Regional Gangs Begin Turf Wars in New Iberia

Sheriff says problem with gangs not new

By PATRICK COURREGES
Acadiana bureau
Published: Apr 8, 2006

NEW IBERIA — Iberia Parish Sheriff Sid Hebert said Friday that the street gang trouble on New Iberia’s western side isn’t new, and the solutions aren’t going to happen overnight.

Violence in that part of town has been picking up over the past year and a half — markedly so since January — and is mostly tied to the activities of two groups of teens and young men, he said.

The area is bounded by Hopkins Street to the south, Admiral Doyle Drive to the west, the railroad tracks to the east and undeveloped land to the north.

Iberia Sheriff’s Department Sgt. Shane Landry, head of the department’s criminal intelligence unit, said that most of the recent violence is retaliatory strikes by the two groups, stemming from a January fatal shooting.

He said the current rate of violence tops summer 2004, which had been the recent high-water mark.

The core of the problem is a group of young men who “have established a little gang,” Landry said.

It goes by the name “1100 Boys” and traces its roots back to at least the mid-1980s, he said.

Though the original organization may have been looser and lacked enough of an identity to name itself, the “1100 Boys” alias for the street gang has been around for several years, Landry said.

Some of the prominent members had fathers who were members of the group a generation back, but the younger generation has attempted to step up its activities — primarily drug trafficking — and establish a regional reputation, Landry said.

“They’re trying to get the reputation they rule Iberia Parish,” Landry said.He said the violence stems from a turf war with another, smaller group generally known as the “800 Boys” or “900 Boys.”

The names refer to blocks on New Iberia’s Sis and Paul streets.

The 1100 Boys consists of about 12 primary members and up to another 60 young men and teenagers associated with the group, Landry said. The 800 Boys are made up of about 10 key players and another 20 to 30 associated young men and teens, he said. Landry said the department has 10 warrants out for leaders of the two groups.

Hebert said that the groups are not gangs in the sense of nationally known organized crime groups such as the infamous “Bloods” and “Crips,” which have branches in major cities across the country.

He said New Iberia’s street gangs are not affiliated with those larger groups, either.

The 1100 Boys and 800 Boys are fighting over control of a few streets and street corners, Hebert said.

Landry said the majority of law enforcement calls dealing with violence in the area have some ties to the turf war.

“What happens is one group will go on the other side and will cause controversy on one side and run back on the other side,” he said.

Landry said the young men involved with the groups generally live in the area, often with family.

“Some of them have jobs, the rest of them sell narcotics, and that’s how they make their money,” he said.

They try to get enough money to buy expensive cars, jewelry and the like, Landry said.

“They want to have a lot of money and be able to flash it,” he said.

The street gangs exert enough influence in the surrounding community through fear that residents are generally not helpful to deputies trying to make criminal cases and develop information, but residents do want to see the violence stop, Landry said.

"They’re kind of disgruntled because it keeps happening,” he said of area residents. “They can’t understand why these guys are fighting the way they’re fighting.”

Iberia Sheriff’s Department Maj. Richard Boudreaux, commander of the criminal enforcement division, said the department has been focusing on the western New Iberia area for about two months to try and break up the drug trafficking and associated violence.

He said the department’s Problem Oriented Policing unit, narcotics division, patrol division and juvenile division are all getting involved in the effort.Boudreaux said he’s trying to put as many department people in the area as he can to make selling drugs as difficult as possible, and drug trafficking has come down.

At least 11 deputies pass through the area every day, he said.

Boudreaux said deputies are using city laws on loitering, gambling and drinking on roadways to make cases and try to alter the environment that allows for drug traffic and violence.

Landry said the department’s tactics have changed the habits of the street gangs, but they still are operating.“They are just being very cautious about whether they come out or not,” he said.

“They do come at night or in the daytime.”

Landry said gang members make use of cellular phones and “push-to-talk” radio functions to get the word out quickly when deputies are in the area or making an arrest.

Boudreaux said his teams adjust their tactics and approaches as well to keep the pressure up on the street gangs dealing drugs.

He said the department doesn’t just want to make one arrest here and there, but to plan moves to get several key players at once.

Hebert said his investigators working to string together charges on group members as part of an overall pattern of organized criminal activity.

“We are building a consolidated case,” he said.

Hebert said that building cases and trying to serve warrants on leaders isn’t easy and the department and community will have to be patient to make cases that stick in solving a problem that spans more than a generation.

“There is not an overnight solution to a problem that’s been going on for a long time,” he said.

“We know for a fact that we are going to win by attrition.”

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