Graffiti, tattoos worry police
By: Jason Lea

JLea@News-Herald.com
09/16/2007


Detective Toby Burgett examines the graffiti on the back of a home in Painesville. The Painesville Police Department is seeking additional funding to investigate the possibility of Hispanic gangs in the city.

Federal funds requested to investigate possible gang activity in Painesville

The words "South 13" and "Sur 13" were sprayed onto a ramp near the Painesville City Employee Credit Union at the intersection of Latimore and State streets.

Painesville Police Detective Toby Burgett, who photographs graffiti around the city, explained that both tags refer to Sureños 13, a primarily Mexican gang found in southern California.

Similar tags have been photographed throughout the city, but police do not know if this is the work of gangs in Painesville or poseurs with spray cans.
"There have been indicators of gang presence in Painesville. The
key word is 'indicators,' " Burgett said.

A proactive stance

Rita McMahon, Painesville's city manager for 10 years, said she has not received any complaints about gang activity. But she saw the photographs of suspicious graffiti and tattoos, and agreed the police should investigate more.

Police have requested federal funding for its Community Involved
Tactical Enforcement Team, which started in the late 1990s and focuses on drug, gang and community problems.

"I know part of the reason we wanted funds is because we saw some signs and wanted to take a proactive stance," McMahon said.

U.S. Rep. Steven C. LaTourette, R-Bainbridge Township, earmarked $75,000 for the Painesville CITE Team in House Resolution 3093.
The resolution was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives and awaits approval in the U.S. Senate, said Deborah A. Setliff, LaTourette's spokeswoman.

Painesville Councilman Andrew Flock said he has never received a complaint about gangs, but added, "I think if there is gang activity in the city, the chief of police would be more aware of it than me."

Painesville Police Chief Gary Smith did not say there were gangs in the city, Instead, he said there were indications they could be in Painesville.
"When we applied for the funding, we were seeing a lot of graffiti. I want to be proactive about this, and if we see a problem, we are going to go in and attack it," Smith said.

Veronica Dahlberg, spokeswoman for Hispañas Organizadas de Lake y Ashtabula, an organization that represents the interests of Latinos in Lake and Ashtabula counties, said she did not think there were any gangs in Painesville. She declined further comment.

Some symptoms of gang activity are missing from Painesville, Smith said.
Authorities do not see patterns of violence in the city, according to the chief.

Also, very few of those charged with trafficking or possession of drugs in Painesville are Hispanic, Smith said. He explains that is partially because drug dealers in the tight-knit Hispanic community rarely sell to people outside of the community.

Smith said he did not want to exaggerate any gang presence in Painesville.
He does not think the city or its Hispanic population are overrun by gangs. But the police have heard rumors and seen tags and tattoos that make them want to investigate and, if necessary, address a potential problem before it becomes a definite problem.

Interpreting the indicators

Iconography is important to gangs. Whether it be colors, hand signs or certain symbols, gangs find ways to differentiate themselves from each other. Granted, these distinctions can be subtle.

Tags for "South 13" and "Sureños 13" probably refer to the same group, Burgett said. Sureño is Spanish for "southern." It originally distinguished Mexican gangs in southern California from those in northern California.
However, a sprayed "Prospect XIII" found on a trash bin on Canfield Drive could be interpreted in a few different ways.

The numeral "13" recurs occasionally in Painesville graffiti.
Burgett said it is because the 13th letter of the alphabet is "M," and many Hispanic gangs use it to demonstrate a loose allegiance to the Mexican Mafia or a prison gang like the Aryan Brotherhood or Black Guerrilla Family. (Likewise, biker gangs sometimes use "13," but, in that case, the "M" stands for methamphetamine, Burgett said.)

The Sureños - and many Mexican gangs, according to Burgett - are a faction of the Mexican Mafia.

Consequently, a person who tags with "Prospect XIII" might be declaring an allegiance to the Sureños, Mexican Mafia, or an even more specific group centered on Prospect Street. Or it might be a kid with a spray can, Burgett added.

Not every gang symbol is necessarily drawn by a gang member. A ninth-grader from Harvey High School drew a five-pointed crown, embellished with the words "Latin Kings." But Painesville school resource officer Julius Ponder does not think the artist is affiliated with a gang.
"Some kids see things, and they want to imitate it because they think it's cool," Ponder said.

Unfortunately, Burgett does not know how old the vandals are because the police have not yet caught anyone in the act, he said.

Graffiti is not the only artwork Burgett notices. He has a book filled with tattoos.

One photograph showed a 23-year-old Painesville man, who has "Sureños" tattooed on his chest and a "1" and a "3" inked on his left and right arm, respectively. And while a tattoo proclaiming a gang affiliation seems like a strong indication, Burgett is cautious to assume anything.
"Just because someone has a tattoo, you don't want to assume they are in a gang," he said.

A person with a gang tattoo could be a former member or just bluffing, Burgett said.

"It's not a blatant organization with patches on their back. It's a clandestine thing," he said. "Generally, tattoos are an indicator. Indicators are not proof someone's in a gang." Attempts to contact the tattooed man were unsuccessful.

Writing on the wall

Sometimes, graffiti implies more than a presence. It hints at a rivalry.
In one of Burgett's photos, a spray-painted "Sur 13" has been crossed out and the word "putos" written above it. "Puto" is a derogatory word for a male homosexual.

"This shows we actually have a rival group writing over top of it," Burgett said.

On a column on State Street, someone wrote "(Expletive) El Junco," which is the name of another Mexican gang, Burgett said.

The police do not know if it is the writing of a wanna-be, a rival gang member or even someone protesting El Junco, but they want to investigate more.

"Most of the things you see in the city are tags," Burgett said. "You'll hear the rumors, but the direct correlation is tough."

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