Keeping an eye on area gangs

Prince William County detective Bart Stromer walked down a hill in Dumfries, then shined his flashlight under a bridge over Quantico Creek. Detective Dennis Gill followed through the wet grass and mud beside northbound U.S. 1. Then he, too, focused his light on the span.

The flak-jacketed lawmen figured they might find someone hanging out by the creek, but the area was empty Thursday night.

It was clear, though, that isn't always the case. Black spraypaint festooned the pillars holding up the bridge, marking the area as gang territory.

"Obviously, no one else can see this, so this is for their benefit," Gill said.

He should know. As a member of the county police gang unit, his career has centered on gangs, their members and their crimes over the past five years.

Some Prince William residents may not realize it, but the area is home to several hundred gang members.

And Gill, Stromer, three other detectives, their supervising sergeant and a crime analyst are dedicated to keeping them in check.

The county police gang unit has existed in its present form since 2003. Before then, a detective and an analyst monitored gang activity, Gill said, but a rash of shootings in one six-month period led the police administration to add manpower.

"Gang activity just went through the roof," he said.

It's hard to pinpoint exactly how many gangs inhabit the area. Nationally known organizations such as the Bloods, the Crips and MS-13 have a presence in Prince William, as do "homegrown" groups such as "Locos Malditos," or "LM" for short.

Locos Malditos is based in Dumfries, Gill and Stromer said, and, sure enough, graffiti spelling out "LM Zone" appears on that bridge over Quantico Creek.

In addition, moments after Gill and Stromer approached the span, as if the investigators had summoned them for an example, some kids rode by on bicycles.

"Hope you catch something," a boy said.

"Sure we will," Gill responded.

It's unclear whether the passers-by had any gang connection, but "associates" of gang members can be just as dangerous as those who have formally joined.

"If a kid stabs you, or robs you, do you really care if he's a gangster or not?" Gill asked rhetorically. "He's still committing the crimes."

Gang members themselves range in age from as young as 12 to as old as the late 20s. Some groups here are homogeneous -- for example, many are primarily Hispanics -- while others have diverse populations.

Their main crimes involve vandalism, Gill and Stromer said, though some commit more serious acts.

Gangs in Prince William, however, are not really that "organized" in the way that one might think of the Mafia or drug crews in big cities such as Baltimore.

"They do make some money, but to call them 'criminal enterprises' like the mob or something," Gill said, "I mean they are, but they're not lucrative."

What that means is that most gangsters here have legitimate jobs or are enrolled in school.

In fact, Gill said, gang members sometimes give a surprising answer for why they joined.

"They don't know why," he said. "It just seems like it's the thing to do."

Though it has the potential to get worse, gang activity in Prince William is actually down slightly in the past year or so, Gill said.

One reason is the county's controversial policy of checking the immigration status of all criminal suspects taken into custody.

"The immigration policy the county passed definitely had an impact -- in a positive way on the gangs," he said.

State laws also help. It's not illegal to be in a gang, Gill said. But committing a crime as part of a gang is another matter.

The goateed detective explained by motioning to black and red gang "tags" on a utility building at the corner of Rippon Boulevard and Blackburn Road.

"You take a crime like this, which is a simple misdemeanor, vandalism -- might cost you 50 dollars worth of paint to fix it -- and add our gang statute on top of it, which makes it a felony."

Staff writer Jonathan Hunley can be reached at 703-369-5738.