Law enforcement authorities in Baltimore said yesterday that the face of gang activity has been evolving this year in the city, with more cases involving criminals who identify themselves as belonging to gangs with a national reputation.
City police suspect that local "crews" - made up mostly of drug dealers who typically name their organizations after their neighborhoods - are now identifying themselves as members of more well-known gangs, seeking to boost their street credibility with names such as the Bloods and the Crips. So far, police say, they're not seeing a major influx of gang members from other parts of the country.
"It's not as if there's a coming together of all these groups to be a cohesive, stronger criminal organization," said Deputy Police Commissioner Marcus Brown. "It's sort of the flavor of the week to say that you're a Blood. ... I think now we're seeing the same players who were once calling themselves Milton and Biddle [a neighborhood crew], trying to affiliate with the Blood and Crip gangs."
This year, police and prosecutors have traced several violent incidents to alleged gang activity by young men who say they belong to the Bloods or the Crips, two street gangs that originated in Los Angeles, or to local crews that claim to have ties to such gangs. In many cases, the suspects are juveniles.
Some serious incidents include:
A 14-year-old boy who authorities say tried to kill a young man in a daytime shooting in West Baltimore early this year as part of a gang turf war. The alleged shooter belonged to a west-side gang known as "Dip Set Purple City" - a subset of the Bloods gang that has been recruiting children as young as 10 years old and has committed a slew of violent robberies this year, a prosecutor said in court yesterday. A city judge will determine next month whether the boy will be tried as an adult.
Terrance Randolph, 19, who was beaten, bound and set on fire in a West Baltimore alley April 12, according to city police and prosecutors. Police have arrested a woman in the case, and are seeking Shamvoy Smith, a reputed Bloods gang leader who is also wanted in California on a robbery warrant. City police say they consider Smith to be one of Baltimore's top-five most wanted fugitives.
An April 28 armed robbery at the Inner Harbor. About 20 young men approached four high school-aged boys on a field trip from New Jersey and robbed them of cash and cell phones, according to police charging documents and prosecutors.
