QuotePolice blame gangs for 2 deadly shootings
6 shot, 3 killed in shootings; police to gang members: 'We're coming after them'
Police and community groups are pleading with Jacksonville gang members to simply stop the violence. This comes after a police announcement Friday that two fatal shootings in two nights were gang related.
The first was Wednesday night outside a Cassat Avenue McDonalds and the other was on Tyler Street in northwest Jacksonville where two women were killed.
The two shootings are gang related, police said.
The news that gangs are at the center of even more violence in northwest Jacksonville is frustrating to Donald Foy, head of Mad Dads, who has been fighting crime issues in the area for more than a decade.
"Please stop it. The communities have to get more involved. And the victims need to get more involved. They've got to stop saying, 'I don't know,' and they do know. You know this is a problem and it's a problem Mad Dads is tired of," Foy said.
JSO Director Tom Hackney said at least four of the victims in the two shootings are documented gang members.
"The culture of death and violence that these gang members live in gives me great concern and causes me to believe that their disregard for human life and their propensity toward violence and using guns is going to cause an innocent victim to lose their life," Hackney said.
He said such an outcome is unacceptable, and the JSO will be working to prevent it by putting more officers in the areas where the shootings happened and watching known gang members more closely.
"They need to know that we're coming after them," Hackney said. "When they break the law, we're going to be there. They need to look over their shoulders, because we're going to be there behind them. That's the way we're going to put an end to this cycle of violence is removing them from the equation."
Hackney said it's unclear if Thursday's shooting was in retaliation for the McDonald's shooting or if both shootings were in retaliation for previous killings this year.
Thursday's drive-by shooting left two women dead and one man injured.
Shareka Edwards, 25, and Shelmika Felton, 34, were killed, and a 25-year-old man drove himself to the hospital with gunshot wounds. The man's name has not been released, but Hackney said the man and Edwards are known members of the PYC gang. He said Felton was not a known gang member.
Police said the three were standing on Tyler Street near Windle Street when a dark-colored sedan rolled down the street, and someone inside opened fire on the three of them.
Edwards, a club promoter who went by the name Rek Beep Cho, died at the scene, and Felton died on the way to the hospital.
The night before, three men sitting in a BMW convertible were shot in the parking lot of the McDonald's at Cassat and Highway avenues, police said.
Officers found the driver, later identified as 27-year-old Paul Gillins, slumped over the steering wheel of the car, dead from a gunshot wound. Hackney said Gillins was a known member of the Cut Throat Committe gang. He had one previous arrest in 2005 for carrying a concealed weapon.
The two other victims, both 23 years old, survived and were taken to UF Health Jacksonville, one in critical condition and the other in stable condition. The survivors' names have not been released, but Hackney said one of them is a known member of the Doo Doo Creek gang.
Police are worried, because the surviving victims in the shooting at McDonalds Wednesday and the one in Newtown the next night are not talking to police. They suspect these people would like revenge, but Foy said there have been cases where gangs have simply stopped.
"In Omaha, Nebraska, they just stopped. Stopped going at each other which is the key here. They've got to stop going at each other. Whatever the problem is, we want them to understand that innocent people are being killed," Foy said.
To combat more potential violence, JSO will be adding gang patrols in the areas where the shootings happened. Hackney said those officers will be pulled from lower-crime areas.
Hackney said there are 47 documented gangs in Jacksonville, with 1,100 to 1,200 members. There are 1,603 sworn officers in Jacksonville.
The sheriff's office is also asking the public to step up and give them details of who's responsible. Crime Stoppers is an anonymous way you can give police details. Hackney wants people to understand that even if there's an arrest, they will never know you are the one who called police. You can't even be subpoenaed to be in court.
"I believe that with the information that we're getting and hope to continue to get, that we will continue to make strides in these cases," Hackney said.
The number for CrimeStoppers is 1-866-845-TIPS.
Working to stop the gang problem in Jacksonville
News4Jax also spoke to the founder of Project SOS, a local program that helps teens get out of gangs and helps teens stay on the right track.
For the past 22, years Project SOS has impacted 450,000 teenagers and helped them make healthy choices. The founder and CEO, Pam Mullarkey-Robbins, knows exactly what this type of crime does to someone involved.
"There is an adrenaline rush when you go out and shoot somebody. They're doing it for the adrenaline rush. They don't care about the person, because they don't care about themselves either. There's no future for them. 'So I'm going to be in the big house,' is what they tell me, "so why not?" Mullarkey-Robbins said.
In her program, Mullarkey-Robbins tries to outline ways to show teenagers a better way to live outside of being in a gang.
Project SOS first has the teens write down their gifts and talents along with a list of goals. They then pose the question, "What can you do with these talents to make a better life?"
These questions are designed to get teens thinking about jobs and to keep the positive thoughts flowing. They are taught six refusal skills that will help them stay on track, followed by six boundaries that will help them stay in line.
Project SOS also offers a healthy relationship department to help guide parents, because they believe the decision to partake in crime begins at home.
"I had a former gang member on my staff for two years, and he opened up my eyes to what the gangs are providing. They're providing a fellowship and discipline and regiment. The boys want that structure, but they're going in the wrong direction. So if we can change them around, then they'll want that for their job and for their future," Mullarkey-Robbins said.
http://www.news4jax.com/news/jso-to-hold-conference-on-recent-shootings/32552758
If JSO were to partner with the National Guard, then maybe they could stamp out some of the gang problems of (mostly) North Jax. But only using JSO resources won't do much of anything I'm afraid.
^^^I agree. Those prior police cuts certainly didn't help.
Unless you travel to Newtown, very few will be affected. WASPs are extremely unlikely to be impacted by this gang on gang violence, although the news people will tell you that it is traveling to your neighborhood.......next.
Let's see... you got Crips, Bloods, Outlaw Disciples, Savage Skulls, The White Hand, and Ghost Shadows- and then you have Doo-doo Creek Boys. Doesn't have quite the same ring to it.
^^^Yet, the same effect happens with all of these gangs, no matter how big are small, which is youth ultimately heading down the path of violence, like what happened on Tyler St. I agree that these J-ville gangs don't have the same clout as more 'established gangs' well in the many 1000s, but JSO's biggest mistake would be underestimating this problem. Heavily gang populated Memphis is about the same size as Jax; If the JSO does not be proactive in addressing this issue, we'll be up there in that realm with a snap of a finger.
Gang members a plague on a community. They hold good citizens essentially hostage in their own homes while simultaneously destroying the streets. We give these guys light sentences for hard crimes and their back at it in a few months. I am all for rehabilitation over incarceration the bulk of the time but not for documented gang members. Just take a guess at what would happen to cities if we got rid of all of them. Call me nazi or whatever you want but if hypothetically the government wanted to eliminate all documented gang members today i would vote in favor.
I seriously doubt the number of gangs matter much. One or thousands, JSO could measure the number of lime green box chevys with 24" rims and base the number on that for all I care. The key is the number of gang members within the area.
QuoteThe key is the number of gang members within the area.
Actually there could be many more "gangs", only the ones that cause problems are those in the realm of the "47".
Just off the top of my head, i can think of a lot of Jacksonville gangs: The Sportos, the Motorheads, Geeks, Sluts, Bloods, Wastoids, Dweebies, Dickheads. The list goes on.
Once 'dismantled' gang the Pakistan Yulee Clique (PYC) blamed for double murder.
http://www.news4jax.com/news/once-dismantled-gang-blamed-for-double-murder/32711386
MMR- I salute your reference, but I would have went the Lizzies, punks and Baseball Furies route...
I still say we should get rid of the sheriff's office and each zone should have its own police department.
Why didn't it work? Is crime better or worse now?
My theory is we can't really hold the sheriff to accountable since he has such a large area to cover. Most people don't even know who is in charge of their zone.
If it was broken up funding and resources would stay in the areas they were collected. If crime is bad in a certain area maybe the residents could vote to pay more in taxes for more police. As it is now, Alvin might live in a great area and doesn't care about crime across town.
Although the sheriff is primarily a figurehead, the zone chiefs answer to him on occasion regarding crime stats in their area. Further separating zones into completely autonomous fiefdoms that are not answerable to each other would only complicate an already screwy organizational dilemma.
Your best bet would be to bring back captains and get rid of chiefs. When the rank of captain was gotten rid of is when the side to mediocrity began.
Interesting Stephen, I didn't know about that. Maybe a restructure is in order then, because what we have is not working.
And changing the sheriff won't change much.
I don't know the solution, but the crime rate is far too high for a city our size.
I don't know if increasing the budget will help much either, since cops don't really prevent crime, only clean up afterwards.
^Maybe a restructure?
Kind of like the Independent Authorities?
Higher education?
Boards?
There needs to be a comprehensive gang policy, that includes prevention, intervention and suppression. There are a number of best practices available from several federal agencies and independent criminal justice think tanks; they all include those three elements.
To be successful, any strategy has to have support from the community beyond simply leaving it to the police. Schools, churches, community service providers all have to be involved...kind of like we started doing with the Jacksonville Journey that ended up being a pretty short walk in the park. Whatever plan is decided upon has to have sustainable funding and dedicated staff to keep the strategy alive, as changing the culture that results in the gangs is longitudinal and won't be solved in a couple of budget cycles.
Stephen, are you denying that gangs exist in Jacksonville?
Quote from: I-10east on April 25, 2015, 07:24:30 AM
Quote.......Project SOS also offers a healthy relationship department to help guide parents, because they believe the decision to partake in crime begins at home.
"I had a former gang member on my staff for two years, and he opened up my eyes to what the gangs are providing. They're providing a fellowship and discipline and regiment. The boys want that structure, but they're going in the wrong direction. So if we can change them around, then they'll want that for their job and for their future," Mullarkey-Robbins said.
http://www.news4jax.com/news/jso-to-hold-conference-on-recent-shootings/32552758
So gangs provide "family"............Police and policing usually just provide a common enemy. You've got to address the root cause to get rid of the problem or just chip away with enforcement.
As I recall most cities have had gangs. Most gangs are in low income areas. I don't think they will ever go away.
Yea I don't think Jax has any truly organized gang presence (like the Crips or MS-13 or some of the Asian gangs don't "control" an area of town like they do in other cities).
However, I think these little loose street groups/local gangs are more dangerous than the larger, more organized gangs from a sheer violence standpoint. They aren't "smart" and don't know how to use discretion, work things out through other means, etc.
Cities controlled by the big gangs tend to be safer than Jacksonville (or so it seems on paper at least), which has none of the larger gangs. So that tells me something.
Here is how Florida law defines it: Under Florida Statute 874.03 (1): "Criminal gang" means a formal or informal ongoing organization, association, or group that has as one of its primary activities the commission of criminal or delinquent acts, and that consists of three (3) or more persons who have a common name or common identifying signs, colors, or symbols, including, but not limited to, terrorist organizations and hate
groups.
Also included in those statutes are the criteria for an individual to be documented as a gang member or associate, and once you are, if you are caught committing gang-related criminal activity (also defined in the stautes), enhanced penalties can be sought by prosecutors for those crimes. There's a variety of ways outlined in the law to determine relationship with a gang, but it's often self-admitted. And many feel the need to sport some ink for their crew as well as the typical colors and tagging; it is not something they try to hide. In their world, it is important to be affiliated and instantly recognized for that affilation - kind of like it is in a lot of our worlds. The difference is most clubs, fraternal organizations, churches and prep schools aren't making criminal activity one of their primary activities. Secondary, perhaps.
Note the statute doesn't just include street gangs, but also terrorist organizations and hate groups. Some of those likely make up the reported total of 47.
The JSO is concerned that 'Cutt Circle' and '1200' are gangs. Looks like they are copying Chiraq with that 'hunna' lingo. Although as the doubters will say, they aren't 'real gangs' despite some members being involved in crimes. Nothing to see here folks. :-X
http://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/news/local/local-rap-group-cutt-circleresponds-gang-allegatio/nnrhk/
https://www.youtube.com/user/PHATCHIKDZINE/videos
Turf war gang graffiti showing up in Northside neighborhood.
http://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/gang-graffiti-showing-up-in-northside-neighborhood/292514500
Quote from: I-10east on May 18, 2016, 11:46:00 PM
Turf war gang graffiti showing up in Northside neighborhood.
http://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/gang-graffiti-showing-up-in-northside-neighborhood/292514500
The video didn't play for me. What neighborhood is it?
Quote from: I-10east on May 18, 2016, 11:46:00 PM
Turf war gang graffiti elementary school-age kids tagging showing up in Northside neighborhood.
http://www.actionnewsjax.com/news/local/gang-graffiti-showing-up-in-northside-neighborhood/292514500
These damn kids need a role model.
My suggestion:
(https://encrypted-tbn1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSCqDurLgXxyR4ar-3IOSpOlvtQf0CdQUQ-ggq_w1zDDuNBPGop)