CA-3 dozen suspected gang members arrested in East Bay raid
3 dozen suspected gang members arrested in East Bay raid
By Harry Harris and Angela Woodall
Oakland Tribune
Article Created: 06/17/2008 07:56:06 PM PDT
More than half of the suspected membership of the notorious Acorn drug gang of West Oakland have been jailed as a result of a painstaking two month investigation by Oakland police and 16 other law enforcement agencies that culminated with a series of early morning raids Tuesday throughout the East Bay.
Twenty suspected members had been arrested on a variety of charges before Tuesday and another 34 were busted during Tuesday's raids. Police believe there are another 40-plus members and associates and more arrests could be made.
Besides capturing suspects, police also seized at least nine firearms, including an assault rifle, sizeable amounts of cocaine and marijuana and more than $10,000 in cash during the raids. Before Tuesday, 31 various firearms had been taken off members previously arrested.
More than 400 Oakland police and other law enforcement officers participated in the raids — called "Operation Nutcracker" — aimed at ending years of deadly violence, terror and intimidation linked to the gang.
Police said not only was the gang responsible for scores of violent crimes, it was also responsible for terrorizing neighborhoods and the way of life for residents.
Homicide Lt. Ersie Joyner III said in his 17-year career ``this is the most violent gang I've ever seen.''
Among those arrested Tuesday was the gang's purported leader, Mark Anthony Candler, 34 of Castro Valley. Authorities said Candler, a convicted drug dealer, is originally from Los Angeles but has run the Acorn gang some nine years and is suspected of ordering numerous acts of violence.
All of those arrested Tuesday are expected to be formally charged by Thursday. They are being held on various bails at Santa Rita Jail.
Joyner said because of the large number of arrests, police believe they have dismantled the gang's infrastructure enough to make it difficult for members to regroup. "Oakland police are committed to making sure West Oakland residents are free of fear and violence in their communities," he said.
Heavily-armed officers raided homes, starting at 7 a.m., in East and West Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Castro Valley, Hayward, San Leandro, Pinole, Hercules, Antioch, Concord, Vallejo and Fairfield, among other sites. No use of force was involved, except for battering rams being used to knock down doors, officials said.
Several suspects were arrested at the City Towers high-rise at 1055 8th Street, with police leading handcuffed men and women from the building as parents were dropping children off at a daycare across the street.
Besides Oakland police, also taking part in the raid were members of the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, the state Department of Justice, the FBI and police departments from Berkeley, Union City, Livermore and Fremont.
The raid was an example of what can be done when agencies cooperate, said California State Attorney General Jerry Brown at a Tuesday afternoon news conference. The former Oakland mayor called the gang members "urban terrorists" engaged in asymmetrical warfare that has gotten too far out of hand. "Today's raids represents a long, long struggle," Brown said.
Police said the gang dealt drugs primarily in and around the Acorn Housing Project and used violence to expand and protect its turf.
Besides the housing project, the gang included in its turf an area bounded by 7th, 14th and Market streets and Mandela Parkway.
Joyner said over the years dozens of homicides have been linked to the gang, which occasionally engaged in violent shootouts with rivals.
The crackdown on the Acorn gang eliminated the main antagonist in a three-way gang war that also involved the Ghost Town and Lower Bottoms gangs, police said. The raid took the head off the monster, Joyner said.
Calling the raid a "golden opportunity for the entire Oakland community," police pledged to follow-up on the Tuesday raid with more community involvement among West Oakland residents and outreach workers, on top of already present beat officers and bike patrols.
"We're going to do more of these," Chief Wayne Tucker said. "This is just the beginning."
http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_9617172
