ALL PUMPED UP: GAS STATIONS ARE NEWEST AFTER-BAR HANGOUT

To neighbors' dismay, night is a parade of cars rumbling rap music,
marijuana, even a few gunshots in the air

By Jamaal Abdul-Alim of the Journal Sentinel staff

About 2 a.m. last Saturday, a white, 1980s Ford Thunderbird pulled into the
lot at Jimmy's Amoco I gas station with the car stereo thumping a rap song
by Too Short, a self-described "player" with the women.

The driver shut off his engine but not the stereo, which rattled the trunk
and sent Too Short's sounds toward a sleepy row of houses along N. 8th St.
and W. Atkinson Ave.

As nearby taverns closed, more and more cars joined the scene -- an
increasingly common one at some gas stations in Milwaukee that have become
late-night gathering spots for teenagers and young adults.

By the time the impromptu party broke up, bullet casings lay on the ground
and gunfire had awakened a weary neighbor.

The man in the Thunderbird -- the first person on the lot that night --
never did buy any gas. Instead, he talked with two skimpily clad women who
had approached his car.

As the number of cars multiplied, so did the rap songs, until the bass and
percussion began to resemble a roll of thunder.

By 2:15 a.m., the gas station had turned into a virtual car show, with
everything from 1970s classics to brand-new sport-utility vehicles. Some of
the vehicles were adorned with custom paint jobs and expensive, 100-spoke
golden wheels with caps known as "bullets."

Cigarette smoke mixed with car exhaust and, soon, mingled with the aroma of
marijuana.

One woman wore a skirt so short that it barely covered her hips. The black
lingerie of another was visible through her sheer, tight-fitting dress.

"The women stop because they see the fancy cars. I stop because I see the
women," said film and music producer Quenton Dotson, one of several young
men who showed up with his crew.

"I'm trying to see what kind of action a brother can come up on for the
night," he said.

The "action" was mostly limited to women such as the one who, when asked why
she went to hang out at the gas station, replied: "I'm here because this is
where everyone else went." Or the young woman who suggested someone ought to
"make a big ol' parking lot with no police."

Soon, the gas station clerk shut the lights off, but the crowd continued to
party. Across the street, another gathering was going on at another gas
station.

The party atmosphere got a brief jolt when someone with a gun decided to let
everyone know he was packing some steel.

"POP! POP! POP! POP! POP!"

People began ducking and running for cover -- but then realized that the
gunman was just firing into the air. The party crowd barely missed a beat,
and soon people resumed smoking their weed and dancing to the loud music.

A few seconds later, more gunshots rang out, this time from the opposite end
of the parking lot.

Fire shot out from the muzzle of the young man's handgun, pointed skyward as
he walked slowly down 8th St. toward W. Keefe Ave.

People began driving off -- but not entirely because of the gunfire. Many of
them left because several police squad cars had showed up and officers began
ordering people to leave.

When the crowd finally dispersed, the area was littered with soda bottles,
potato chip bags and several bullet casings.

One police officer -- unaware of at least three 9mm Luger bullet casings
lying on the ground -- said, "We got a report of shots fired but it turned
out to be firecrackers."

Afterward, a man who lives near the gas station emerged from his home and
stood on the concrete steps in front of his house.

"This has been going on for about three weeks," the man said of the late
night gas station gatherings, where sometimes there are so many cars they
block nearby streets.

The man -- who did not want to give his name out of consideration for his
family -- said the gunshots were "nothing new."

"When you hear all the noise, it wakes you up," he said. "Otherwise, it's a
peaceful neighborhood."

The man said he would like to see more police at the gas station during the
time when taverns close.

"Police should have more awareness," he said. "If kids are at certain places
at certain times, the police should be there."

The next night, three or four police officers arrived shortly after a crowd
gathered for another after-hours party. The officers spent about 30 minutes
getting everyone to move on.

Lt. Earnell Lucas, spokesman for the Milwaukee Police Department, said
police have "taken cognizance to groups of individuals congregating at area
service stations."

"We sense that a lot of criminal activity is springing from these groups
congregating," Lucas said. "It's our intent to abate this problem at its
infancy so it doesn't spread to other areas of the city."

Lucas said citizens who notice large crowds gathering at service stations
should call police.

"We will respond with full enforcement of all quality of life ordinances
that are violated to restore order in those areas," he said.

Lucas said police are going to start paying special attention to the gas
stations near N. 8th St. and W. Atkinson Ave.

"At the same time, we'll be monitoring the situation throughout Milwaukee so
these problems do not arise," he said.

Checked-by: Rolf Ernst