HomeMy WebLinkAbout4. GANG ACTIVITY Memorandum
Port Arthur Police Department
City of Port Arthur
TO:
DATE:
FROM:
REF:
Mark Blanton, Assistant Chief of Police
05/22/02
Kirk Nesbitt, Lieutenant, Criminal Investigations
Overview of Gang Activity in Port Arthur
Gang activity in Port Arthur has been a loosely defined and organized
activity that primarily falls along racial lines. There is a loosely organized group of
Asian~ criminals who at this time have the attention of the Auto Theft detectives.
Their principal focus seems to be the theft of Honda vehicles for the purpose of
removing parts and sellin~ them at a profit. Additionally, two loosely organized
groups of African American youths have been identified, one known as the East
Side and the others being known as the West Side. Representative of a small group
of juvenile and young adults in the mid-town area exists a group called the Wood
Boys. This group has all of the trademark identifiers of a criminal gang. The police
department Violent Crime Unit has identified 28 individuals that are associated
with this group. Recent investigations and indictments have caused the arrest of
some 17 of these individuals. Fourteen of these are currently in police custody for
various crimes usually associated with narcotics and shootings. One homicide
investigation involved 4 of these members and they are all presently in custody. The
Wood Boys as a group has ceased to exist due to the fact that the ringleader and 3
Lieutenants have all been arrested by the police. They ali face lengthy prison terms
for violent felonies.
The Hispanic gangs that are active in Port Arthur are present
principally in the Lakevlew area and they fall along homeland origins, for example
the youths from Michoak Oacan have banded together as have those from Palau.
The focus of their activity seems to be protection in the schools from other gangs.
At the present time the police department has no on-going investigations speciftcally
targeted at gangs and to the best of our knowledge we have no organized, defined
erjmlnal gangs functioning in Port Arthur.
KN:spd
Remember, We Are Here to Serve the Citizens of Port Arthur ~PA~E t31 []