was shot to death at a Littleton house party after breaking up a fight between rival crews. The twenty-year-old Kennedy High School grad "was a peacemaker at heart," says one of MacLagan's friends. "He wasn't down for fighting. He was a good homie like that."
Miera, then nineteen, was arrested five days later by Jefferson County deputies for the shooting death of MacLagan. According to an arrest affidavit, he told police that he and other EMS members became angry after not being admitted to a party. As they left, Miera says he fired a shotgun from the back window of an SUV intending to hit Moke, a member of WKS. Instead, the blast hit MacLagan in the head, killing him. "It wasn't meant for Roman, it was meant for Moke," Miera told investigators. He is currently awaiting a plea hearing on charges of first-degree murder.
In February, a jury found Miera guilty on several charges, including the first-degree murder of MacLagan and the first-degree assault of Carlos Sanchez, who was also shot but survived. The judge's sentence makes certain that the only walls Miera will be tagging up anytime soon will be prison walls.
Meanwhile, the City of Denver is banking on public art as a way to cut down on graffiti and related violence. Will it work for crews like EMS? Weigh in on our blog "City announces program to fight graffiti by paying for murals."
By Jared Jacang Maher in Follow That StoryFriday, Apr. 3 2009 @ 2:25PM
Battles between tagging crews can sometime get violent in West Denver.
A member of a West Denver tagging crew will have lots of time to work in his blackbook after being sentenced to life in prison yesterday.
A Jefferson County judge slapped twenty-year-old David Miera Jr. with a life sentence plus 32 years for being the triggerman in a 2006 shooting that killed one man and caused serious injury to another.
Miera belonged to EMS, a loose collection of as many as 200 taggers known for scrawling their insignia on property across Denver's west side. Such crews are known within the graffiti community and among law enforcement as "tagbangers" for their low spray can skills -- no "pieces," just ugly tags -- and propensity for gang-like violence. For the past several years, EMS has been in heavy competition with rival crew WKS for turf and respect. In 2006, this escalated from the walls (the traditional way crews do battle) into stabbings and shootings.
Westword chronicled some of the drama in the June 2007 story, "Tagging up Denver." Here's an excerpt from that article:
At last summer's Taste of Colorado festival, a rumble between more than two dozen WKS and EMS members resulted in one teen getting stabbed. And on December 17, Jonathan "Roman" MacLagan was shot to death at a Littleton house party after breaking up a fight between rival crews. The twenty-year-old Kennedy High School grad "was a peacemaker at heart," says one of MacLagan's friends. "He wasn't down for fighting. He was a good homie like that."
Miera, then nineteen, was arrested five days later by Jefferson County deputies for the shooting death of MacLagan. According to an arrest affidavit, he told police that he and other EMS members became angry after not being admitted to a party. As they left, Miera says he fired a shotgun from the back window of an SUV intending to hit Moke, a member of WKS. Instead, the blast hit MacLagan in the head, killing him. "It wasn't meant for Roman, it was meant for Moke," Miera told investigators. He is currently awaiting a plea hearing on charges of first-degree murder.
In February, a jury found Miera guilty on several charges, including the first-degree murder of MacLagan and the first-degree assault of Carlos Sanchez, who was also shot but survived. The judge's sentence makes certain that the only walls Miera will be tagging up anytime soon will be prison walls.
Meanwhile, the City of Denver is banking on public art as a way to cut down on graffiti and related violence. Will it work for crews like EMS? Weigh in on our blog "City announces program to fight graffiti by paying for murals."
Saturday, April 4, 2009
Five arrested in robbery of pizza deliverer charged with violating street gang act
Published: March 31, 2009 07:40 pm
Rome News-Tribune (GA)
Five arrested in robbery of pizza deliverer charged with violating street gang act
Mark Millican
Four more people have been arrested in the March 26 armed robbery of a pizza delivery man at gunpoint near 306 N. Henderson St.
Dennis Shammad Love, 17, of 715 Trammel St., and three juveniles were arrested Tuesday by officers with the Dalton Police Department. Damarion Johnson, 17, was arrested on Friday. All are charged with armed robbery and violation of the Georgia Street Gang Act. Police spokesman Bruce Frazier said officers believe some of the youth are part of a gang but do not want to publicize a gang name over concerns that other gangs may commit crimes to gain publicity.
Investigating officers found a pellet gun in the area where the robbery occurred and believe it was used in the holdup, Frazier said.
Love and Johnson are students at Northwest Whitfield High School, according to a spokesman at the Whitfield County Jail. They remained in custody Tuesday afternoon. Frazier said the juveniles were taken to the Regional Youth Detention Center where a decision would be made about incarceration or releasing them to their parents.
Punishment by the school system could include suspension or expulsion under the school system’s code of conduct. Spokesman Eric Beavers said Northwest principal Carolyn Towns could take the students before a discipline tribunal hearing.
The delivery driver was robbed in the area of apartments at 306 N. Henderson St. after someone called in an order for an address where the resident was not home, police said. As the driver was about to leave, he was approached by a group of young males who claimed to have made the order. He went to his truck to retrieve a change bag when one of the males pulled out a gun and demanded money.
The driver left after giving up $25 and the pizza.
Rome News-Tribune (GA)
Five arrested in robbery of pizza deliverer charged with violating street gang act
Mark Millican
Four more people have been arrested in the March 26 armed robbery of a pizza delivery man at gunpoint near 306 N. Henderson St.
Dennis Shammad Love, 17, of 715 Trammel St., and three juveniles were arrested Tuesday by officers with the Dalton Police Department. Damarion Johnson, 17, was arrested on Friday. All are charged with armed robbery and violation of the Georgia Street Gang Act. Police spokesman Bruce Frazier said officers believe some of the youth are part of a gang but do not want to publicize a gang name over concerns that other gangs may commit crimes to gain publicity.
Investigating officers found a pellet gun in the area where the robbery occurred and believe it was used in the holdup, Frazier said.
Love and Johnson are students at Northwest Whitfield High School, according to a spokesman at the Whitfield County Jail. They remained in custody Tuesday afternoon. Frazier said the juveniles were taken to the Regional Youth Detention Center where a decision would be made about incarceration or releasing them to their parents.
Punishment by the school system could include suspension or expulsion under the school system’s code of conduct. Spokesman Eric Beavers said Northwest principal Carolyn Towns could take the students before a discipline tribunal hearing.
The delivery driver was robbed in the area of apartments at 306 N. Henderson St. after someone called in an order for an address where the resident was not home, police said. As the driver was about to leave, he was approached by a group of young males who claimed to have made the order. He went to his truck to retrieve a change bag when one of the males pulled out a gun and demanded money.
The driver left after giving up $25 and the pizza.
Mississauga (Canada) homes raided in street gang bust
Mississauga.com
April 2, 2009 09:48 AM -
A series of pre-dawn raids yesterday, including two in Mississauga, have resulted in more than 100 people being arrested in what police described as the biggest street gang takedown in Ontario's history.
About 1,000 police officers executed more than 100 search warrants during a bust of "unprecedented scale," Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair said this morning.
Police from across the province, including OPP officers, burst into apartment buildings and homes as early as 5 a.m. in an effort to dismantle both high and low-level operatives of various criminal organizations.
Two Mississauga homes were raided, with four people being arrested.
"We have achieved the purpose that we set out to do today," Blair said.
Police continued to make arrests and seize property throughout the day.
Project Fusion, as police are calling Wednesday's takedown, began last year and focused on crimes dating back to 2003, Chief Bill Blair told a news conference at police headquarters today.
The investigation focused on two street gangs: MNE (Markham Road/Eglinton Ave. E.) and the 400 Crew (400 McCowan Rd.) located in southeast Toronto, Blair said.
"But there is an overarching criminal enterprise that supplies weapons and drugs to the street gangs, " Blair said. They don't have a name but "they have been extremely well organized and sophisticated in their operation."
One hundred homes and 61 vehicles around the GTA were the targets of search warrants.
Police arrested 125 people. Some face weapons trafficking and criminal organization charges while some facing less serious offences already have been released from custody. Prosecutors will try to detain the accused who face the most serious charges. No names have been released.
"This is the culmination of a complex and obviously successful organized crime investigation," Blair said.
lrosella@mississauga.net
April 2, 2009 09:48 AM -
A series of pre-dawn raids yesterday, including two in Mississauga, have resulted in more than 100 people being arrested in what police described as the biggest street gang takedown in Ontario's history.
About 1,000 police officers executed more than 100 search warrants during a bust of "unprecedented scale," Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair said this morning.
Police from across the province, including OPP officers, burst into apartment buildings and homes as early as 5 a.m. in an effort to dismantle both high and low-level operatives of various criminal organizations.
Two Mississauga homes were raided, with four people being arrested.
"We have achieved the purpose that we set out to do today," Blair said.
Police continued to make arrests and seize property throughout the day.
Project Fusion, as police are calling Wednesday's takedown, began last year and focused on crimes dating back to 2003, Chief Bill Blair told a news conference at police headquarters today.
The investigation focused on two street gangs: MNE (Markham Road/Eglinton Ave. E.) and the 400 Crew (400 McCowan Rd.) located in southeast Toronto, Blair said.
"But there is an overarching criminal enterprise that supplies weapons and drugs to the street gangs, " Blair said. They don't have a name but "they have been extremely well organized and sophisticated in their operation."
One hundred homes and 61 vehicles around the GTA were the targets of search warrants.
Police arrested 125 people. Some face weapons trafficking and criminal organization charges while some facing less serious offences already have been released from custody. Prosecutors will try to detain the accused who face the most serious charges. No names have been released.
"This is the culmination of a complex and obviously successful organized crime investigation," Blair said.
lrosella@mississauga.net
Injunction targets O.C. (CA) street gang
Lps Angeles times
6:19 PM | March 27, 2009
An Orange County judge issued a court order today that bars dozens of alleged members of a street gang from assembling with each other, authorities said.
Superior Court Judge Kazharu Makino signed the preliminary injunction against the Orange Varrio Cypress gang, which claims territory in the city of Orange, according to the district attorney’s office. The court order is the sixth signed in Orange County in the last 2½ years. The last injunction was issued against a rival gang, also in Orange, in July.
Law enforcement authorities served 108 alleged gang members with injunction notices starting last month, and 55 of them were named in Friday’s injunction.
The judge’s order demarcates a 3.8-square-mile area, mostly in downtown Orange west of the 55 Freeway, in which alleged gang members are not allowed to congregate together, drink or use drugs in public, or wear gang attire. They must also obey a curfew and other laws or face increased penalties.
“They’ve been committing violent crime and really been a nuisance to the community,” said Orange Police Sgt. Dan Adams, who added that the gang dates back to at least the 1970s.
More recently, police said, the gang's members have been involved in dozens of attempted homicides, weapons violations, assaults and drug crimes from 2005 to 2008.
As in Los Angeles and San Diego counties, gang injunctions have become more common in Orange County as a way to step up the fight against gangs in Anaheim, Orange, San Juan Capistrano, San Clemente and Santa Ana.
Gang injunctions are somewhat controversial, with civil libertarians saying they cast too wide a net and can amount to racial profiling.
But law enforcement officials say that they pursue court orders in response to fears and concerns by law-abiding residents, and that they include only the most active and well-documented gang members, such as those who have admitted to gang membership, dress in gang colors, bear gang tattoos or have committed crimes on behalf of the gang.
--Tony Barboza
6:19 PM | March 27, 2009
An Orange County judge issued a court order today that bars dozens of alleged members of a street gang from assembling with each other, authorities said.
Superior Court Judge Kazharu Makino signed the preliminary injunction against the Orange Varrio Cypress gang, which claims territory in the city of Orange, according to the district attorney’s office. The court order is the sixth signed in Orange County in the last 2½ years. The last injunction was issued against a rival gang, also in Orange, in July.
Law enforcement authorities served 108 alleged gang members with injunction notices starting last month, and 55 of them were named in Friday’s injunction.
The judge’s order demarcates a 3.8-square-mile area, mostly in downtown Orange west of the 55 Freeway, in which alleged gang members are not allowed to congregate together, drink or use drugs in public, or wear gang attire. They must also obey a curfew and other laws or face increased penalties.
“They’ve been committing violent crime and really been a nuisance to the community,” said Orange Police Sgt. Dan Adams, who added that the gang dates back to at least the 1970s.
More recently, police said, the gang's members have been involved in dozens of attempted homicides, weapons violations, assaults and drug crimes from 2005 to 2008.
As in Los Angeles and San Diego counties, gang injunctions have become more common in Orange County as a way to step up the fight against gangs in Anaheim, Orange, San Juan Capistrano, San Clemente and Santa Ana.
Gang injunctions are somewhat controversial, with civil libertarians saying they cast too wide a net and can amount to racial profiling.
But law enforcement officials say that they pursue court orders in response to fears and concerns by law-abiding residents, and that they include only the most active and well-documented gang members, such as those who have admitted to gang membership, dress in gang colors, bear gang tattoos or have committed crimes on behalf of the gang.
--Tony Barboza
Wednesday, April 1, 2009
Alliance marshals for war on gangs
The Republican
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
By PETER GOONAN
pgoonan@repub.com
SPRINGFIELD - Law enforcement and youth service agencies - assisted by a $1.4 million state grant - have announced plans for a series of neighborhood deployments to combat gang and youth violence.
Representatives of the participating agencies gathered on Tuesday at City Hall, saying that the coordinated effort is aimed at stepping up gang prevention, intervention, and suppression efforts. The initial deployment will be in the Forest Park and lower Forest Park area, said officials.
The grant, announced last fall, was awarded under the state Sen. Charles E. Shannon Jr. Community Safety Initiative grant program.
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
By PETER GOONAN
pgoonan@repub.com
SPRINGFIELD - Law enforcement and youth service agencies - assisted by a $1.4 million state grant - have announced plans for a series of neighborhood deployments to combat gang and youth violence.
Representatives of the participating agencies gathered on Tuesday at City Hall, saying that the coordinated effort is aimed at stepping up gang prevention, intervention, and suppression efforts. The initial deployment will be in the Forest Park and lower Forest Park area, said officials.
The grant, announced last fall, was awarded under the state Sen. Charles E. Shannon Jr. Community Safety Initiative grant program.
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