AltWeeklies Wire
Are Suffolk Police Playing Politics by Leaving FBI Gang Task Force?new

Amid the largest MS-13 takedown in the country, a key component is yanked out of the FBI's Gang Task Force. Is money to blame? Or is it bruised egos?
Long Island Press |
Shelly Feuer Domash, Timothy Bolger and Christopher Twarowski |
10-15-2012 |
Crime & Justice
Using Soccer to Help Juvenile Offenders in Santa Cruz Countynew

For the last four years, Gina Castaneda has been a deputy probation officer for Santa Cruz County, working with juvenile offenders who live in the Watsonville area. Her soccer team is made up of a small handful of the 400 youths currently on, or at least in contact with, county probation, some of them from rival gangs.
Good Times Santa Cruz |
Jessica Lussenhop |
11-11-2009 |
Crime & Justice
A Snitch in Time: A Philly Gunshot Victim Defies the Inner-City Code of Silencenew

It's been five months since Maurice Ragland testified against the man he says shot him. In doing so, he broke the cardinal rule of the Philadelphia streets -- Do Not Snitch. That he survived his wounds is amazing enough, but that he testified is just as amazing.
Philadelphia Weekly |
Mike Newall |
10-19-2009 |
Crime & Justice
The Assassination of Deputy Abel Escalantenew
A young father had nothing to do with LAPD's killing of Danny Leon last year. The 27-year-old officer most likely heard about it on the news, like everyone else. But, federal prosecutors believe, Escalante died for it.
L.A. Weekly |
Christine Pelisek |
10-16-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Photos: La Nueva Generacionnew

Santa Cruz's Beach Flats neighborhood is a community in transition. The older generations, having immigrated mostly from Mexico, South and Central America, have started new families. Through their children, they are both changing the way that they’ve lived for decades and changing the way that the rest of Santa Cruz lives today.
Good Times Santa Cruz |
Curtis Cartier |
09-16-2009 |
Immigration
He Joined the Gang When He Was 13, Now He Can't Get Outnew

Membership in one of the nation's most notorious criminal gangs can have its benefits: money, girls and a ready cadre of friends. But it may also be a dead end with no easy exit.
Willamette Week |
James Pitkin |
02-18-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Gang Leader Blames PTSD for Killingsnew
Defense attorneys will argue that a violent upbringing left Down Below Gang leader Emile Fort, who is accused of 30 federal crimes, with cognitive defects and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which positioned him to commit and attempt murder in self-defense.
SF Weekly |
Ashley Harrell |
02-18-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Turf Wars Are Fueling Seattle’s Gang Conflictsnew
In cases of gang-banging, it's often just a verbal insult or a step in the wrong direction that gets bullets flying. Nothing more than an imaginary line through Seattle, some observers say, is at the core of the ongoing feud between Central District and South End gangs.
Seattle Weekly |
Rick Anderson |
02-10-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Ending a Gang Rivalry, or Catching Bystanders in Its Net?new
Is a popular legal weapon putting an end to a 30-year-old gang rivalry in South Orange County, or catching innocent bystanders in its net?
OC Weekly |
Daffodil J. Altan |
02-03-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Tags: gangs, Orange County
Salinas Calls In the Big Guns to Quell Rash of Gang Violencenew
Reacting to a stark spike in shootings that has left six people dead in the past two weeks, Salinas leaders brought in the uniformed cavalry and elevated their peace-building rhetoric. But the beefed-up patrols will likely only quiet gunfire temporarily.
Monterey County Weekly |
Zachary Stahl |
01-22-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Edward James Olmos Schools Salinas on Reaching Gang Membersnew
Emmy-winning actor Edward James Olmos delivered a sweeping and powerful address in Salinas, from breaking down the allure and definition of gangs to offering practical solutions to the Monterey County’s number one crime problem.
Monterey County Weekly |
Zachary Stahl |
01-22-2009 |
Crime & Justice
Violent South American Thieves are Stealing Millions in Precious Gemsnew

For years, South Florida has been one of the worst areas in the nation for jewelry theft. Now the South American Theft Group Intelligence Network wants to join law enforcement agencies in taking on gangs of illegal Colombian immigrants terrorizing jewelers across the US with near-impunity.
New Times Broward-Palm Beach |
Brantley Hargrove |
09-03-2008 |
Economy
'Innercity Girl Like Me' Reads Like a Memoir But It's Fictionnew
The market is flooded with terribly written sensationalist survival stories, and Innercity Girl Like Me seems to aspire to be one of them.
NOW Magazine |
Zoe Whittall |
08-04-2008 |
Fiction
The Anatomy of a Fatal Turf War in One D.C. Neighborhoodnew

The Shaw of yesteryear has disappeared, and yet its crew history is still evolving. The 7th Street crew perpetuates the neighborhood's intractable crime problem. Over the years, it has carried on feuds with groups in three directions, feuds whose origins no one can really pin down.
Washington City Paper |
Ruth Samuelson |
05-30-2008 |
Crime & Justice
Did Alleged Attack on Self-Described Snitch Happen the Way He Says?new
Evidence seems to support Kamran Mashayekhi's story of being attacked in a Buena Park garage, but did it happen for the reasons he says?
OC Weekly |
Derek Olson |
05-21-2008 |
Crime & Justice