COUNCILOR GIVES INSIGHT ON GANGS HERE

Retired police sergeant Dan Darnell talks about the drug problems in Region
II during a "gang awareness" presentation Saturday morning at The Oasis.
The presentation behind Darnell shows that meth makes up 93 percent of the
"drug problems" in Region II, with marijuana involving only 4 percent of
the drug cases. Lindsay Pierce/The Daily Times

FARMINGTON - Resident Karen Newkirk can identify the Four Corners area's
gangs better than most San Juan County residents and that's what area law
enforcement officials want.

Newkirk, along with Farmington Police Chief Mike Burridge, San Juan County
Commissioner Jim Henderson and state probation and parole officers,
listened as Farmington City Councilor Dan Darnell spoke of the gang problem
facing northwestern New Mexico.

"These guys have rivalries, but they will kill you. Not necessarily because
of who you are, but who you associate with," Darnell said.

Darnell retired as sergeant of Farmington Police Department in December of
2003. He served as patrol officer, investigator, undercover narcotics agent
and coordinated the city's gang task force. He was elected city councilor
in March of 2004.

He spoke to a crowd of about 40 people Saturday morning gathered at The
Oasis, a stone's throw from where a drive-by shooting three weeks ago
injured six people, including a 1-year-old child.

Darnell spoke of the strong relationship between gang and criminal
activity, including the movement and selling of illegal drugs. With
methamphetamine becoming the drug of choice in San Juan County, several of
the estimated 37 street gangs in the Four Corners area have formed
partnerships to help move and sell the drug quicker to make more money.

According to Darnell, since 1995, meth-related arrests are up 300 percent.
Ninety-three percent of State Police Region II Narcotics cases dealt with
meth, and only 4 percent with marijuana.

Region II Director Ken Christensen has said most of the meth coming into
the region is from Mexico.

Out of 264 targeted drug investigations by Region II Narcotics agents since
July 2003, 48 percent were affiliated with gang activity.

Two gangs in the Bloomfield and Aztec areas have teamed together to control
much of the county's meth movement. Darnell said as they corner a
particular market, other gangs take notice.

"You've got one gang agreeing to go into one partnership with another and
what happens?" Darnell asked the crowd. "A third gang gets upset.

"They have realized the meth market is huge. These guys have their own
sub-culture. They are entrepreneurs," Darnell said.

Strongly tied to that sub-culture is graffiti. Darnell said spray-painted
building sides can mark a gang's turf or it can act as a means
communication, such as a bulletin board or "newspaper," for fellow gang
members.

"It tells (police) if there will be a problem with a rival gang," Darnell said.

A gang member's tattoos act as another way a gang member can display their
gang affiliation. Numbers, letters, names, faces and countless other images
etched in skin show specifically what affiliation a gang member has.

Keyholes represent one looking through the lock of a jail-cell door. Those
with tigers or other animals may represent "a beast trying to get out,"
Darnell said.

When a suspected gang member is arrested, tattoos are photographed in
addition to the suspect's face. Police use the photos and other
information, often volunteered by rival gang members, to attempt to assess
the gang situation.

Darnell said Farmington and the surrounding area's gang numbers aren't
significantly higher than any other area this size, accounting for only
slightly more than 1 percent of the overall population of 42,000 in Farmington.

Nearly 500 gang members have been identified with the 15 active gangs in
Farmington. Between Bloomfield and Aztec, there are seven gangs, with an
estimated 200 members.

In Kirtland, more than 50 members have been identified with two gangs, and
on the Navajo Nation, more than 200 members have been tied to one of eight
gangs.

But possibly up to 600 more gang members have not been identified because,
as law enforcement cracks down on gang activity in larger cities, gangs
move to other towns to continue selling drugs, Darnell said.

Gangs from Albuquerque and Phoenix have settled in the Four Corners region,
he said. And the gang community as a whole is not bound to one particular
portion of the city.

In Farmington, nine gangs are located south of Broadway Boulevard, while
two others are on the west side. Another two can be found in the center of
the city.

The largest gang in the city has more than 160 members who have been
identified by police.

Organizations outside the Farmington, Bloomfield and Aztec city areas are a
growing problem, Darnell said. Henderson said he will present the
information on gangs to his fellow commissioners.

"It's a problem that's hard to get your arms around," Henderson said.
"Drugs have always been around, but not to this extent." He said he was
also alarmed by the high percentage of drug cases in the area that involve
meth.

Henderson said the best way to combat the gang and drug problems within the
county is to educate the public about them. "I think what we have to do
here is to build that awareness. The police and the community have to work
together," he said. Flo Trujillo, youth services coordinator for the
Farmington Library, has lived in the city for 25 years. In that time, the
gang and drug problem has only worsened, she said.

"There were always some problems. They were always there, but it has
grown," she said.

Trujillo, who is also a mentor on Farmington Mayor Bill Standley's Teen
Advisory Council, said one way to fight gangs is to reach children when
they are young.

"What's shocking to me is how young they are," she said. "We need to bring
more community awareness to the kids and give them another option."

Earlier in the presentation, Darnell stated that some individuals join
gangs as early as age 10.