By James King in Crime BlotterFri., Dec. 11 2009 @ 2:37PM
Department of Public Safety - Phoenix, AZ
In the past, criminal street gangs have used names that strike fear in the hearts of their rivals. The Bloods, the Crips, the Jets, the Sharks -- all have an intimidating connotation.
As for Scottsdale's latest group of thugs -- busted today as part of the Department of Public Safety's "Operation Triple Threat"-- not so much.
The "Fluffy Bunny Crew" is one of three criminal street gangs busted as part of the DPS' latest gangster roundup, but don't let the wimpy name fool you -- according to DPS officials, these are some pretty bad dudes.
DPS spokesman Steve Harrison tells New Times the gang is called the "Fluffy Bunnies" so that after they beat the crap out of somebody and that person has to tell their friends they got their asses kicked by a couple of "fluffy bunnies."
Gang assaults and home invasions aside -- at least these guys have a sense of humor.
The "Fluffy Bunnies" were part of a larger organization made up of what DPS officials are calling "party crews" coming out of Valley high schools.
Harrison says three "party crews," which came out of Sandra Day O'Connor, Cactus Shadow, and North Canyon high schools, progressed from three groups of party-crashers into a single, organized street-gang -- responsible for drug-dealing, home invasions, and robbery.
Harrison says the three "party crews" began as rivals but came together under the auspices of white supremacy. He says the gang isn't technically considered a white-supremacist organization but that white supremest ideals are what brought the three crews together.
DPS has been watching the gang for more than a year and has seen it go from committing smaller crimes, like serving booze to minors, to more serious offenses, like armed-robbery, kidnapping, and countless assaults.
Harrison says gang members are involved in dealing drugs and have been busted with guns, including an assault rifle and a sawed-off shotgun.
Over the past two days, DPS officers, in collaboration with several other law-enforcement agencies, have taken 22 gang members into custody and have warrants for three additional suspects.
Search warrants have uncovered the recovery of stolen property, 1,017 tablets of Soma, 200 tablets of Xanax, 90 tablets of Valium, and 70 Neo-Pircodan, as well as a collection of weapons and body armor.
Along with the "Fluffy Bunnies," members of the "Dirty White Boyz" were also busted in the sweep.
With pussy names like these, they might as well start a boy band.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Sunday, December 6, 2009
GANGS STAKING OUT NEW TURF ON THE WEB
Los Angeles Daily News
Published: Sunday, December 6, 2009 12:22 AM EST
BY TONY CASTRO,
For a while now, the Barrio Van Nuys street gang has been claiming a version of the New York Yankees' interlocked NY logo as its own.
By trimming the tail off the `Y,' the famous Major League Baseball trademark is turned into an interwoven VN, standing for Van Nuys. The gang is touting its Yankee-esque symbol on social networking Web sites and YouTube.
It's just one example of what law enforcement says is an increasing trend among gangs to use cyberspace to broaden their appeal, boast of illegal exploits, pose threats and recruit new members.
And more than ever, prosecutors are scouring sites like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter for potential evidence in gang-related criminal cases.
``Five years ago we would find evidence in a gang case on the Internet and say, `Wow.' Well, there's no more `Wow' any more. Sadly, it's much more routine,'' said Bruce Riordan, director of anti-gang operations for the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office.
Cyberbanging, as authorities call it, can provide prosecutors with the proof they need in criminal cases to demonstrate affiliation in a street gang — something typically denied by defendants at trial.
``When the gang member has basically put his or her admission of gang membership up on the Internet, it can not only help prosecutors prove a case, it can also help us disprove a false defense,'' Riordan said.
George W. Knox, director of the National Gang Crime Research Center, said, however, that proving gang affiliation through cyberspace can be an arduous task. That is one reason he trains law enforcement officials how to cull intelligence on gang membership, rivalries, territory and lingo from their Internet posts.
``Gangs are going to use any form of communication they can, including Twitter, including Facebook,'' Knox said.
``We don't have any laws that prohibit them from doing this, and I don't think we're ready to bar them from the Internet.''
Attempts to contact numerous San Fernando Valley gang members for comment via e-mails through networking sites they use were unsuccessful.
Los Angeles gang expert Alex Alonso said gang members are using social networking sites more than before, but not necessarily to further criminal enterprises.
``From my extensive experience, they use the Internet like any other person does — they're just representing their neighborhoods and not trying to recruit,'' Alonso said.
But law enforcement officials and youth counselors insist that young people who visit social networking sites to download music and pictures glorifying criminal street gangs can unwittingly set themselves up to be recruited by gangs.
Impressionable young people, say authorities, can sometimes be influenced by the secret handshakes, clothing and slang of gang cultures that are commonly found on Web sites created by or heavily used by gangs.
And it's not just MySpace, Facebook and Twitter that parents should be concerned about, warned Douglas Semark, executive director of the Gang Alternatives Program, in San Pedro.
``You can go into special areas of AOL, special areas of Yahoo or special areas of some of the other large Internet presences where (gang members) will go in and they'll target specific topics and specific groups,'' Semark said. ``And kids may be in those areas with their parents' blessing because the parents think they're safe.
``And someone who is looking to victimize a specific individual will track them to those places and create false identities and false accounts.''
Two of the Valley's fiercest gangs — Barrio Van Nuys and Canoga Park Alabama — have also used social networking sites to get around court injunctions secured by the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office that forbid members from meeting in public, law enforcement officials say.
For many Valley gangs, My-Space — though pass0x233 in the era of Twitter and Facebook — appears to be the Internet social network of choice to glorify their lifestyle. Alonso said he believes gangs prefer My-Space because it is easier to search for and find other gang members on the site than others.
Representatives for MySpace and other popular social networking sites, which have come under criticism for their availability to gangs, did not return calls.
On MySpace, the 818 Gangland Musik Page offers free-streaming MP3s and song downloads that authorities say attract young Web surfers.
Among photographs posted by gang members are pictures of assault weapons and bulletproof vests over a white T-shirt with the impression ``Pacoima 818'' and of San Fernando gangbangers wearing San Francisco Giants garb with the famous interlocked SF logo of that team, which they have adopted as their own.
Representatives of the Giants and the Yankees said logos and trademark issues are handled by Major League Baseball Inc., and that they have alerted officials at the league.
A Yankees spokeswoman said that organization is especially concerned about seeing gang Web sites showing the lookalike NY trademark with guns sticking out of the logo.
Given the anonymous nature of the Internet, though, authorities say it is almost impossible to determine whether a posting has come from actual gang members or wannabes.
Law enforcement officials say gangs' use of the Internet has forced authorities to become skilled at reading between the lines of gang postings, looking for clues and hidden meanings of words and symbols.
``To understand any subculture — al-Qaida, cults, devil worshippers or gangs — you have to be able to know their own language and what they are saying,'' said Knox of the National Gang Crime Research Center. ``It takes time to study gang (Web) sites and blogs and pick up on subtle word choices, but that's important.
``These are holy words to these gangs.''
Copyright © 2009 - Indiana Gazette
Published: Sunday, December 6, 2009 12:22 AM EST
BY TONY CASTRO,
For a while now, the Barrio Van Nuys street gang has been claiming a version of the New York Yankees' interlocked NY logo as its own.
By trimming the tail off the `Y,' the famous Major League Baseball trademark is turned into an interwoven VN, standing for Van Nuys. The gang is touting its Yankee-esque symbol on social networking Web sites and YouTube.
It's just one example of what law enforcement says is an increasing trend among gangs to use cyberspace to broaden their appeal, boast of illegal exploits, pose threats and recruit new members.
And more than ever, prosecutors are scouring sites like MySpace, Facebook and Twitter for potential evidence in gang-related criminal cases.
``Five years ago we would find evidence in a gang case on the Internet and say, `Wow.' Well, there's no more `Wow' any more. Sadly, it's much more routine,'' said Bruce Riordan, director of anti-gang operations for the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office.
Cyberbanging, as authorities call it, can provide prosecutors with the proof they need in criminal cases to demonstrate affiliation in a street gang — something typically denied by defendants at trial.
``When the gang member has basically put his or her admission of gang membership up on the Internet, it can not only help prosecutors prove a case, it can also help us disprove a false defense,'' Riordan said.
George W. Knox, director of the National Gang Crime Research Center, said, however, that proving gang affiliation through cyberspace can be an arduous task. That is one reason he trains law enforcement officials how to cull intelligence on gang membership, rivalries, territory and lingo from their Internet posts.
``Gangs are going to use any form of communication they can, including Twitter, including Facebook,'' Knox said.
``We don't have any laws that prohibit them from doing this, and I don't think we're ready to bar them from the Internet.''
Attempts to contact numerous San Fernando Valley gang members for comment via e-mails through networking sites they use were unsuccessful.
Los Angeles gang expert Alex Alonso said gang members are using social networking sites more than before, but not necessarily to further criminal enterprises.
``From my extensive experience, they use the Internet like any other person does — they're just representing their neighborhoods and not trying to recruit,'' Alonso said.
But law enforcement officials and youth counselors insist that young people who visit social networking sites to download music and pictures glorifying criminal street gangs can unwittingly set themselves up to be recruited by gangs.
Impressionable young people, say authorities, can sometimes be influenced by the secret handshakes, clothing and slang of gang cultures that are commonly found on Web sites created by or heavily used by gangs.
And it's not just MySpace, Facebook and Twitter that parents should be concerned about, warned Douglas Semark, executive director of the Gang Alternatives Program, in San Pedro.
``You can go into special areas of AOL, special areas of Yahoo or special areas of some of the other large Internet presences where (gang members) will go in and they'll target specific topics and specific groups,'' Semark said. ``And kids may be in those areas with their parents' blessing because the parents think they're safe.
``And someone who is looking to victimize a specific individual will track them to those places and create false identities and false accounts.''
Two of the Valley's fiercest gangs — Barrio Van Nuys and Canoga Park Alabama — have also used social networking sites to get around court injunctions secured by the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office that forbid members from meeting in public, law enforcement officials say.
For many Valley gangs, My-Space — though pass0x233 in the era of Twitter and Facebook — appears to be the Internet social network of choice to glorify their lifestyle. Alonso said he believes gangs prefer My-Space because it is easier to search for and find other gang members on the site than others.
Representatives for MySpace and other popular social networking sites, which have come under criticism for their availability to gangs, did not return calls.
On MySpace, the 818 Gangland Musik Page offers free-streaming MP3s and song downloads that authorities say attract young Web surfers.
Among photographs posted by gang members are pictures of assault weapons and bulletproof vests over a white T-shirt with the impression ``Pacoima 818'' and of San Fernando gangbangers wearing San Francisco Giants garb with the famous interlocked SF logo of that team, which they have adopted as their own.
Representatives of the Giants and the Yankees said logos and trademark issues are handled by Major League Baseball Inc., and that they have alerted officials at the league.
A Yankees spokeswoman said that organization is especially concerned about seeing gang Web sites showing the lookalike NY trademark with guns sticking out of the logo.
Given the anonymous nature of the Internet, though, authorities say it is almost impossible to determine whether a posting has come from actual gang members or wannabes.
Law enforcement officials say gangs' use of the Internet has forced authorities to become skilled at reading between the lines of gang postings, looking for clues and hidden meanings of words and symbols.
``To understand any subculture — al-Qaida, cults, devil worshippers or gangs — you have to be able to know their own language and what they are saying,'' said Knox of the National Gang Crime Research Center. ``It takes time to study gang (Web) sites and blogs and pick up on subtle word choices, but that's important.
``These are holy words to these gangs.''
Copyright © 2009 - Indiana Gazette
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Gang gun law: New statute mandates prison for gang members caught with loaded weapons
Chicago authorities praise law as key tool to battle street crime
By John Byrne
Tribune Reporter
December 4, 2009
Gang members caught with loaded guns would face mandatory prison time under a new law signed Thursday by Gov. Pat Quinn and hailed by Chicago authorities as a unique tool for fighting street crime.
The statute sets a minimum sentence of three years and a maximum of 10 years behind bars for unlawful use of a weapon by a gang member; under previous law such an offense was punishable by probation. Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez, who pushed for the measure, said she believes it is the first state law to include gang membership as an element of the criminal offense.
At a news conference with Quinn and Mayor Richard Daley, Alvarez predicted the law will withstand any legal challenges alleging it unfairly targets a particular group of people.
"There could be a challenge to anything. We can't predict that. But we feel confident," Alvarez said.
Daley likened the law to federal criminal statutes targeting organized crime.
Family members of slain Chicago police Officer Alejandro "Alex" Valadez were also on hand at the Englewood District police station. His June 1 death in a drive-by shooting was cited as giving the measure momentum.
Three people have been charged in Valadez's death. One is a gang member who was on probation for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon at the time of the shooting, the state's attorney's office said. He would have been in jail if the new law were in effect, the office said.
The statute defines a gang as any group of at least three people with a hierarchy that engages in a pattern of criminal activity. The law specifies it is not necessary for prosecutors to show the criminal group has a name, insignias, colors, territory or other symbolism commonly linked with street gangs in order to apply the law to members.
"If they're on a corner throwing up a gang sign or wearing the colors, it's pretty self-evident," Alvarez said. "There's a lot of self-admittance on the police reports themselves, tattoos, prior history. There's a lot that comes into play to support the fact that they are members of a gang."
Ed Yohnka, spokesman for the Illinois chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the group is not taking a position on the legislation because the definition of "gang" in the statute has withstood court challenges in DuPage County, where prosecutors used the same definition in several civil lawsuits against gangs there.
jebyrne@tribune.com
Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune
By John Byrne
Tribune Reporter
December 4, 2009
Gang members caught with loaded guns would face mandatory prison time under a new law signed Thursday by Gov. Pat Quinn and hailed by Chicago authorities as a unique tool for fighting street crime.
The statute sets a minimum sentence of three years and a maximum of 10 years behind bars for unlawful use of a weapon by a gang member; under previous law such an offense was punishable by probation. Cook County State's Attorney Anita Alvarez, who pushed for the measure, said she believes it is the first state law to include gang membership as an element of the criminal offense.
At a news conference with Quinn and Mayor Richard Daley, Alvarez predicted the law will withstand any legal challenges alleging it unfairly targets a particular group of people.
"There could be a challenge to anything. We can't predict that. But we feel confident," Alvarez said.
Daley likened the law to federal criminal statutes targeting organized crime.
Family members of slain Chicago police Officer Alejandro "Alex" Valadez were also on hand at the Englewood District police station. His June 1 death in a drive-by shooting was cited as giving the measure momentum.
Three people have been charged in Valadez's death. One is a gang member who was on probation for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon at the time of the shooting, the state's attorney's office said. He would have been in jail if the new law were in effect, the office said.
The statute defines a gang as any group of at least three people with a hierarchy that engages in a pattern of criminal activity. The law specifies it is not necessary for prosecutors to show the criminal group has a name, insignias, colors, territory or other symbolism commonly linked with street gangs in order to apply the law to members.
"If they're on a corner throwing up a gang sign or wearing the colors, it's pretty self-evident," Alvarez said. "There's a lot of self-admittance on the police reports themselves, tattoos, prior history. There's a lot that comes into play to support the fact that they are members of a gang."
Ed Yohnka, spokesman for the Illinois chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said the group is not taking a position on the legislation because the definition of "gang" in the statute has withstood court challenges in DuPage County, where prosecutors used the same definition in several civil lawsuits against gangs there.
jebyrne@tribune.com
Copyright © 2009, Chicago Tribune
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