Sheriff's deputies talk about Yuma gang problem

While the number of gangs and the membership within them change frequently, there are currently about 50 active street gangs in the Yuma area - with about 500 to 600 members, according to a Yuma County sheriff's official.

"Some of these gangs are well-known, established and have been around for a long time," said Capt. Mark Martinez of the Yuma County Sheriff's Office.

Martinez said he is often asked whether Yuma has a gang problem and his answer has always been one of his biggest concerns.

"Yes we do," Martinez said. "We have always had a gang problem, but people don't seem to care until it has affected them personally."

Some of the most active gangs in Yuma County are East Side Naked City and Okie Town. These two gangs have an ongoing problem that has resulted in murder, aggravated assault and other violent crimes, according to Martinez.

Martinez will be speaking at a public meeting today(Thursday) at 6 p.m. at the Heritage Branch Library, 350 S. 3rd Ave.. Among the topics he will discuss are how parents can recognize if their children are becoming involved in gang activity and the gang activity currently happening in Yuma County.

"We want to reach out to the community, and to the parents who don't know that their children are getting involved," said Martinez. Unfortunately, it is usually only the parents who care that show up and they aren't the ones we need to be speaking to.

"I don't know if it is embarrassment, shame or denial, or if they really just don't know. Parents need to spend more time with their children and not be afraid to instill discipline in them."

One of the easiest ways to tell, Martinez said, is to pay attention to the clothing they are wearing, specifically oversized shirts and sagging pants.

"It means they are starting to associate with other kids who are dressing that way because they are already affiliated with gangs."

Another clothing item for parents to watch is sports apparel, such as jerseys. Martinez said street gangs are identified by colors, and gang members purchase the apparel of teams that have the same color.

"If their gang wears green, then all the gang members can go into any sporting goods store and buy that team's attire. That is how kids can separate themselves and become a group."

Bandannas are also associated with street gangs and again, different colors represent different gangs. Martinez said parents need to understand that if their child starts wearing a bandanna, it can be a warning sign.

According to Martinez, the reason street gang members wear baggy clothes has to deal with prison culture.

Martinez explained that in prison, gay prisoners typically wear tight clothing, so straight prisoners would wear baggy clothes so they wouldn't be associated with the gay prisoners.

"The mentality stayed with the prisoners and they continued dressing that way when they were released," Martinez said. "Eventually the style became more and more popular."

Detention officer David Castanon said the gang activity doesn't end once the gang member is arrested. It continues while they are behind bars.

"We track gang activity in the jail because if they organize in here, they will try to control a lot of what happens with the other inmates. A lot of what happens on the street also happens in the jail."

Castanon went on to say that sometimes if the gang members are having problems on the street with another gang, they bring it with them when they get to jail. Sometimes, he added, problems that start in the jail continue once the gang members are released.

What Castanon says he doesn't understand is the mentality among gang members that being sent to prison is like a "badge of honor" or gives them street credibility.

"It is terrible when your role model is a gang member in prison instead of your mother and father who raised you and provided for you," Martinez added.

Castanon said the prison gangs actually control the street gangs because the street gang member who is sentenced to prison usually joins a prison gang for protection. Then the prison gang gets involved with the street gang's activities through the mail or phone calls to family members and other associates.

"If I'm a gang member and I wind up in prison, it is good to have alliances with prison gangs already in place. So it is in the best interest of the street gang member to follow their orders."

There is at least one Yuma gang with a large prison population that still conducts criminal activity this way, Castanon said.

Martinez went on to say the graffiti he and other gang officers are always photographing is the newspaper of the street.

"It lets us know what is going on out on the streets, who is fighting with who, and who the players are."

Another situation contributing to the increase of gang activity in Yuma, according to Martinez, is families moving away from the big city to get their children out of the gangs they were in there, only to have them get involved with gangs here.

"The kids bring the mentality with them," Martinez said. "All they are doing is transferring the problem."

Martinez said the objective of tonight's meeting isn't to glamorize gang activity but to let parents know the severity of the gang problem in the Yuma area and the consequences their children face when they are involved in gang activity.

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CURRENT GANG MEMBERS IN CUSTODY
West Side - 4
South Side - 5
Soma - 4
East Side Naked City - 6
Varrio Los Avenues - 6
Little Town - 1
North Side Hollywood - 4
Okie Town - 7
Plaza Wilds - 1
Dark Side Mob - 1
7th Avenue - 1

OUT OF COUNTY/STATE GANG MEMBERS IN CUSTODY
Forrest Tiny Criminals (Calif.) - 1
Hebron Street (Calif.) - 2
West Side (Tucson) - 1
West Side (Phoenix) - 1
Linda Vista Crips (Calif.) - 1
North Side Mexican Brown Pride (Phoenix) - 1
Crazys (Calif.) - 1

There is an average of 40 to 65 gang member in jail at the Yuma County Detention Center each day. There are also two female gang members currently housed at the jail.

CRIMES ASSOCIATED WITH GANG MEMBERS
• Murder
• Kidnapping
• Assaults
• Drugs
• Thefts

Source: Yuma County Sheriff's Office

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James Gilbert can be reached at
jgilbert@yumasun.com or 539-6854.