DURHAM'S CRIME SCENE REFLECTS GANG INFLUENCE

DURHAM -- Gangs make headlines when they shoot it out in the streets.

But high-profile gun battles and drive-by murders are just the ominous tip
of an iceberg of gang-related crime in Durham.

Some officials estimate that 60 percent of violent crimes in the Bull City
involve gang activity.

"If we had five cases that come in that are violent crime, I would say
three out of the five are gang-related," said Tab Hunter, an assistant
district attorney who prosecutes many local gang-related cases.

If true, more than 1,100 of Durham's 1,843 violent crimes last year --
murders, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults -- were related to gang
activity.

But gangs also are involved in a high number of other, less-violent crimes
intended to raise money for gang activities and to arm gang members. Those
run a gamut, from buying and selling drugs and weapons to car thefts,
burglaries and larcenies.

More proof of gang-related crime in Durham comes from the federal Bureau of
Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF).

The ATF says a third of the 100 cases it prosecuted in Durham during an
18-month period -- most involving federal firearms violations -- directly
involved gang members.

Gangs commit crimes for all sorts of reasons: to make money, get weapons,
settle disputes with rival gangs about turf or honor, punish gang members
who break the rules, initiate new members and make young members prove
themselves.

The overall plan, Hunter said, boils down to terrorizing other groups and
keeping them at bay, while generating money from drug sales and robberies.

Homicide is the crime-of-crimes.

Durham had a wave of killings earlier this year, many in the same section
of North-East Central Durham that has been a hotbed of gang activity. But
there have been no homicides in the city limits since June 21. One shooting
death occurred July 6 outside the city line and appeared to be the result
of a domestic argument. At its present pace, Durham would have 32 homicides
in 2001, the most since 1997, when there were 33.

The Durham Police Department wouldn't discuss gangs, homicides or gang
violence with The Herald-Sun for this series. But in a recent article about
gangs in The Independent, a weekly alternative newspaper, Durham police
officials gave a broad estimate of the number of killings that may be
gang-related.

Of the 15 homicides in the city so far this year, between three and 11 may
be gang-related, the police told The Independent weekly newspaper.

Although gang activity seems to be on the rise, crime as a whole in Durham
is declining, according to police statistics. Reported crime in Durham fell
7 percent last year -- the largest decrease since the Police Department
started keeping computerized crime statistics in 1971.

The total number of crimes in Durham -- including violent crimes in
addition to burglaries, larcenies and vehicle thefts -- dropped from 17,709
in 1999 to 16,394 in 2000, police reported.

And in the first quarter of 2001, overall crime in Durham dropped 6.3
percent, including a 22.6 percent decline in violent crime compared with
the first three months of 2000. Second-quarter crime statistics are
expected to be released this week.

But while they are shocking and headline-grabbing, homicides aren't
necessarily the best indicator of gang activity, says a retired Durham
police officer who specialized in gangs.

"Gangs and gang members commit all types of crimes," said Mengie Parker,
who retired in January after four years with the department. Parker taught
basic gang investigation and conducted in-service training updates on gang
weapons and tactics.

Assault is probably the most common gang-related crime, Parker said.
Initiation rites, acts to gain status, squabbles between opposing gangs,
and punishments for violating gang rules are the most common reasons for
assaults, he said.

District Court Judge Marcia Morey, whose rotating schedule includes
juvenile proceedings, agreed that assaults are common among gang members.

"We've had several instances where kids were pushed into a bathroom at
middle schools and assaulted," Morey said. "The schools didn't want to call
it what it was, but it was usually two or three kids beating up someone for
no reason."

Crimes committed primarily for money, such as property crime and thefts,
are also common among gang members.

Many observers say the link is strongest between gangs and drug dealing and
thefts from homes or businesses. But auto theft and fraud are also ways
gangs and gang members make money.

"In Durham, the drug market is good," Parker said. "But the gang members
are starting to get into other things here, from what I've seen."

Even if a drug dealer makes $1,000 a week, Parker said, drug dealing isn't
necessarily the most lucrative form of crime. Shifting illegal markets and
tough drug laws lead gangs to find new ways to make money, he said.

"If there's a market in that city for stolen automobiles, if he steals a
car and takes it to a chop shop, and the person gives him $5,000 for the
car, that's a week's worth of work in one stop," he said.

Parker said automobile theft and forgery also are common gang crimes in Durham.

"If I get into fraudulent documents and I want to forge checks, the chance
that I'm going to get caught is less," Parker said. "And if I do get
caught, the chance of me going to jail is even less."

Mark Nome, a Durham defense attorney who has represented numerous juvenile
gang members in criminal cases, said many of his clients suggest gangs are
getting away from selling drugs -- and into selling weapons -- to make money.

"They used to be big drug dealers, but now they are getting into weapons,"
he said. "They can buy them legally in other states for about $50. Then
they come down here, and it's worth $600 to $1,000 on the street."

ATF prosecutes gang members busted for illegal firearms as well as straw
purchasers -- those who buy guns legally for gang members who are
prohibited from buying guns because of previous felony convictions.

"The ATF sees trafficking both from gang member to gang member and from
non-gang member to gang member," said agent James Mercer, who is in charge
of the Raleigh branch of the ATF. "We've seen [gang members] trading drugs
for guns on the street."

Gang members also steal guns from homes and businesses, he said.

Most people prosecuted through a task force with the Durham Police
Department are repeat offenders, he said.

"In a large number of cases, they're what we refer to as armed career
criminals -- someone with three or more either violent crimes or serious
drug offense convictions," Mercer said. "That exposes them to a mandatory
minimum 15 years in federal prison -- that's just the baseline."

Durham Assistant District Attorney Mike Moore said he's worked on a number
of cases the federal/local task force prosecuted.

"Under federal law, any person who is convicted of a felony is prohibited
from possessing a firearm or ammunition at any time," he said.

But North Carolina law doesn't contain a higher penalty for a felon who
possesses a firearm while selling drugs, Moore said. There's no law to
prohibit a convicted felon from owning a firearm in his own home and
nothing to stop a felon from possessing most rifles or shotguns --
excluding weapons of mass destruction, he said.

"That's one of the reasons for the partnership," Moore said. "They've been
able to take cases that we could not otherwise prosecute because, under
state law, the individuals have been protected by the way the laws are
written."

The ATF identifies gang members in several ways, Mercer said.

"Sometimes it's as simple as someone telling us he's in a gang," he said.

Identifying marks such as tattoos or scars also may indicate gang
involvement. The agency corroborates the information using the Durham
Police Department's anti-gang unit database.

Mercer said the task force's experience sheds some light on the way gangs
operate.

The system for distributing guns to gangs was not centralized, he said.

"We're basically seeing a situation where it's every man for himself,"
Mercer said. "You might get a guy who gets half a dozen guns one day and
distributes them to gang members."

Most gang-related violent crime, in one way or another, revolves around the
need for gangs and gang members to let others know how tough they are, said
Romal Tune, a former Northern California gang member who graduated last
year from Duke University Divinity School.

"Reputation -- fights, robberies, murders, drive-bys -- this is important
in moving up the hierarchy," he said.

Tune also cited punishment for violations of gang rules as an aspect of
gang-related violent crime.

"Take 'knee-capping.' If a drug dealer gives a local-level dealer drugs to
sell, and they steal from them, they don't regain the profit," Tune said.
"If they shoot to wound, they've made a point, and they're gonna get their
money. It's common."

The entire gang isn't involved in all types of crime, and only certain
members participate in crimes, Hunter said.

"Each of these gangs have what they call enforcers," he said. "They are the
ones who have firearms."

"The enforcers, whatever needs to be done, if someone needs to be shot,
they'll do it," Hunter said. "They are truly the basic gang thug member.
That's all they do is enforce, and they do get caught more often."

Even though committing crimes in a public way increases the risk of getting
caught, gangs do it to further their own agendas, Hunter said.

"Gang type of activity is not something that is done clandestine. It's kind
of like terrorism," he said. "You've got to get your name out there,
because your only strength is your name."