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Clarksville's gangs unique
Five factors make city especially susceptible to gang activity
By JAMIE DEXTER
The Leaf-Chronicle

Agent Jay Skidmore of the Clarksville Police Department Gang Unit said the state follows a five point system to determine if a city is susceptible to gang activity. If a city has the following, it may be susceptible: A population over 30,000.

A major university or college — Skidmore said the leader of the Gangster Disciples, Larry Hoover, would have his members recruit young kids and entice them to join by offering to pay their college schooling. The gang wants members who are smart and have no criminal record, so they can enter the field as lawyers, doctors and law enforcement to help further their cause from the inside.

An existing drug problem — "The business of gangs is drugs," Skidmore said.

Direct access to an interstate.

A military installation — Skidmore said gang members may join the military to learn leadership, weapons tactics and have access to weapons that can be stolen. Clarksville fits all five of those points.

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By LISA MARCHESONI Senior Writer, Aug. 19, 2007

More than 100 gang members have been identified in Murfreesboro by the police department’s Crime Suppression Unit.

They belong to the traditional California Bloods and Crips gangs and the ethnic Gangsta Disciples, Asian Pride Gang and MS-13, said CSU Sgt. Cary Gensemer.

“The good news is we’re not like larger metropolitan areas where if you go on the wrong block, you’re shot and stabbed,” Gensemer said. “Murfreesboro is nowhere near that level right now.”

Gensemer and his five-man unit intend to keep it that way by managing the gang problem in the city.
“I don’t think you can prevent it,” Gensemer said, quickly adding, “I think you can manage it so it’s not South Central, LA (Los Angeles). Is Murfreesboro a gang-controlled community? Absolutely not. We are starting to see a lot more of it but we’re trying to curtail it.”

Murfreesboro Police formed the Crime Suppression Unit in July 2006 after a spike in violent crimes and more gang graffiti painted at businesses and public buildings. Several officers trained in Florida about gang identification and investigations.

One of the unit’s goals is to gather information about gangs and prosecute gang members committing crimes through aggressive, proactive police enforcement. If they break the law, officers hope the suspects will be incarcerated and taken off the streets.

For example, CSU officers doing traffic stops or making misdemeanor arrests identified suspects wearing gang colors, carrying paraphernalia and displaying tattoos.

From his experience, Gensemer believes gangs and illegal drugs are directly related. Gangs sell illegal drugs to fund their organizations.

“If we attack street level dealers, we’re going to be affecting those gangs,” the sergeant said. “We stumble across tools like illegal firearms. If you’re taking drugs and guns off the street, that’s one of the most effective ways to combat the problem.”

They’re seeing kids in their early teens showing signs of gang membership.


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NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A teenage gang member wanted in the slaying of a Nashville market owner has been granted refugee status by a Canadian judge, delaying efforts to have him returned to Tennessee to face charges. Nasser Muhsin, 16, who is being held in Edmonton, claimed he needed refugee status because he might be hurt or killed by rival gangs if sent back to the United States.Nashville police suspect Muhsin fired the shot that killed Ebadolla Ghorbani during a November robbery at the Omid Market. Two other suspects are in custody.

A juvenile court arrest warrant charges Muhsin with criminal homicide, especially aggravated robbery and unlawful gun possession.

Nashville police erected "wanted" billboards with Muhsin's photo around the city to try to produce tips on locating him. Authorities aren't sure how Muhsin crossed into Canada while he was wanted in a homicide. Nashville police spokesman Don Aaron told WSMV-TV that Canadian border authorities are trying to make sure Muhsin stays in custody while officials continue to try to get him returned to the United States.The refugee status decision has been appealed but won't be heard in a Canadian court until late September, Nashville officials said.

"I've never been to Canada, but if they're going to let some murderer be free, that's messed up," Meysam Ghorbani, the victim's son, told WTVF-TV.

"This one especially because he's the one who shot my father," said the younger Ghorbani, who was at the store during the shooting. ``He's the guy who just looked at my father and pulled the trigger for no reason." Ebadolla Ghorbani was shot after he struggled to hold the market door closed against two masked males. A security camera recorded the shooting.
http://www.thestar.com/News/article/245196

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July 31, 2007 01:12 PM CDT
 

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) - A proud enclave of Kurdish immigrants have lived in Nashville for decades, blending into the immigrant neighborhoods south of downtown. But now that community has been shaken to see its young people joining a violent street gang, which police say is responsible for a string of home invasions, assaults and rapes. Calling themselves Kurdish Pride, they are believed to be the only active gang of Kurdish youth in the country. Police said most gang members, who are in their teens and early 20s, still hold refugee status after they and their families fled persecution to come to the United States. The Kurds, most of whom are Sunni Muslim, come mainly from Turkey, Iraq and Iran, but they have their own language and culture.

Gang members tell police they formed in response to threats and harassment after Sept. 11.

Other Kurds like Abraham Ahmed said the gang formed to protect themselves against other minority groups at public schools. As the president and CEO of the Virginia-based Kurdish Human Rights Watch, Pary Karadaghi, is concerned about the growth of the gang. She hopes to create a roundtable discussion with schools, parents, police and Kurdish families.
http://www.newschannel5.com/Global/story.asp?S=6865631

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Bradley County Has Fugitive Roundup
posted August 6, 2007

The Bradley County Sheriff’s Office, in conjunction with federal and state agencies, completed a warrant roundup Saturday that targeted neighborhood criminal activity.

Agencies providing assistance were the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshall’s Service and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

They are participants in Project Safe Neighborhoods, an initiative seeking to reduce gang activity, illegal drug use and residential theft.

Warrants were taken from an estimated 5,000 cases in Bradley County where previous attempts to arrest the defendant were unsuccessful.

The final numbers are being tabulated, but as the week long effort concluded at least 100 felony and misdemeanor warrants had been served or cleared.

According to Lt. Eric Watson of the Court Services Division, the most serious charges were robbery, aggravated assault, aggravated burglary, possession of drugs, failure to pay child support, and fugitive warrants.

Sheriff Tim Gobble said it is important to take steps to reduce the backlog of unserved warrants.

He said, “This is a problem I tackled when I took office. Through a redistribution of department resources we have been able to arrest many of these individuals. The problem we have encountered is that many of these people are transient and have moved without leaving forwarding addresses.”

Alan Ledford, grant coordinator for the sheriff’s office, worked with the other agencies to finalize details of the roundup.

Sheriff Gobble said the department will continue an emphasis on finding these individuals and getting them before a judge. As these cases are adjudicated they will bring additional revenue to the county through fines and court costs, it was stated.

Sheriff Gobble expressed his appreciation to each of the federal and state agencies for assistance during the roundup.
http://www.chattanoogan.com/articles/article_111123.asp

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