Gangster Disciples and Piru Bloods Take Gang Feud Outside the Urban Centers
York finds gangs not just an urban problem
York-Poquoson deputies deal with crimes, graffiti similar to gang activity elsewhere.
BY KEITH RUSHING
Dailypress.com
March 22, 2006
YORK -- York authorities have been grappling with a different type of crime problem in recent months as gangs of juveniles and young adults covered their faces and robbed unsuspecting people at gunpoint or beat them. The youths claim to be members of the Gangster Disciples or the Piru Bloods - two notorious gangs that originated in other states. Now, gang graffiti is popping up on walls.
Capt. J. E. Richardson, of the York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office, said Tuesday that deputies have decided to talk more about the gang issue to raise awareness while dispelling the notion that gangs are only an urban problem.
In September and October, deputies charged four males, ages 17 to 20, under a 2000 state law that makes it a felony to commit a crime while participating in a criminal street gang. It was the first time York-Poquoson deputies charged someone under that law.
The youths, who were from Hampton, were charged in a string of robberies that happened last summer when masked thieves robbed people of cash and valuables at gunpoint after forcing them to the ground. In many cases, the victims were walking from their cars to their homes or a motel when robbers approached them.
Last fall, York-Poquoson authorities weren't releasing the names of any local gangs because they didn't want to give gang members any notoriety.
But deputies now say residents are better off knowing more about the problem. Increased public awareness might also help deputies solve gang-related crime, York-Poquoson authorities say.
Parents need to recognize whether their children might be involving themselves with gangs, Richardson said. "If they walk into their son's room and see a bunch of red bandannas and see 'Piru,' they'll know something's there," he said.
The Piru - part of the name of the Hampton Piru Bloods gang - is suspected of committing last summer's armed street robberies in York County. The Bloods gang originated in California before spreading to other states. However, York-Poquoson deputies say they don't know if the Hampton gang has ties elsewhere.
York County is one of a number of communities on the Peninsula that's grappled recently with gang problems.
In December, Newport News Police Chief James Fox expressed concern about gang violence and juvenile crime in Newport News. Police there have identified 82 gangs but officers also say an exact number is hard to pin down. Crime data from 2000 to 2005 shows that juveniles in Newport News have been committing a larger share of killings, rapes, assaults, drug and weapons offenses.
Last week, gang-related violence in Newport News attracted national attention on MSNBC and Fox News after police released a videotaped attack involving a local gang.
Newport News police are investigating as many as 37 of these random beatings and robberies in the city's East End and have arrested more than a dozen teens and young adults.
Last month in York, five people were arrested in the gang-related robbery of a Domino's Pizza delivery driver at the Pines of York Apartment complex. A 22-year-old woman is suspected of placing the order that lured the driver to the apartment complex where he was beaten, possibly with brass knuckles, and robbed.
Arrested on gang, robbery and maiming charges were an 18-year-old and three younger teenagers. The teens identified themselves as the Gangster Disciples or Gangster Disciples Crips, a gang, which originated in Chicago.
York-Poquoson Capt. Frank Crotty said that while the teenagers claimed they were only a local gang, authorities haven't determined whether that's true. In recent weeks, deputies have found graffiti depicting pitchforks and six-pointed stars and crowns associated with the Chicago-based Folk Nation, a rival of the People Nation, which also began in Chicago.
Crotty said they've spotted graffiti messages like "6-poppin', 5-droppin'", which is a way the Folk Nation shows disrespect to the People Nation, implying that the People Nation might get shot. "This is gang-related graffiti seen in other parts of the nation, like Chicago," Crotty said.
"We don't know where they got it from - they're not helping us with that."Crotty said it's possible that one of the gang members has ties to Chicago or that they learned gang rituals and symbols through the media or the Internet. Whatever the source, it's still gang activity to York-Poquoson authorities.
The U.S. Department of Justice has identified gangs of Bloods and Gangster Disciples that sell and distribute illegal drugs in Virginia.
Gangs are defined under state law as an ongoing group of three or more people identified by a name, sign or symbol that commits crime as a primary objective, including two or more criminal acts, one of which involves violence.
York-Poquoson deputies deal with crimes, graffiti similar to gang activity elsewhere.
BY KEITH RUSHING
Dailypress.com
March 22, 2006
YORK -- York authorities have been grappling with a different type of crime problem in recent months as gangs of juveniles and young adults covered their faces and robbed unsuspecting people at gunpoint or beat them. The youths claim to be members of the Gangster Disciples or the Piru Bloods - two notorious gangs that originated in other states. Now, gang graffiti is popping up on walls.
Capt. J. E. Richardson, of the York-Poquoson Sheriff's Office, said Tuesday that deputies have decided to talk more about the gang issue to raise awareness while dispelling the notion that gangs are only an urban problem.
In September and October, deputies charged four males, ages 17 to 20, under a 2000 state law that makes it a felony to commit a crime while participating in a criminal street gang. It was the first time York-Poquoson deputies charged someone under that law.
The youths, who were from Hampton, were charged in a string of robberies that happened last summer when masked thieves robbed people of cash and valuables at gunpoint after forcing them to the ground. In many cases, the victims were walking from their cars to their homes or a motel when robbers approached them.
Last fall, York-Poquoson authorities weren't releasing the names of any local gangs because they didn't want to give gang members any notoriety.
But deputies now say residents are better off knowing more about the problem. Increased public awareness might also help deputies solve gang-related crime, York-Poquoson authorities say.
Parents need to recognize whether their children might be involving themselves with gangs, Richardson said. "If they walk into their son's room and see a bunch of red bandannas and see 'Piru,' they'll know something's there," he said.
The Piru - part of the name of the Hampton Piru Bloods gang - is suspected of committing last summer's armed street robberies in York County. The Bloods gang originated in California before spreading to other states. However, York-Poquoson deputies say they don't know if the Hampton gang has ties elsewhere.
York County is one of a number of communities on the Peninsula that's grappled recently with gang problems.
In December, Newport News Police Chief James Fox expressed concern about gang violence and juvenile crime in Newport News. Police there have identified 82 gangs but officers also say an exact number is hard to pin down. Crime data from 2000 to 2005 shows that juveniles in Newport News have been committing a larger share of killings, rapes, assaults, drug and weapons offenses.
Last week, gang-related violence in Newport News attracted national attention on MSNBC and Fox News after police released a videotaped attack involving a local gang.
Newport News police are investigating as many as 37 of these random beatings and robberies in the city's East End and have arrested more than a dozen teens and young adults.
Last month in York, five people were arrested in the gang-related robbery of a Domino's Pizza delivery driver at the Pines of York Apartment complex. A 22-year-old woman is suspected of placing the order that lured the driver to the apartment complex where he was beaten, possibly with brass knuckles, and robbed.
Arrested on gang, robbery and maiming charges were an 18-year-old and three younger teenagers. The teens identified themselves as the Gangster Disciples or Gangster Disciples Crips, a gang, which originated in Chicago.
York-Poquoson Capt. Frank Crotty said that while the teenagers claimed they were only a local gang, authorities haven't determined whether that's true. In recent weeks, deputies have found graffiti depicting pitchforks and six-pointed stars and crowns associated with the Chicago-based Folk Nation, a rival of the People Nation, which also began in Chicago.
Crotty said they've spotted graffiti messages like "6-poppin', 5-droppin'", which is a way the Folk Nation shows disrespect to the People Nation, implying that the People Nation might get shot. "This is gang-related graffiti seen in other parts of the nation, like Chicago," Crotty said.
"We don't know where they got it from - they're not helping us with that."Crotty said it's possible that one of the gang members has ties to Chicago or that they learned gang rituals and symbols through the media or the Internet. Whatever the source, it's still gang activity to York-Poquoson authorities.
The U.S. Department of Justice has identified gangs of Bloods and Gangster Disciples that sell and distribute illegal drugs in Virginia.
Gangs are defined under state law as an ongoing group of three or more people identified by a name, sign or symbol that commits crime as a primary objective, including two or more criminal acts, one of which involves violence.
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