NAC Area 7 Monthly Meeting                                              February 7th, 2006 Meeting

7 p.m. North Frederick Elementary

 

Members Present:  Don Dean, Gail Bradley, Mike Bradley, Claudia Winkelman, David Winkelman, Marie Zinnert, Bob Cole, and Earl Smith.

City Representative Present:  Sara McGill, Alderman Donna Ramsburg, Chuck Boyd

Citizens Present: 15

Police Representative:  Officer Gunter

Guest Speaker:  Detective Bob Marker

 

Officer Gunter:

There has been small criminal activity such as glass breakage in the downtown businesses.  He is aware of our speed concerns, motorcycle concerns. There has been            more speed control in the area.  Vandalism has to be witnessed. People vandalize very late at night so it is a tough  crime to do something about. The police try to remedy as quickly as possible. Citizen’s reports have been helpful, they do get many calls regarding people hanging out at night.

 

Chief Dine discussed the incident where a woman was followed and drove to Ft. Detrick.  There is a myth about gang initiation practice.  As far as the Chief knows, this has been the only incident.  They have no proof that this is gang related.  There are e-mails flying around.  Blog has been created for communication.  A Citizen said something happened on Court Street where someone held up a sign and told a woman to pull over. Chief Dine had not heard about that incident.

 

Call 911 if you doubt whether it is an unmarked police officer or an imitator.

 

In this particular incident, they do not have a lot to go on as the victim could not identify people or the car.  It started at Walmart.  They don’t know if it was road rage or domestic related.  The woman reported 4 men in a car, they stopped got out of the car, and she drove away and to Ft Detrick.  Gangs have been around forever.  They are here now and more organized. Neighborhood gangs, motorcycle gangs, and now international gangs exist in Frederick City.  Gangs are all about criminal activity. The fact is that the law did not want to recognize them. Approach is enforcement (lock them up), interaction with community, education, and prevention.  School based education programs, PAL program-kids in PAL are not in harms way. Investigation and intelligence – talk every week with the FBI. MTAC (MD).  When they see graffiti, they catalog it. Some is old and some is new.  The goal is to push it out of Frederick..  To date we have been lucky in that we haven’t seen the violence as in other areas. No magic solution. Det. Markoe is the gang analyst who has been w/ the dept for 15 years.

 

Catherine Stull told the police that there are people sleeping in the tree line along East St between 14th and Peters Lane..

 

 

 

 

 

 

Detective Marker:  (Passed out a gang informational handout.)

 

Gang – people who socialize regularly. MD law defines it as 3 or more that engage in criminal activity with an identifying sign or symbol.  Sometimes it is the color they wear. A gang can be a neighborhood.

They join for a sense of belonging, power, money, relatives who are member, pressure from peers.  Forming in the schools from 5th grade on up.  Look for poor grades, use of unknown vocabulary, withdrawal from family activities, sudden change in friends, drug abuse, sudden affluence.  It is not a crime to be in a gang.  Not one thing makes someone as a gang member. They use hand signs.  Don’t use hand signs or you could become a victim of an assault.

They want a new nickname.  They have a bad attitude toward authority. They can wear clothing of one style or color, altered head gear, tattoos or other markings.  They stay out later.

 

UBN United Blood Nation – originated in 1993 at Rikers Island, NY. 5 original members.  They are everywhere up and down the east coast. NC has a lot of them.  Three dots that represent a dog paw, burned into skin with a cigarette is their symbol.

 

CRIPS – Common Revolution in Progress.  1969 Los Angeles CA. Founder Stanley Tookie Williams.  Tookie was executed in 2005.

 

West Side CRIPS

OLGC: Outlaw Gangster CRIPS

MMGC: Money Making Gangster Crips

Crips color is blue and their symbol is a 6 pointed star.

 

MS13 - Mara Salvatrucha- once exclusively El Salvadorian. Colors are blue and white, black bandanas, like to wear clothing w/ #13 on it.  They incorporated the Nike symbol as their gang trademark.  Newer members are getting away from tattoos because if deported to El Salvador with tattoos, they will be arrested.  They hold regular meetings in parks on Sundays and are not easily intimidated. They collect dues and send it to “Smokey” back in el Salvador.

 

18th Street:  Started in CA. They are a rival of MS 13. Their colors are red on the East Coast and black and silver in California. They hang out on Andover Lane in Stonegate.

 

JHU (John Hanson Uptown) John Hanson apt complex was their turf.  They are now dispersed all over and most are in jail.  One was killed by the West Side CRIPS.

 

PA MOB –home to the Sagner Complex. They use 32 or 153 to represent themselves.  They are the largest of local neighborhood gangs.

 

B6: Bottom 6 St Boys – East 6th St, now out in the county.

 

CMG: Certified $%@K’n Gangsters – Whittier area. Ranging from Middle School age  to 20 years old. Hand sign stands for Weatherburne Way. Colors are all red.

 

TAC: Taney Ave Crew. They are part of the CMG or possibly the same gang.

 

All gangs have websites. Don’t do it from your house as they are very computer savvy.

 

Gang Language

  Verbal codes numeric

  Triple 9 meant “snitch” with blood members

  Code words/phrases.  Hispanics name their weapons after females.

 

Watch out for myspace.com

Question:  Are officers stepping up enforcement of parks especially on Sundays?

Det.  Marker’s Phone # 301-624-1242 direct line.

 

Large Hispanic population playing soccer, can’t assume they are gang members.

 

Chuck Boyd:

 

Chuck Boyd passed around new the land management code. They hope to make projects better by taking plans to the NAC.  This is only required for site plans. Works great for industrial but not residential.   Get them early in the process. Planning will incorporate the NAC’s comments.

 

Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (AFPO) – new board is working on it.  Regarding Odd Fellow’s property, there are significant changes and the number of units have gone down.  They are saving all historic structures and changing the historic structures to condos. It is important to speak at planning commission meetings which are 6 p.m. at night. People have the right to develop unless the city purchases the land.   Meetings are held the 2nd Monday every month.  The agenda is on the web site.

 

Need money for infrastructure or impact fees to pay for infrastructure or other financing mechanisms.

 

Blight abatement.  Mike Blank is hopefully coming back soon.  Catherine Parks has been managing while he has been away.  Code enforcement hooked up Habitat for Humanity with one property. Due diligence of process.  Notices, appeals, have to be diligent.

 

Mark DeCampo is the case planner for Centex  301-600-1499

NAC 6 Friends of the Park next to the hospital.

Bill McKee has an issue. The city has decided not to clean up leaves at the northeast corner at 12th and Fairview.  About 4 years ago the city said they would mulch the leaves, but they left the big oak leaves and now they have nothing but mud.

 

Chuck Boyd announced that at 9th and Motter Ave. where the tennis courts are, there is a project to build some towns. The zoning is R8 or R12.

 

A citizen on Frederick Ave. said two street Bradford Pear trees were a concern to trees in her front yard. They belong to the city.  State law says you can’t take down healthy trees.  Tom Rippeon is the city arborist.

 

New mayor plans on keeping the NACs.  Kip Koontz moved to Pinewood Ave. and hopes to come to the meetings.

 

The meeting adjourned at 9:05 p.m.

 

The next meeting will be held March 7th, 7 p.m. in the Board Room at City Hall.

 

Sincerely,

 

Claudia Winkelman, Secretary