Officers warn that gangs are here to stay
Livingston Avenue, Regal Cinemas - - heavy recruitment areas
BY JENNIFER AMATO Staff Writer

NORTH BRUNSWICK - On Nov. 4, a 15-year-old township resident was shot in the abdomen during a drive-by in New Brunswick. While walking with a few other people around 8 p.m., a vehicle with multiple individuals shot at the male juvenile.

On Nov. 5, Dyshon Thompson, 24, a former North Brunswick Township High School student, was killed in another drive-by, also in New Brunswick, in an alleged gang shooting.

These two connections to North Brunswick spurred a more aggressive approach to gang awareness by the high school, according to interim Principal Brian Brotschul. As a result, Lt. Pete Delgado of the Gang Intelligence Unit of the Middlesex County Department of Corrections and his partner, Officer Eddie Abreu, visited the school on Dec. 3 to address staff members of signs to look out for in their students.

"All this news is very, very troubling, and even more troubling is the common thread between both incidents. Both incidents were gangrelated and both incidents could have been avoided," Brotschul said.

Abreu said that over 1,400 gang members have been identified through the Middlesex County facility since a gang unit was formed in 1993. He said that the members come from all over New Jersey, including right within the county. He said that currently, roughly 160 to 190 confirmed gang members are housed at the county jail.

"What we have now are young guys coming through here. We're talking about 16- and 17-year-olds committing serious crimes out there and they are committing these crimes because they want to show loyalty to their gangs," he said.

He said that "to say there are no gangs in North Brunswick, I would be lying" but that a lot of these children are "reachable."

Yet Delgado warned of the ones who take the thug life too seriously. He described gangs as "nothing more than domestic terrorists" and said that a person of any age, race, creed or background falls into the trap of sex, drugs and money.

He warned that Regal Cinemas on Route 1 south and the corner of Livingston Avenue and Hermann Road are high gang recruitment areas, as well as four blocks outside of Princeton University and throughout New Brunswick. Even Morris County, a highly affluent area in the state, is susceptible to kids who are looking for "love" while their parents are out working.

"They're here. Don't deny it, they're here. And they're here to stay," he said. "It's about money. It's about power. It's about respect."

Delgado said recruiters target 17- to 24-year-olds, but now middle school students are aware, and the youngest arrested child in the county was 7 years old. Yet he warned that by the age of 24, gang members will wind up crippled, in jail or dead.

He said that in 2002 there were 34,000 gangs in the United States that comprises 900,000 members. Of the 235 gangs in New Jersey identified at the time, 10,000 people were partaking in activities, and 65,000 juveniles were arrested. He said that five years later, in 2007, the numbers have probably quadrupled.

"Over 50 percent of the prison population is gang members. Why? If you're not in one you're going to become one because that's they only way you're going to survive," he said.

He also said that gang members will now send young boys with clean records into the military to learn defense tactics, who then come back and teach others how to brutally injure or kill others. That is worse than the initiation rite of having a new member being beat down first and then being sent out to burglarize or murder an innocent victim.

"They don't care. They will kill a cop in a heartbeat. They don't care. They want your money and they want your respect," the lieutenant said.

Delgado said the Bloods, Crips, Latin Kings, NETAS, 5%ers, 18th Street, Exit 9, MS-13, La Mugre and Dominicans Don't Play are just a sampling of the gangs located in the Brunswick area, consisting of both males and females.

Delgado warned the faculty what specific signs to look for. The colors red, blue, purple, yellow and black, generally, and the numbers 5, 6, 13, 14, 81, 001, 031, 311 and 622 can signify certain gangs. Combinations of letters such as GKB, BHB, CFL, SMM, ADR and MOB are codes for certain gangs or are phrases meant to disrespect their rivals.

The appearance of stars, such as in the Dallas Cowboys or Houston Astros emblems or in a Jewish star, can represent gangs. The Colorado Rockies' purple or the Chicago Bulls' red are common apparel choices, as well as wearing one pant leg up or tipping a hat to one side.

Jewelry designed as beads, crowns or a lion's head are also apparent among members. Substituting different letters, such as writing "bigarette" instead of "cigarette" to show disrespect to the Crips by the Bloods, is another identifying practice. Dots, dog paws or crowns are common drawings, while a "praa praa" type sound means something is going to happen. Phrases such as "what's popping" or "what's up cuz" are other common oral notifiers.

Graffiti around Feaster Park, French Street and Livingston Avenue have territorial markings by gangs, including crossouts, which is where one gang will paint over another's drawing to symbolize their presence in the area. Sometimes, Delgado said, the members will include their own names.

"They don't care. They think, 'I'm bad and there's nothing you can do to me.'"

Delgado also said that a wannabe gang member is worse than an actual gang member because they have something to prove, and that those kids who are not gang members but who try to mimic them usually got caught in the crossfire because of misinterpretations.

To rectify the problem, Delgado said that students must be attended to before they get lost in the system. He said that once they get to "his house," their life is over because no real remedial programs exist. He said kids are put in a cage and left to rot, which is not the answer.

However, early intervention is best, including showing students what life is like on the streets and in the jails, firsthand.

"These kids are reachable. Even if it's one out of ten, one is reachable. We can't give up on these kids," said Delgado, who recently intervened in the life of a North Brunswick student and turned him back onto the right track. "If we don't teach these kids here, we're going to lose them."

In the event of a possible situation, the police should be notified. Delgado said certain legal protocols apply to school boards and the handling of suspected gang member students.