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Knimrod
12-05-2005, 12:56 AM
Hand in hand: Guns, gangs
Assault weapons found only occasionally by authorities

Mike Cruz, Staff Writer, San Bernadino Sun

When it comes to weapons and gangs, art may not mimic life.
In the latest action movies and video games, gangsters run the streets while armed to the hilt with the latest in high-tech, assault weaponry. As highly efficient killing machines, these military-grade rifles literally cut down scores of people on screen in a matter of seconds.

Meanwhile in the living world, police officers only occasionally encounter AK-47s and AR-15s, usually while searching the homes and hangouts of gang members. Most of the time, handguns are the weapon of choice to commit violent crimes and further a gang's business throughout the Inland Empire and the rest of the state.

"It's a tool to them. It's their hammer. It's what they go to work with," said Phil Brown, sergeant for specialized detectives at the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department.

From 1992 to 2003, handguns were used in more than 85 percent - or 6,696 of the 7,851 - gang-related homicides in California, according to a report from the state Attorney General's Office. And their use is climbing.

Handguns were used in nearly 83 percent of gang-related homicides in 2000, and they jumped to almost 91 percent in 2003, according to the same report. Statistics for gun use in gang-related homicides in San Bernardino County were not immediately available.

The issue of gangs and weapons reached an apex in San Bernardino on Nov. 13, when 11-year-old Mynesha Crenshaw joined the list of numerous young victims when she died after being caught in the cross- hairs of gang life.

Mynesha was killed in what authorities have called a barrage of gunfire aimed at a San Bernardino apartment near Mountain Avenue and Citrus Street, where she was preparing to eat dinner with her family. Six suspected gang members have been arrested and are now facing murder charges.

San Bernardino police and county prosecutors have denied repeated requests to disclose the weapons used in the shooting as well as the type of bullets or casings found at the scene.

But while gangs and guns often dominate the headlines and news broadcasts in Southern California, some experts say it is a violent cycle that has ebbed and flowed for decades.

"I think their level of violence has always been real high. Obviously, guns have made it more violent," said Wes McBride, president of the California Gang Investigators Association and a 36-year veteran of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

"They've been shooting one another since the '50s and '60s. This is nothing new at all," McBride said.

While there is no questioning an assault rifle's effectiveness and ease of use, criminals find them less accessible than a handgun, more cumbersome, tougher to conceal and more difficult to use in a tight space, experts said.

Plus, the unmistakable and chilling sound of automatic gunfire attracts even more attention from witnesses and cops.

"We don't see too much of those (assault weapons)," said sheriff's Cpl. Todd Espindola, a member of the SMASH countywide gang unit, known as San Bernardino Movement Against Street Hoodlums.

Espindola's team, located in the High Desert, recently found an SKS assault rifle with Luger magazine on a parolee from Rialto who was in Victorville.

"But it's nothing we find on a daily basis," he said.

By and large, street gangs can get their hands on just about any type of weapon, even if they are not part of the big-money narcotics street gangs in Los Angeles County. Inland Empire gang members generally obtain their weapons through burglaries and theft, sheriff's deputies said.

"They're not hurting for guns," McBride said.

Revolvers are considered the preferred weapon because they leave behind even less evidence, such as a casing. But gang members are not picky and will use whatever weapon they can get their hands on, despite the brand and caliber, if they need it, police said.

Gangs will share and sell guns with one another. They will also steal them from relatives and friends. In some cases, the home of a gun owner may have been burglarized, and that person may not even know the gun was stolen because it hasn't been used for years.

Guns also travel well, police said. It is not uncommon to find guns stolen out of another county or even another state.

"We've gotten guns that were stolen from back East," said Deputy Al Huff, also on the SMASH team.

Some gangs will even use younger members, those without a criminal record yet, to buy guns lawfully from retailers. And some gangs will send members to buy guns out of state, where the requirements may be less stringent, McBride said.

The popular handguns among gang members tend to be automatic 9 mm and .380-caliber, but officers see just about every caliber of weapon when shaking down gangs and conducting searches, including the larger .45-caliber and the smaller .22-caliber pistols. They also see shotguns and various rifles.

For Southern California street gangs, handguns are still the weapon of choice.

"They like handguns because they can get up close and personal," McBride said.

Gun laws, such as the federal Assault Weapons Ban and waiting periods for handgun purchases in California, do little to stem the tide of gun use among street gangs, police said.

In California, many assault rifles and their copies are illegal, deputies said. The state has strong gun laws despite the expiration of the Assault Weapons Ban last year.

But laws have little impact on gang members - until they are charged and convicted - because they generally do not get their guns lawfully.

"They're not registering them, and there's no waiting period for that," Espindola said.

Laws also have no effect on young gang members who have grown up in the lifestyle and watched as their grandfathers, fathers, uncles and brothers all participated in the same gang.

A 15-year-old Latino boy sat on a curb in Colton during a gang sweep Friday night and told a sheriff's deputy about his involvement in the same gang as his older brother.

"Those youngsters have seen their elders in it, and it's part of their culture," said Deputy Mike Martinez, a member of the SMASH team.

After growing up in the Inland Empire, Martinez has watched as streets and neighborhoods have changed and how the gang culture gets passed on to the younger members, some from the time they are infants.

And while authorities are aware of the changes and work smarter and more efficiently to suppress them, they know the reality.

"Gangs have been here for a long time," Martinez said, "and they're not going away any time soon."

Link to story (http://www.sbsun.com/news/ci_3274277)

WhoIsJohnGalt
12-05-2005, 03:59 AM
"Espindola's team, located in the High Desert, recently found an SKS assault rifle with Luger magazine on a parolee from Rialto who was in Victorville."

Good thing they got to him before he hurt himself. :togo:

One of Many
12-05-2005, 03:36 PM
If more police officers would tell this to the politicians, we might get things back on track.


Gun laws, such as the federal Assault Weapons Ban and waiting periods for handgun purchases in California, do little to stem the tide of gun use among street gangs, police said.

In California, many assault rifles and their copies are illegal, deputies said. The state has strong gun laws despite the expiration of the Assault Weapons Ban last year.

But laws have little impact on gang members - until they are charged and convicted - because they generally do not get their guns lawfully.

"They're not registering them, and there's no waiting period for that," Espindola said.