Tongan Crip Gang

Last updated
Tongan Crip Gang
Texas Rangers Insignia.svg
The logo of the Texas Rangers Major League Baseball team is commonly used by members as a symbol for TCG. The logo of MLB's Minnesota Twins is also commonly used to represent TCG as well.
Founding location Inglewood, California, United States [1]
Years active1970s–present
TerritoryCalifornia, Utah [1]
Criminal activitiesDrug trafficking, robbery, extortion, murder, burglary, identification theft, car theft
AlliesSons of Samoa, Tongan Foe Lyfe Ganster Crip
RivalsKearns Town Bloods, Baby Regulators, [2] Park Village Compton Crips, [2] Carver Park Crips

The Tongan Crip Gang (TCG) is a Tongan American street gang that is a subgroup, or "set", of the Crips gang alliance. The gang is active in the U.S. states of California, Utah and Alaska and parts of Auckland, New Zealand. [1]

Contents

Overview

History

The Tongan Crip Gang was founded in Inglewood, California, where the gang is aligned numerous other, predominantly African American Crips sets. The Tongan Crip Gang then emerged in Salt Lake City after gang members from the Los Angeles area began moving to Utah in late 1988 in order to escape increasing law enforcement pressure on the gang in California. [1]

Many of the Tongan Crip Gang members moved from California to the Salt Lake City, Utah area in the 1980s, and distributed the gang set there. [3]

The Salt Lake City branch of the Tongan Crip Gang was founded in the mid-80s after intimidation by Latino gang members in the predominantly Latino neighborhood of Glendale. [4]

Criminal activities

The Tongan Crip Gang's crimes include burglaries, auto theft, selling drugs, home invasions, credit card fraud, bank fraud, federal fraud (theft of federal documents, passports, driver's licenses), witness intimidation, insurance fraud, arson, impersonation of both state police and federal agents, prostitution, hacking, kidnapping, extortion by means of threat to reveal information about the private life of an individual, crimes against the elderly, crimes against Central American Communities and individuals associated with the MS-13 (Mara Salvatrucha Gang), crimes against the disabled, mail fraud and murder.

In 2007, members of the Tongan Crip Gang and the 18 Street Gang were indicted by a federal grand jury for criminal conspiracy in a plot to murder 33 members of a Los Angeles subset of MS-13. [ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bloods</span> Street gang founded in Los Angeles, California, US

The Bloods are a primarily African-American street gang which was founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with the Crips. It is identified by the red color worn by its members and by particular gang symbols, including distinctive hand signs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mexican Mafia</span> Mexican American criminal organization

The Mexican Mafia, also known as La eMe, is a predominantly Mexican American prison gang and criminal organization in the United States. Despite its name, the Mexican Mafia has no origins in Mexico and is entirely a U.S. organization. Law enforcement officials report that the Mexican Mafia is the deadliest and most powerful gang within the California prison system.

Glendale is a neighborhood on the West side of Salt Lake City, Utah. Glendale is South of the Rose Park, Fair Park, and Poplar Grove neighborhoods. The neighborhood was originally developed as Glendale Gardens which is where Glendale Middle School derives its name. Mountain View Elementary was originally named Glendale Elementary. Glendale, and neighboring Poplar Grove, Fair Park, & Rose Park enjoy a vibrant multi ethnic environment. Those who live in Glendale also cite it as affordable, and conveniently close to local schools, parks, the airport, and downtown Salt Lake City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rollin' 60s Neighborhood Crips</span> African-American street gang

The Rollin 60s Neighborhood Crips is a "set" of the Crips street gang alliance based in Los Angeles, California, originally formed around Hyde Park, Los Angeles in 1976 from the Westside Crips and having since spread to other cities in the United States. Membership is estimated to be around 1,600 people, making it one of the largest gangs in the Los Angeles area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crips</span> Street gang from Los Angeles, California

The Crips are a primarily African-American alliance of street gangs that are based in the coastal regions of Southern California. Founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1969, mainly by Raymond Washington and Stanley Williams, the Crips began as an alliance between two autonomous gangs, and developed into a loosely connected network of individual "sets", often engaged in open warfare with one another. Its members have traditionally worn blue clothing since around 1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">38th Street gang</span> Hispanic-American street gang

The 38th Street Gang is an American criminal street gang in Los Angeles, California, composed mainly of Mexican-Americans. The 38th Street Gang is one of the oldest street gangs in Los Angeles and has been occupying its territory since the 1920s. They engage in many criminal activities. The Mexican Mafia controls and routinely uses 38th Street gang members to carry out their orders.

The Jungles faction of the Black P. Stones street gang is a "set" of the Bloods gang alliance in Los Angeles. Originating in Los Angeles' Baldwin Village neighborhood in the 1960s, the Black P. Stones became one of the largest gangs in the city. The gang has been linked to various crimes, including murders, assaults, robberies, narcotics violations and firearms violations, and has been the subject of numerous FBI and LAPD investigations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pirus</span> Street gang alliance in Los Angeles

The Pirus are a subset of the larger Bloods gang alliance, an organized crime group in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gangs in the United States</span> US criminal groups or organizations

Approximately 1.4 million people in the United States were part of gangs as of 2011, and more than 33,000 gangs were active in the country. These include national street gangs, local street gangs, prison gangs, outlaw motorcycle clubs, and ethnic and organized crime gangs.

Crime in Los Angeles has varied throughout time, reaching peaks between the 1970s and 1990s. Since the early 2020s, crime has increased in Los Angeles.

Crime in California refers to crime occurring within the U.S. state of California. The principal source of law for California criminal procedure is the California Penal Code.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Armenian Power</span> Armenian-American crime syndicate

Armenian Power 13, also known as AP, the Armenian Mob, or Armenian Mafia is an Armenian criminal organization and street gang founded and currently based in Los Angeles County, California. They are involved in drug trafficking, murder, assault, fraud, identity theft, illegal gambling, kidnapping, racketeering, robbery and extortion. They are believed to have around 200 members and hundreds of associates, according to the U.S. attorney’s office. They are also well known for their connections with the Mexican Mafia.

Gang activity and associated crime is a long-standing concern in Denver, Colorado. The city's street gang activity received statewide attention in 1993 when a "Summer of Violence" increased public awareness of gang-related violence and led the state to enact harsh penalties for crime by juveniles. From 1992 to 1995, Denver had 331 murders: 95 in 1992, 74 in 1993, and 81 each in 1994 and 1995 In 1997 The first Gang to ever be indicted out of Colorado was the West Side Ballerz Posse WSBP a Chicano gang that resided in West Denver & branched off in surrounding Adams county in cities such as Commerce, Thornton, Brighton, and Westminster. In 1996, members of the FBI's Metro Gang Task Force (“MGTF”) were investigating suspected gang-related drug activity in Denver, Colorado. Specifically, MGTF was investigating members of the West Side Ballerz Posse whom it suspected were selling controlled substances and engaging in gang-related violence.   As part of this investigation, a series of wiretaps were authorized in late 1996 against suspected members of this drug conspiracy. Gang-related crime has continued, as shown by the New Year's Day 2007 drive-by shooting of Broncos cornerback Darrent Williams by members of the Tre Tre Crips, an East Denver street gang. The Crips in the city have several sub-sets such as Tre Deuce (DOD), Tre Foe, 35 Outlaws and the Tre Tre Gangstas. In 2017, the city's police estimated that there were 14,000 gang members in Denver, affiliated with 220 gangs. The Rollin 30s or Tre Tre Crips still have a powerful presence in the Denver area. In 2017 there were an estimated 2000 Bloods and Crips from Denver. These gangs are in various locations including Five Points, East Denver, Commerce City, Englewood, Aurora, North-East Park Hill and Federal Heights. Crips and Bloods have been commonly sighted almost all over Denver, even in the suburbs outside the city.

<i>Crips and Bloods: Made in America</i> 2008 American film

Crips and Bloods: Made in America is a 2008 documentary by Stacy Peralta that examines the rise of the Crips and Bloods, prominent gangs in America who have been at war with each other. The documentary focuses on the external factors that caused African-American youth to turn to gangs and questions the political and law enforcement response to the rise of gang culture.

El Monte Flores, also known as EMF, is a Mexican-American criminal street gang based in California. It is the largest Hispanic gang in San Gabriel Valley and one of the oldest in Los Angeles County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sons of Samoa</span> Crips-affiliated gang from Long Beach, California

Sons of Samoa is a Crips-affiliated street gang based in Long Beach, California, United States. Its membership mainly consists of Samoan Americans with other Pacific Islander members.

The Florencia 13, also known as South Side Florencia 13,Florence Gang, F13 is an American criminal street gang based in Los Angeles, California, composed mainly of Mexican Americans. The gang is named after the Florence area of Los Angeles County, controlled by the Mexican Mafia. They are involved in drug smuggling, murder, assault and robbery.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Polynesian/Islander Gangs and Culture" (PDF). U.S. Department of Justice. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved December 19, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Sullivan, Tim. "The Gangs of Zion", High Country News , August 8, 2005.
  3. Court shooting sheds light on 'Tongan Crips', a gang with Alaska ties Archived April 25, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  4. "The Gangs of Zion". hcn.org. 8 August 2005. Retrieved 11 October 2015.