Law enforcement, residents take on gangs

By Daniel Borunda / El Paso Times
Posted: 04/01/2009 12:00:00 AM MDT

EL PASO -- Eyes quickly dart away after two young men in baggy jeans glance at police Officer Anthony Weathersbee's patrol car rolling through what could be the most notorious neighborhood in El Paso.

Some call it the "Devil's Triangle" because of its reputation for drugs, gangs and prostitution, but residents chose the name "Angel's Triangle" in the late 1990s as part of their revitalization efforts.

The mile-long neighborhood bounded by the Patriot Freeway, Hondo Pass and Dyer Street got another name last month. County Attorney Jose Rodriguez designated it the "Triangle Safety Zone" in a temporary injunction he obtained against 27 alleged members of the Bloods street gang.

The injunction also created the "Patriot Safety Zone" in a middle-class residential area north of Trans Mountain Road between the Patriot Freeway and McCombs Drive.

A judge is to rule Wednesday on whether sufficient evidence exists to grant a permanent injunction against the alleged gang members. The court order would bar them from congregating anywhere in El Paso County, or even talking on their cell phones in public places.

Greater penalties would be handed down for crimes committed in the two neighborhoods.

Rodriguez's push for the injunction came during an uptick in gang activity that pales compared with the violence of the early 1990s, but that has police now trying to curb problems before they fester.

Gangs can be found throughout El Paso, but the Northeast neighborhoods were a hot spot for violence last year. Cases there included more than a half-dozen shootings and two fatal beatings allegedly committed by gang members.

Police statistics show that 10 drive-by shootings occurred in El Paso last year, compared with six in 2007 and four in 2006. There has been one drive-by this year, on Falkirk Drive on the East Side. The numbers are minuscule compared with the 288 drive-bys in 1993.

Street violence is no longer rampant, but the commerce of street gangs has lingered.

"All the dope is integrated with the gangs," Weathersbee said as he pointed out drug-dealing spots in the Triangle.

An apartment with security cameras outside. The courtyard of an apartment with multiple hallways serving as escape routes. A building with a slit in the screen of the back window for walk-up drug customers.

On a recent sunny afternoon, the Triangle was hot with three police cars circling like sharks, while nearby officers in black shirts and bulletproof vests knocked at an apartment. They were looking for a fugitive as part of a warrant roundup.

"This is Thursday," Weathersbee mentions. "Dope day."

He has worked for 13 years in the Northeast, learning its underworld of street gangs, drug dealers,

El Paso police patrol Officer Anthony Weathersbee searched a young man in front of an apartment complex along Lawson Street on Thursday, inside what some call the "Devil's Triangle" area of the Northeast for its criminal notoriety. (Rudy Gutierrez / El Paso Times)addicts and prostitutes. He explains that dealers reputedly get drug supplies on Thursdays in preparation for weekend sales.
If these drug spots are an open neighborhood secret, why don't police shut them down?

"It's the judicial system," Weathersbee said. "It's a revolving door. We arrest the same guy for the same offense and he is out the next day. That's what's frustrating."

The Triangle is a mix of family houses and clusters of apartments in one of the city's poorest zones.

The neighborhood's population is a diverse mix of immigrants from Mexico, Anglos, blacks and even a few Iraqis.

"There are people who don't have a lot of money who have to live in the Triangle," said Weathersbee, who knows many residents by name. "There are people who are law-abiding. We are trying to make it better for them."

Neighbors and police say the area has vastly improved since the 1990s, but the Triangle is still one of the major centers in El Paso for street-level drug dealing. Customers come from throughout the city to buy crack and powder cocaine.

At least five street gangs operate in the Triangle, but drug sales reputedly are controlled by the Bloods and one other gang, police said. It makes for friction on the streets.

Police said one gang supposedly refused to pay "taxes" on drug sales to a prison gang.

In another case, a gunshot was fired into a woman's apartment, with a red bandanna left on the street outside like a calling card. Red is the color preferred by some gangs.

As for the woman, she told police the shooters mistakenly fired on her apartment while targeting someone else.

Police say they have been targets, too. Somebody has been firing a BB gun and throwing beer cans at patrol cars.

"They are just trying to show an intimidation factor for us to not be there," Weathers bee said. "But we are still going to keep doing our thing."

Cmdr. Arthur McDaniel, who heads the police Northeast Regional Command, said the court injunction would give his officers a tool to help break the cycle of festering gang problems.

"We will not make promises," he said. "We will do the best we can and go after crime."

Northeast resident, Ruth Avila, 52, doesn't live in either safety zone, but worries about her 19-year-old son, who she said was trying to stay out of trouble but was targeted by a street gang.

"These guys don't leave us alone," said Avila, who asked that her son's name not be published for fear of retaliation.

In February, police reports stated, somebody vandalized a car at her home.

Trouble escalated on March 13 when armed gang members allegedly confronted Avila's son in front of their home.

"I was so scared. I heard the shots," Avila said. "I think it was God protecting my son. They threw bricks and rocks and (fired) shots, but not even a scratch. I'm tired of this. It keeps going and going, and he is trying to get out."

Police found a .25-caliber handgun, three bullet casings and other evidence outside the home, documents showed.

No one has been arrested.

Daniel Borunda may be reached at dborunda@elpasotimes.com; 546-6102.

By the numbers
A closer look at El Paso gang statistics:

536: Number of active gangs in El Paso.

5,400: Number of gang members.

Figures include street gangs, tagging crews, party crews and some car clubs involved in criminal activity.

Source: El Paso police Gang Unit.

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