http://www.wsoctv.com/news/5049975/detail.html

Charlotte Hosts Gang Conference For Law Enforcement Agents

POSTED: 11:06 am EDT October 3, 2005
UPDATED: 5:03 pm EDT October 3, 2005

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Law enforcement agencies from across the country are attending a conference in Charlotte to learning special techniques on how to deal with the most dangerous gangs.

Investigators said gangs are a growing threat that cannot be ignored in and around Charlotte. They're leaving their mark in our jails, in our schools and on our streets.

"They're violent. Life is not sacred to them. It doesn't matter who gets in their way. They're going to deal with it. Gangs are in every community," said Mecklenburg County Sheriff Jim Pendergraph.

A series of weekend shootings along North Tryon Street outside two nightclubs and in a shopping mall parking lot are exactly the kind of crimes that gangs often bring. Police in Charlotte will look for gang connections in them.

Henry Lescault, a gang investigator with the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Bureau, said gangs often leave innocent victims.

"A lot of times in the news you hear about a child or somebody caught by a stray bullet -- caught in the crossfire. That's one of the biggest dangers about gang violence," said Lescault.

It's one of the biggest reasons this week's gang conference has more than 400 investigators attending.

It's also why Mark Bridgeman with the North Carolina Gang Investigators Association believes everyone, in every part of town, needs to be aware that gangs are everywhere in Charlotte.

"Whether it's shopping malls, theatres, state parks, local parks, they're going to go to the same places that we do and our families are exposed," said Bridgeman.

Police in Charlotte have had their own gang intelligence unit since 2003. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Darrell Stephens calls gangs an important public safety issue and said educating people about gangs is an important part of helping police stop them.

The three-day conference will help officers educate themselves, share with other officers and learn more information about the gangs in their area, including Asian gangs and MS-13.