West Coast Gangs Are Making Inroads

The ranks of the two gangs appear to be growing locally, in part, because of men returning from jail or prison who joined the gangs for protection behind bars. In Trinidad, some of those men are persuading neighborhood crews to affiliate with a gang, police said.

"For survival in prison, they align themselves with these gangs, like the Bloods, the Crips, the Latin Kings. Now they are coming back to the neighborhood and bringing what they learned," said a D.C. law enforcement source, who spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing.

Authorities said that about 25 percent of the 1,300 inmates in the Prince George's jail are affiliated with gangs and that more than 60 percent of the gang members are Bloods. Last year, Maryland corrections officials started a task force to address gang activity in prison. Virginia officials have identified about 2,000 Bloods and 700 Crips in state prisons.

Other gang members are moving from New York and Los Angeles to avoid more aggressive law enforcement, said Tony Avendorph, a Prince George's detective who trains gang investigators across the country. Once here, they recruit members, often incorporating existing crews, and then use new members "as the fall guys" to escape arrest, Avendorph said.

Much of the county's intelligence comes from members who have been arrested. Police estimate there are at least 280 gangs in Prince George's, including neighborhood crews, with 3,500 or more members. Officials said Bloods outnumber Crips, but they did not provide specific numbers. "If you approach them right, they will offer right out that they are a member of the Crips or Bloods because they are proud of it," Lynn said.

The Montgomery police special investigations division has counted 35 active gangs, with a total of 1,057 members, about 36 percent Hispanic and 33 percent African American, according to preliminary figures compiled in June. Officers did not specify how many members belong to each gang.

In the District's Trinidad neighborhood, Bloods make a point of being visible. "There's a rec center in the neighborhood. Ride by there sometime and see how much red you see," the D.C. law enforcement source said. "What's scary is that there is a tot lot right next door. You'll see little kids playing and these guys standing around in their red."

At a news conference Wednesday, Lanier said Bloods were operating in Trinidad, but she declined to say whether they were involved in the drug trade or were among the 77 people arrested on drug-related charges in the neighborhood since June.

More than a year ago, the Alliance for Concerned Men, which contracts with the District to help reduce violence, began confiscating red and blue bandannas from youth calling themselves Crips or Bloods, mostly in the Shaw area of Northwest, alliance members said.

Ronald Moten, co-founder of the Peaceoholics, said there are signs of gang activity in several places where youths are wearing red, some claiming to be Bloods. But Moten said the Bloods and Crips, which nationally have a more formal structure than most neighborhood crews, are not so entrenched that they can't be stopped.

"We're trying to come up with alternatives for people who are involved so that they can get out of it," Moten said.

Authorities said both gangs are known for dealing drugs and carrying powerful guns but have diversified from trafficking in drugs and weapons.