gangs

Dorchester man convicted of shooting friend trying to leave his gang

adamg — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 20:51:00 +0000

A Suffolk Superior Court jury today found Donald Ray "Mann" Williams, 26, guilty of a variety of charges, including armed assault with intent to murder, for a shooting that will require a former friend to use a wheelchair the rest of his life, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

Prosecutors say the victim was a member of the Greenwood Street Packers, of which Williams was head thug. On Nov. 23, 2007, however, the victim met with other gang members and told them he was giving up gang life. According to the DA's office:

Feds: Members of violent JP gang traveled to shooting range to improve their aim

adamg — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 20:04:44 +0000

Alleged Mozart gang member Christian Green making his gang sign, from federal affidavit.

Three alleged members of the Mozart Street gang - which has been tied to murders and violence from the Dominican Republic to a Jamaica Plain pizza place - were indicted this week on federal gun charges after they were allegedly observed shooting "three guns and hundreds of rounds of ammunition at paper targets in an apparent effort to improve their marksmanship."

Christian Green, Jeffrey Medina and Sherwin Garcia were indicted in US District Court in Boston on charges of being felons in possession of firearms following their arrest on Dec. 22 as they left a shooting range in Salisbury. All three are convicted felons, which makes it illegal for them to handle guns, but police watched them enter and leave a Salisbury shooting range, at which they paid their $333 tab in cash after shooting hundreds of rounds at eight paper targets in two shooting lanes, the indictment alleges, adding they all signed a waiver saying they had no prior felony convictions.

In an affidavit filed against Green, Boston Police Officer Manuel Blas wrote he was surprised when he learned of their trip north:

DA: Gangbanger was wearing body armor while driving through rival turf with loaded gun

adamg — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 22:12:12 +0000

8/18/10 - 11:00 pm

An expired inspection sticker proved the undoing of four alleged gang members, including one braced for action, late Wednesday night, the Suffolk County District Attorney's office reports.

According to a statement from the DA's office, officers on patrol near the Lenox Street housing project had just gotten word a carful of toughs from the Washington Street gang were on their way over, when they spotted a black Acura Legend with tinted windows and an expired inspection sticker at Hammond and Tremont streets around 11 p.m.

Police: Gang member caught in East Boston with spray paint, large knife

adamg — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 15:38:09 +0000

3/17/10 - 12:05 pm

District A-7 reports a guy "known to officers as a gang member" was spotted spraying the letter "S" on a wall at 259 Bennington St. around noon on March 17. Why an "S"? Officers found a further clue at 251 Bennington St., where they found a recently applied "MS," as in MS-13, a Central American gang with members up this way. Police add:

During the search of the suspect the officer pulled from the suspect's waistband on the right side a knife which is about 17 inches long.

Stabbing in East Boston, possibly gang related

adamg — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:59:02 +0000

District A-7 reports a man stabbed with a knife on Saratoga Street around 11:20 p.m. on Dec. 4 told a witness "he was stabbed by person(s) that he believes are affiliated with MS13." Taken to a local hospital for treatment.

Police warn of gang fighting in West Roxbury

adamg — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 21:38:54 +0000

Shades of Fruits and Vegetables: Boston Police are bracing for trouble in West Roxbury this weekend following a fight on Centre Street last weekend that left three teens seriously injured:

After investigating the incident it was determined that the dispute was between teenagers from West Roxbury and other surrounding neighborhoods. These individuals are students at Catholic Memorial, Boston Latin, and Boston Latin Academy.

Officers from E 5 are expecting a second incident to occur this weekend. The Area E5 police officers will have zero tolerance for this type of behavior. In order to be preventative in our approach to this matter we ask residents to be vigilant and to communicate any information they may have to the police. Be mindful of where your teens will be spending their free time during the weekend, and enlighten them on the consequences of not only being involved in a fight, but merely just being present during it.

Why is one dead gang member getting so much attention?

adamg — Fri, 01 Dec 2006 19:16:29 +0000

David Bernstein argues that all the attention being given Jahmol Norfleet (killed earlier this week) detracts from the struggles of Roxbury, Dorchester and JP residents who have to put up with gang violence all the time - and who never belonged to a gang:

... One building in the Bromley-Heath project -- literally, one single apartment building -- was one of Boston's five "hot spots" of gun violence identified by the BPD a year ago. Honest, decent B-H residents terrified for their children constantly beg the city to do something about it; they must be oh-so-thrilled that the city seems to care more about how the Heath Street gang affects Jahmol Norfleet than them. ...

Herald editor: We goofed on IDing 14-year-old in gang-violence story

adamg — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 22:42:39 +0000

Adam Reilly has the details.

Gang wars spilling into the papers

adamg — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 15:26:06 +0000

John Daley, one of our boys in blue, wonders whether the local media (and he's looking at you, Boston Herald) is helping to fan gang violence, with cavalier headlines and re-identifying kids who now fear for their lives.

Jay Fitzgerald, who writes for the Herald (albeit not the gang beat) doesn't get the media criticism from Daley and Adam Reilly (who pondered the wisdom of the Globe reporting on a secret gang peace deal):

... I'll leave it to others to determine the validity of the individual complaints. But something almost epic seems to be unfolding (or unraveling, in this case) in our inner-city neighborhoods -- and criticizing the media's coverage of yet the latest cold-blooded gang murder seems to miss the overarching point that cold-blooded gang murders seem to be occurring at a baffling and frightening pace. ...

Shots in the night too wussy for the mayor

adamg — Mon, 14 Aug 2006 18:18:52 +0000

Bryan Clark also heard the gunfire at Morgan Park and discovers Cambridge has gangs, but that Mayor Kenneth Reeves can laugh them off because he thinks Cambridge gangbangers are wusses who don't stack up to the gangs of his Detroit youth. Clark writes:

... Every time a gun goes off around here you can hear the police cars all converging on my neighborhood. From almost a mile away the sirens go on and you can see the lights flashing as they twist and turn their way to Area 4 (aka gansta's paradise). ...

Earlier:
Shots fired.

How to deal with rotten Vegetables

adamg — Wed, 06 Jul 2005 20:27:27 +0000

Eileen discusses the Fruits and Vegetables gang (members allegedly worked in Produce at local supermarkets) that is charged with beating up people in West Roxbury:

... They've beaten the crap out of some locals and they're that particularly irritating brand of white kid that has never suffered or wanted for anything. They go to good schools, their parents are cops and firefighters, and they're arrogant. ... I can't imagine you can get much street cred by wearing a maroon apron and toting bushel barrels of shallots around Roche Brothers Supermarket. I sincerely hope someone takes a baseball bat to each and every one of those little pug-nosed, freckled, pasty-faced bastards. ...

Earlier:
Never dis the produce guy.
The mean streets of Westie.

The mean streets of Westie

adamg — Fri, 13 May 2005 00:16:57 +0000

For the second week in a row, the West Roxbury Transcript leads with the shocking story of the local gangbangers:

It's not a gang
Mom defends Fruits and Veggies son

Now, as a long-time member of the Fourth Estate, I applaud people who talk to reporters. But even if you do believe your teen-age son is "a lover, not a fighter," if you can't remember how many times he's been arrested for one thing or another, well, you might not want to return that call from a reporter. But give mom props for maintaining her Westie pride through it all:

... In my opinion, these detectives are trying to keep this area from becoming like Dorchester. ...

Earlier: Never dis the produce guy.

Never dis the produce guy

adamg — Thu, 05 May 2005 17:31:12 +0000

The Roslindale Bulletin reports that police in normally bucolic West Roxbury are on the lookout for a group of former produce guys from the West Roxbury Roche Bros. and Shaw's who are beating people up at Billings Field. They call themselves the Fruits and Vegetables Gang.

The West Roxbury Transcript reports that many of the lads are students at Catholic Memorial and Boston Latin, and that they've now started calling themselves the Talk Shit Now Gang. The paper adds:

... But most of all, Martell said, this gang doesn't resemble a gang such as the more venemous MS-13. ...