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Boynton faces up to gang violence
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By Michael Laforgia

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Sunday, January 07, 2007

BOYNTON BEACH — People are killing each other in this city. Young men carry guns and use them to shoot other young men, who die and are replaced by more young men, bent on vengeance. Innocent people die, too.

The same is happening in cities across Palm Beach County, and in recent weeks gang violence has surged.

Observers say such bloodshed is testing officials, schools, civic groups and church leaders unaccustomed to dealing with gang-related problems - and who are often hesitant to admit problems exist.

But a high-profile murder at the Boynton Beach Mall and a handful of fatal drive-by shootings, including one that killed an innocent father of three last August, clarified the situation, city leaders said.

Now they're groping for the right solution.

"If anybody has the answer, I'd be glad to listen," Mayor Jerry Taylor said. "We've got to somehow get out there, get the message out there, that we're not going to live in this environment."

The city's struggle to come to terms with blooming violence, with groups of young men angry or disenfranchised or apathetic enough to fire a gun in a crowded shopping mall, mirrors that of communities countywide and across America.

Guns are cheap and available. Gang feuds are percolating. Violent crime is on the rise.

What are city leaders supposed to do?

"This is not an easy answer," Sheriff Ric Bradshaw said.

For enforcing the law, Bradshaw has assembled investigators from his agency and police departments across the county in a violent crimes task force that is designed to make solving crimes easier.

Bradshaw also has announced his intention to enlist help from the FBI by applying the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, which was passed in 1970 to fight the mob, to gangs.

"It's all about money," Bradshaw said. "That's all this is: organized crime."

Most of all, the sheriff's office is able to provide resources for cities battling gang violence, Bradshaw said, citing a recent seminar in which a national expert taught officials and investigators about gangs.

"Not nearly as many came there as should have been there," Bradshaw said of city leaders.

Problems get worse when city officials refuse to ask for help, critics say. Concerns about a city's image are still keeping some leaders from admitting gang problems, said Barry Epstein, spokesman for Together Against Gangs, a Boca Raton nonprofit founded to counter gang violence among young people.

Schools Superintendent Art Johnson agreed.

"In many of the discussions I've had, there are absolutely two camps," he said: one camp admits gang problems, the other denies them. Some city officials throughout the county still insist on ignoring gangs, he said.

Not in my city, said Taylor, Boynton's mayor.

"I think that we all understand there's a problem out here," he said. "The reality is we're very much involved in trying to prevent these gangs from operating in our limits."

He said city officials became aware of gangs in Boynton Beach in 2005. As recently as three years ago, former Police Chief Marshall Gage downplayed their presence, attributing violent incidents to a pervading "street-thug mentality."

His successor, Matt Immler, readily acknowledged the problem and has worked to attack it.

Even so, Immler's department has been criticized, especially after Berno Charlemond, a 24-year-old gang member from Boynton Beach, was shot and killed on Christmas Eve in the Boynton Beach Mall.

The two men arrested in the case have been released, with recommendations to the state attorney to review charges against them. Charlemond's suspected killer, a Lantana felon implicated in at least one other shooting, is still on the loose.

So is whoever killed an innocent bystander, 50-year-old Franck Joseph, in an August drive-by shooting.

"We're a stationary target, and people like to point fingers at us because that's easy," Boynton police Lt. Jeff Katz said.

People would be better off telling investigators about crimes they witness, he said.

Bradshaw said neighborhood and church groups should help in this function by encouraging people who are scared or apathetic to come forward.

The Rev. Lance Chaney of St. John Missionary Baptist Church said this sort of outreach is vitally important.

"We're surrounded by an area that's absolutely urban and has a tremendous potential for violence," said the pastor, whose 2,300-member church stands at Seacrest Boulevard and Martin Luther King Boulevard. As he talked, the sound of sirens came through the stained-glass window behind him.

As head of one of the largest black congregations in Boynton Beach, Chaney feels a keen responsibility to stem gang violence, he said.

A city official has approached him about joining in meetings between Boynton Beach leaders and officials from neighboring cities, with an eye toward swapping ideas fighting gangs, he said. Chaney's suggestions include starting a regular midnight basketball game and creating an adult soccer league for Haitians.

The feuding gangs responsible for escalating violence in and around the city are predominantly made up of Haitian members, authorities say.

Chaney said he wants to reach out to gang members. "We need to hear their voices," he said.

The intercity conference wouldn't be the first time Chaney has gathered with other leaders to mull gang problems.

In August, he met with pastors and city officials after Joseph was shot and killed on Northeast First Street. Pastors made plans to intervene in the community, but nothing came of it.

"Some of our communication broke down," Chaney said. "For whatever reason, we kept putting it off."

The pastor, whose daughter was working at the mall when Charlemond was killed and whose son is the same age as the suspect, said he's ready to redouble efforts.

His neighborhood has a stake in the fight.

At Wednesday's worship service, the organ swelled and Chaney held forth to his congregation, his voice trembling, sweat rising on his forehead.

Just outside the church, hustlers and junkies walked the corner and played dice in the shadows.

Reaching a sudden crescendo, the pastor leaned forward from the pulpit, a fierce look in his eyes.

"Our world is changing!" he thundered. "Whatever happened to our true convictions?"