Serving Boone, Blowing Rock, Banner Elk, and other towns of the North Carolina High Country | Founded 05-05-05

Graffiti, Other Signs Signal Gang Activity

Story by Ron Fitzwater

Gang activity nationwide has been on the rise over the past few years. The Federal Bureau of Investigation reports that just one gang—Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13—is believed to have 10,000 gang members operating in at least 33 states, and the High Country may not be immune to the problem for long unless preemptive action is taken.

“I don’t know if I would say it’s a problem yet, but we are trying to keep it from becoming a problem,” said Watauga County Sheriff’s Deputy Sergeant Pat Baker. The area gangs are, however, beginning to get organized. Baker explained they are set up with leaders, soldiers and enforcers.

One problem Baker identified is that locals aren’t taking the problem seriously enough. “What I hear is, ‘Ah these kids don’t know anything; they’re just mountain kids.’ Well it’s not the mountains anymore.” Baker attributes a lot of the growth to the easy exposure to gang-related content on websites like My Space. “They have access to all kinds of stuff on the Internet and that is where they are learning the gang signs and symbols,” he said. “We’ve noticed the gang signs that have been popping up. This is not art, and it’s not some kids just wanting to put a picture on a wall. It is writing and gang signs that are quite often recruiting signs,” Baker said.

In the High Country, the three identified gangs attempting to get a foothold are the Cripps, the Latin Kings and MS-13.

The classic Hollywood makeup of gangs is not what is happening locally. Law enforcement is finding a lot of integration of the members. No longer are gangs just black or white or Latino. Although the core of the gang may be traditional, the soldiers come from all ethnic groups. Baker feels this may stem from recruiting problems. In response, the gangs “are starting to branch out more,” he said.

Out-of-town influences are also a concern for Baker. “We know they are in Hickory and we know Charlotte has a major problem with them and have identified more than 60 gangs there. So we know they are all around us.” However, this situation is not yet cause for fear, according to Baker, but it is cause for awareness. “I don’t want people panicking, but I don’t want them to put their heads in the sand either,” he said.

Drug trafficking is a large part of the problem with gang members from other areas who have moved here and are using outside contacts to move drugs. “Drugs are a money thing. They of course can use them too, but it’s a money-making thing for them,” according to Baker. Additionally, the gangs are suspected of committing home and auto burglaries to fund drug enterprises. Baker was clear that the entire drug problem in the High Country is not attributable to gangs. “We have always had people in this county who sell drugs, but they are selling marijuana and cocaine,” Baker said. “The gangs are into the harder stuff like meth.”

The Town of Boone is also aware of the problem. In a recent email release Bill Hartley Jr., Boone Police Department/Watauga High School Resource Officer, wrote “The law enforcement community is working very hard to intervene, prevent, and respond pro-actively to information we are receiving about gang activity in the Watauga Area. We have learned from local youth about a group of persons, both boys and girls, attempting to form a gang called K.A.O.S. The beginnings of the gang were pretty solid and structured. We continue to gain information regarding their activity.”

New Market Center

Much of the visible gang activity is centered in the New Market Center area. Large groups of young people suspected of being gang members cluster in the parking lot and violence often occurs. “We know they are hanging out at New Market, and there have been some incidents,” Baker said. In most cases, he continued, the violence is gang related, “either the victims have run afoul of them, there is some internal problem within the gang or they are beating them in,” Baker added.

Baker said that members with leadership positions “don’t come from here. Or if they are from here, they grew up somewhere else and moved back. Some of the leaders have been identified as local teens that have left school voluntarily or through expulsion, and use New Market Center as a gathering place and recruiting center for new members, some as young as eighth graders.”

Boone Police are also aware of the situation. “We have learned and witnessed that New Market Center area, movie theater location, and Wal-Mart are areas where these persons gather. We are also working overtime in a effort to stop the ‘tagging’ or spray painting of gang graffiti (such as “crips,” sur 13, a three-pointed crown, L.K, etc.), that is happening frequently in the Boone area. We are asking for anyone with any information to please contact me or call Watauga County Crimestoppers,” Hartley wrote.

Community Involvement

The major crimes the Sheriff’s Department suspects are conducted by gangs are break-ins of local homes, graffiti on public and private property and drug trafficking. “We want people to be watchful at home and on the job,” said Baker. Citizens should call law enforcement immediately when they identify gang signs or graffiti. Businesses should report graffiti, photograph it and then leave it alone until police investigate, and then cover it up as quickly as is possible. If business owners and residents see people they don’t recognize repeatedly hanging around an area, or groups of young people congregating without any obvious purpose, they are encouraged to call law enforcement.

School Involvement

“For school administrators, teachers and custodians, you have to know your school, walk that school and if you see anything like graffiti, kids that shouldn’t be there or anything out of the ordinary, you need to contact law enforcement,” Baker said. Adults in the schools, regardless of their position, need to be watchful for signs that a student is involved with a gang. Colored bandanas are one of those signs. “White, black and blue bandanas are the ones we are seeing right now that have gang affiliation, and administrators need to take them because they are not part of the dress code,” Baker said.

Parental Involvement

The key with families, according to Baker, is “involvement.” Parents need to be aware of what their kids are watching on television and at the movies. Additionally, and in some ways most important for Baker, parents need to “monitor their children’s online activity.”

Currently there are no solid numbers for local gang activity, but Baker believes a rise in activity is just a matter of time if action is not taken now to prevent gangs from becoming entrenched in the area.

Anyone with information regarding suspected gang activity can report it anonymously by calling 828-262-4525.