Tuesday, December 13, 2011

PURSUING GANG KILLERS

With all these seemingly insurmountable difficulties, how then do gang murders get solved.  My answer, in one word, is HEAT!  You have to be relentless.  You keep constant pressure on the rival gang, both with uniformed police presence, gang units, and good detective work. You make it difficult for them to conduct their criminal activities. I’ll give you an example.  My partner and I handled a gang murder where an OG (Original Gangster, or older member) had been shot down in front of his house shortly after being paroled.  Besides being out in that neighborhood every day, we arrested over the span of the investigation numerous gang members for guns, narcotics, parole violations and various other felonies and assorted misdemeanors.  We even arrested one individual for an outstanding traffic warrant on Christmas Eve. Like I said, the heat was relentless. You interview every arrestee in an attempt to gain intelligence on the gang and especially to turn them as an informant on your murder case.  You go into the jails every day and interview arrestees who have been arrested in the vicinity of the murder.  You’re looking to develop an informant who can give you the information you need to identify the killers. Believe me, not too many people, no matter how hard core they are, want to spend a lot of time incarcerated in prison if they can give out information that can cut their sentence down.  You just have to be patient and skilled on this approach.
The gang unit’s expertise is invaluable in identifying suspect(s) real names from their gang names and monikers. Eventually when an informant’s information is corroborated or a witness comes forward and the suspect(s) have been identified, you begin to close in on the killers.  Believe it or not, some people still refuse to be intimidated and come forward as witnesses and do the right thing.  The detectives then obtain search and arrest warrants and attempt to obtain additional evidence, like the gun(s) used, clothing worn etc.  Gang members don’t always get rid of guns, and they often pass them around to their fellow gang members.  Once the suspect(s) have been apprehended, the detective’s final effort is to attempt to obtain a confession.  Oftentimes it may come down to the suspect(s) walking on the charges unless the detectives are skilled interrogators and can obtain a confession.