Gangs' tendency to change names, cops' hazy info on membership make it difficult to gauge impact of arrests

Gangs' tendency to change names, cops' hazy info on membership make it difficult to gauge impact of arrests
By: KYLE PEVETO, The Enterprise
06/10/2008

BEAUMONT - On the heels of a multiagency crackdown that swept up 67 people with suspected gang links in Southeast Texas, including four in Beaumont, police said they are working to scratch the surface of gang problems here.

GANG NAMES
Here are the 22 Southeast Texas gangs identified in last week's crackdown:

83 Mob
Brown Pride 13
Hermanos Pistoleros Latinos
Tango Blast Houstone
La Primera
La Quarenta
La Tercera Crips
Latin Kings
Mexican Mafia
Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13)
NICA'S
North Side Crips
PVL (Puros Vatos Locos)
Raza Unida
Ruthless Kings
Sacky Crew
Southside Bloods
Southwest Cholos
Sureno 13
Texas Syndicate
VNS (Barrio North Side)
Westside G.

Source: Immigration and Customs Enforcement

City police Monday said they are trying to identify gangs, whose names change frequently, by creating a database of information provided through schools and various agencies.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), part of the Department of Homeland Security, arrested 34 people in Beaumont last week, including four suspected gang members or associates, said Carl Rusnok, agency spokesman. Nearly 150 were rounded up in the crackdown in Southeast Texas, including Houston.

However, local police could not say how the crackdown would affect the city's gang network or shed light on its extent.

"We couldn't tell how many gang members there are in the city of Beaumont," said Lt. Jim Clay of the Beaumont Police Department's special crimes division. "We have a lot more that are juvenile-type members that want to claim membership - not what you would call hard-core offenders."

Clay noted that gang activity seems to be on the rise in Beaumont, where telltale graffiti has been popping up more frequently.

"We do have identifiable gangs here in the city," Clay said. "As far as the membership goes, we have no idea. We would only have a guess."

The Beaumont arrests were part of a six-day operation focusing on gang-related activity and immigration violations, according to an immigration agency news release.

Its officials did not release the names of those arrested under the crackdown, dubbed Operation Community Shield. Formal charges still had not been filed Monday.

Officers from the Beaumont, Orange and Port Arthur police forces and Jefferson County Sheriff's Department took part in the program, providing information and support during the arrests, Rusnok said. Advertisement

"Especially on these gang-related operations, the local law enforcement provides a really vital part because they have the intel," Rusnok said.

Local intelligence was gathered from interrogations of gang members in prisons, where tattoos often denote gang affiliations.

Beaumont Lt. Ky Brown said it's not so easy to identify gangs outside of prison, because gang names change so frequently that it's hard to get a handle on their membership numbers.

Last week's operation included arrests from Beaumont to Corpus Christi, with suspected members of 22 gang organizations, including MS-13, caught in the sweep, the agency said.

Since Operation Community Shield began in February 2005, the agency has arrested more than 8,000 gang members, the agency said.

"When it first started, we were exclusively targeting MS-13," Rusnok said. "The more we worked on the gang issue, the more we focused on spreading out to all other street gangs."

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Neighbors' complaints lead to rooster roundup

Neighbors' complaints lead to rooster roundup
By FRED DAVIS, The Enterprise

Updated 05/29/2008 11:51:13 PM CDT

They weren't pit bulls and there were no NFL superstars banking the operation.

Instead, the Jefferson County Sheriff's Narcotics Unit came across what could be described as a minor league cockfighting operation run by undocumented Mexican immigrants behind a mobile home in the 7300 block of Shady Lane in western Jefferson County.

"We understand they were fighting the roosters every Sunday and training them to fight in Louisiana," said Sgt. Randy Walston.

Aside from the dozen or so roosters the narcotics officers discovered, there was also an ounce of cocaine tucked inside a woman's sock behind some insulation under the mobile home.

Officers also found a small amount of marijuana and mango-flavored rolling papers.

The cocaine had a street value of $1,300 to $1,400.

The four immigrants and a 40-year-old Orange woman were arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance, a second-degree felony punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $10,000 fine.

Maj. Jimmy Singletary said all five were booked into the Jefferson County Jail and that the four immigrants would be held by Immigration, Customs and Enforcement officials without bond. A bond had not been set on the Orange woman.

Singletary said complaints from neighbors spurred surveillance of the home, which led to a search warrant executed late Wednesday night by the Narcotics Unit and Jefferson County SWAT.

Det. Robert Ogden said it was clear from fresh scratches that the roosters were being used for cockfighting.

"I saw one rooster that you could tell had been sparring recently," Ogden said.

The roosters, despite the nicks and scratches, all appeared to be in good condition and didn't look malnourished, Singletary said.

While there is no specific cockfighting charge, the five suspects could face charges of cruelty to livestock animals, a Class A misdemeanor punishable by a year in jail and or $4,000 fine.

Jefferson County Animal Control is expected to take custody of the roosters.

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