Gangs of South Jersey

…From the pages of South Jersey Magazine… Once confined to the urban badlands of Camden and Trenton, gangs have begun branching out, and could be coming to a suburban community near you. If they’re not already there. On a recent afternoon, while taking my dog for his daily constitutional around my apartment building in a safe, leafy suburb, I noticed what appeared to be recent graffiti on the side of the building announcing, “Warrior Stikkup Gang.” Besides the obvious issue that today’s youth have a total disregard for grammar and spelling, the larger question loomed: Since when did gangs move into the South Jersey suburbs? Five years ago, there was little gang activity outside of Camden — at least none that anyone was admitting to. In 2006, there were three gang-related homicides in Burlington County alone. The shooting death of 18-year-old La Vonne Adkins in front of his own home in Willingboro in February of last year was the wake-up call nobody wants to wake up to. Though gangs had extended their tainted tentacles into Burlington County several years earlier, this was the first county gang murder to occur, and in a suburban community of 33,000 people, of all places. In addition to La Vonne, his 19-year-old brother Eric, who was with him at the time, was also shot, as well as 18-year-old Maurice L. Brown of Mt. Laurel later that night in Pennsauken. The latter two survived. It wasn’t immediately clear to law enforcement that the three shootings that occurred that day were gang related until wiretapping proved otherwise. “We knew then the time had come to focus on this problem,” Burlington County Prosecutor Robert D. Bernardi states. As anyone who’s seen movies such as Gangs of New York knows, the existence of gangs is not a recent phenomenon; but their migration into the South Jersey suburbs is. Due to some gang crackdowns and fumigations by Trenton and Ewing townships, gangs have been seeping over the border into northern Burlington County under the impression that it’s more welcome territory. The county is also in a strategic position between Camden and Trenton, so, according to Bernardi, “It’s right in the crosshairs of potential for the transportation of gangs from one locale to another.” In response to the February slaying, Burlington County formed the Anti-Gang Task Force in June 2006, comprising officers from towns throughout the county. They’ve come a long way since first noticing a gang presence in 2002, after which they held a meeting to educate fellow officers on recognizing signs of gang activity. In fact, they’ve already activated the anti-gang squad three times since its formation less than a year ago (the other two gang homicides in Pemberton and Burlington City occurred just months after its formation) and have had anywhere from 25 to 80 officers respond each time. “One town couldn’t do that alone,” notes Michael King, anti-gang task force head and chief of detectives for the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office. Although that’s a heartening thought, the reason why the anti-gang task force had to be formed in the first place isn’t. The largest gang to emigrate and gain a foothold in Burlington County is the Bloods, particularly the Sex Money Murder, G-Shine and Double II sets (affiliations within the Bloods). While it’s difficult to ascertain how many members are in any gang at any given time, there are estimated to be well over 1,000 people calling themselves Bloods in South Jersey. The three gang murders that occurred last year in Burlington County were all found to be Bloods-related, and two of have been linked to the aptly- named Gangsta Killas, or G-Shine, set of the Bloods. Some of the other gangs active in Burlington County include the Grape Street set of the Crips, and a newer group calling themselves Next Level, with no affiliation to the big two. And now for a crib note history of gangs: The Bloods and Crips are two of the oldest gangs operating today, with origins as African-American West Coast gangs that sprang from the civil rights movement of the ‘60s. The Crips were first on the scene in Los Angeles, originally consisting of Black Panther members, and the Bloods formed in order to challenge the Crips’ strength. The Bloods were the first to go bi-coastal, landing on the East Coast around 1993 courtesy of Rikers Island in New York, and then it was only a matter of time before they made their way down into North Jersey in the late ‘90s. A few years later, they were in South Jersey. Surprisingly, their initial landing point wasn’t Camden, but the suburbs of Camden County. Law enforcement was first made aware of their presence about four years ago as a result of a shooting that occurred. Richard Norcross, commander of the intelligence services team and gang expert with the Camden County Prosecutor's Office, observes since then, “They’ve really become entrenched.” Edwin Torres, supervisor of New Jersey’s Juvenile Justice Commission's gang-management unit observes, “Bloods seem to be expanding and recruiting at an alarming rate throughout the state.” Norcross estimates there are in excess of 600 Bloods members in Camden County, although that number also includes the city of Camden. While there were no gang-related homicides outside of Camden in 2006, there have been plenty of gang-related crimes. For now, much of the Bloods’ activity is centered in Camden, even though many members reside in the suburbs. Norcross explains, “They don’t necessarily live in the same area they work in. You can almost equate it to commuting to work.” However, the Bloods aren’t the only gang in Camden County. Norcross says the second largest gang is the Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation, for which you have to prove Latin heritage to be a member. While the Bloods and Crips were exclusively African American in the beginning, they’ve integrated over time and have become the equal opportunity gang face of diversity, accepting black, white, Asian and Hispanic members. Other gangs include the predominantly Puerto Rican Ñeta (pronounced Nyeta); the Crips; MS-13 (Central American); and Surenos 13 and the 18th Street Gang (Mexican). Norcross estimates the rest of these gangs combine for a number in excess of 1,000 members throughout Camden County. Torres reports seeing increased gang expansion into the suburban and rural areas of South Jersey, “disproportionate to the gang growth in urban areas.” He notes that while some gang growth in urban areas has leveled off, it’s spiking down here. He believes more gangs are moving into the area so they can expand their territory and drug base. “So if they’re drug dealers, like most gangs are, they’re moving down to South Jersey to take over or establish the drug trade. “As a matter of fact, these suburban gangs, or those mimicking gang members, can be a lot more dangerous than other gangs that are out there,” continues Torres. “I’d say we have to deal with suburban gangs just as seriously as we do in the urban areas.” Norcross says gangs are definitely more of a problem in Camden County than they were five years ago, and that they even exist in communities that might not be thought of as having a gang problem. However, Norcross differentiates between a gang presence and a gang problem: “A gang presence means you have people running around saying they’re with a gang; whereas a gang problem is gang members actively involved and committing crimes.” While none of the law enforcement officials interviewed for this piece were allowed to name specific towns with a problem, Norcross provided a “six degrees of separation” example of how many communities are impacted in some way by gang activity. “Gang members lead normal lives, so they leave [Camden] and go to Cherry Hill to go to the movies. They go to the Cherry Hill Mall, the Echelon Mall, the Deptford Mall … these things all play into each other and are all connected in some way.” While the fact that gang members walk and talk amongst us may shock much of the South Jersey community, law enforcement officials are quick to point out that this is no cause for alarm. Bernardi emphasizes, “This is not a panic call … law enforcement is taking what steps need to be taken to address the problem. This is not a pervasive issue that should put people in fear of walking down the street.” It should also be noted that most gang-related crime occurs between the gangs themselves. South Jersey residents are encouraged to watch out for and report any suspicious activity in their communities to help curb gang activity, although there are no hard and fast rules when it comes to identifying either gang members or gang signs. Gang members don’t perform catchy song-and-dance routines to differentiate who’s a Shark and who’s a Jet. And while Bloods traditionally wore red and Crips wore blue, today’s gang members may or may not advertise their affiliation by wearing certain colors or flashing certain signs. “We don’t want to get down to where [citizens] are just looking for red or blue,” says King. Torres puts it even more bluntly: “There’s no real way to tell who’s a gang member and who isn’t,” he says. “Not all gang members wear bandannas, not all gangbangers wear colors, and, as a matter of fact, a lot of gangs are moving away from the obvious signs in order to elude law enforcement.” Then there’s the issue of “wannabe” gang members, youth who might walk like ducks and quack like ducks, so to speak, but they’re not ducks. And the last thing New Jersey needs is to go on a gang member witch-hunt. Norcross asserts that wannabes can be even worse than actual gang members, since they feel they have more to prove—and he says he can tell them apart. “Everyone in our squad is specially trained in gangs so we know how to do checks, such as what questions to ask and how they should answer,” he explains. “We also know what to look for in terms of signs and symbols, whereas the common person doesn’t have that type of training. But we immerse ourselves in the culture.” Although Norcross says citizens can be alert for certain types of graffiti, such as tagging, which is where a gang member creates his own symbol and spray-paints it as many places as possible (signs of tagging can be spotted along Interstate 295 and Route 42 ). It was suspicious graffiti on Bobby’s Run Middle School in Lumberton that tipped off locals there to a problem, which included dog paws, crowns and the dead give-away — the word “Blood.” A 13-year-old boy who claimed Bloods membership was charged. Norcross also cautions parents to be aware of any unusual burn marks (branding) or tattoos on their children that can’t readily be explained. One of the keys in targeting gang activity is for parents to keep close tabs on their children, since the majority of gang members range in age from 15-25, with kids as young as fifth grade being indoctrinated on gang life, and hard core recruiting occurring around age 15. The majority of gang members are male, but authorities are seeing an increase in female membership as well. Besides jails, schools have become a prime breeding ground for recruiting new members. Although Bernardi says “anyone can be approached,” he does specify that youth with a criminal history, those involved in drug activity, and those lacking a support system are more likely to be targeted as potential gang members. “These are people who are looking for a home. And they get that with a gang. They get strength in numbers and have backup in case they get into a problem,” he says. “That’s what it’s about when you’re a kid. If you got juice and clout and people fear you, that gets you through the day sometimes.” Norcross also points to the whited sepulcher belief system of many gangs that’s used as a recruitment tool. “Bloods see themselves as revolutionaries, that they’re standing up and fighting against the system and helping the ‘hood uprise against oppressors—oppressors being the government and establishment. And it empowers them and gives them a purpose.” With the Latin Kings, Norcross notes they appear to have a great manifesto on the surface, “but the reality is the more violent factions of the gang have taken over, and moved them away from their initial beliefs.” Or even the Ñetas, who appear to separate themselves from groups that have no belief system, such as drug organizations, with the ideology that they’re going to liberate the island of Puerto Rico. “Exactly how they plan to do that from Camden I haven’t quite figured out yet,” observes Norcross. To combat the problem of gangs targeting schools, various gang awareness programs are now being taught in middle schools, much like the D.A.R.E. program was drilled into youth in the ‘80s. The Juvenile Justice Commission offers free gang prevention workshops to schools, and has already conducted them in Pemberton, Willingboro and Rancocas Valley schools in Burlington County. It’s also important for communities to be willing to admit they have a gang presence or problem, and to ask for help. According to the most recent gang survey conducted by the New Jersey State Police department, 27 percent of responding suburbs reported active gangs in 2001, compared to 39 percent in 2004. Of those communities that responded to the 2004 survey, the following South Jersey communities admitted to having a gang presence or problem: Atlantic City, Egg Harbor City, Egg Harbor Township, Margate, Pleasantville and Somers Point in Atlantic County; Beverly, Burlington City, Burlington Township, Florence, Mansfield Township, Mount Holly, Pemberton Township and Willingboro in Burlington County; Gloucester Township, Lindenwold and Voorhees in Camden County; Cape May in Cape May County; Millville and Vineland in Cumberland County; Deptford, Glassboro, Greenwich Township, Mantua and Woodbury in Gloucester County; and Penns Grove and Woodstown in Salem County. “I think if you asked us five years ago, there would be reluctance from a chief or mayor to stand there and say ‘we have a gang problem’ because they’d say it affects business and real estate,” says King. “Now everybody’s aware we have to be vigilante…that there’s a problem and we have to address it.” Neither King nor Norcross believe any towns in their communities are in denial about a gang presence, but Torres reports there are still some South Jersey municipalities “that don’t want to admit they’re there.” He says that not admitting or ignoring gangs is something that gangs count on, and that’s the type of environment in which they flourish and grow. Norcross adds that the places with the most problems in the state are those that buried their head in the sand. “By the time they admitted they had gangs, it was way out of control and too late to do anything.” Torres says the best chance to stem escalating gang numbers is to have a collaborative community effort. “Law enforcement alone will not be able to stop it.” Published (and copyrighted) in South Jersey Magazine, May 2007.

Author: Meredith Rosenberg