Rural gangs a growing problem, police say

By Adam Kyle Kay

May 5, 2005 | The images of gangs and urban life almost always go hand in hand. People in rural areas have been heavily influenced by Hollywood's interpretation of gangs, so when asked to describe gang lifestyle most Logan residents answer back with a description loosely based on Boyz N the Hood, The Warriors, Scarface, New Jack City and so on.

Several students at Utah State University say they are not aware of a gang presence in Logan. Freshman Jonna McNeil said, "I've seen some gangsters back in Salt Lake, but nothing like that here." Sophomore Michael Sharp, says images of Compton and, "The old Dr. Dre music videos," come to mind when he thinks about gangs. Senior Brian Wilson, who is originally from Payson, says he has never felt threatened by gangs, "Those guys live in New York and Los Angeles, they wear bandanas and carry guns, but they can't shoot me from thousands of miles away, I ain't worried."

The truth is gangs do exist in rural areas; in fact many gangs thrive in rural areas by placing huge markups on drugs they bring in from the big cities. And these are not just the rural areas outside of Oakland or upstate New York, gangs can be found right here in Cache Valley.

According to Detective Sgt. Pat Wolcott, from the Logan City Police Department, there are 500 gang members on file. Detective Mark Robinson defines a gang as, "Any group of individuals who regularly engage in criminal activity."

By that definition the term "gang" encompasses a large number of people; from fraternities engaging in under age drinking, to little old ladies putting up cash prizes at bingo night. But do not be misled, gang identification expert, Robert Walker's website, Gangs or Us lists the following gangs as being active in Utah: 18th Street, Asian Boys, Bloods, Crips, Gangster Disciples, Mara Salvatrucha, Nortenos, Sinaloan Cowboys, Skinheads, Straight Edgers, Surenos 13, Tiny Rascal Gangsters, Vice Lords and White Supreme Power. The Logan City Police Web site says, "Gangs operating in this area are strongly influenced by those in the Wasatch Front." So it can be assumed that any or all of the above gangs are currently operating in Cache Valley.

There are gangs in Cache County, that's the bad news. The good news is Cache County is home to one of Utah's premier gang units, the Logan-Cache Gang Project. This project brings together all the law enforcement agencies in Cache County in an effort to reduce gang activity.

Juan Cintron, who claims membership in the Hyrum gang, Angel, says his gang avoids crime in Logan proper because, "we'll get caught there."

Wolcott says the Logan-Cache Gang Project's highest priority is prevention, "We won't let them get a foothold in Logan."

Prevention is achieved by making the police presence felt and by adopting a zero tolerance policy. Wolcott attributes this lack of a "foothold" to the disorganized nature of gangs in the area as well the strong sense of community present in Logan. "For the vast majority of residents gangs do not impact the quality of life here," said Wolcott.

Of course not every resident of Cache County belongs to the "vast majority." On March 28 a man was killed in Willow Park after being shot several times in the torso. Police believed the killing was gang-related. In 2002 a home-care nurse in Logan found a swastika tattooed on the forehead of an infant, the swastika is a symbol used by several white supremacist gangs. Mark Robinson, who was formerly assigned to Mt. Logan Middle School, said he witnessed gang activity on a daily basis. Taylor Howard, a student at Logan High School and proclaimed member of the straight edge gang, SXE, says he was recently pepper-sprayed and assaulted by a rival gang, the Juggalos.

There are two main reasons for the rise in rural gang activity according to Logan City Police; drug trafficking and boredom.

Wolcott says there is an increased drug market in Logan and that drugs are often brought in from Salt Lake City and Las Vegas. The gang members that transport these drugs also bring their gang culture to the area. Despondent youth, bored with their rural surroundings, who get involved with this drug subculture then begin to emulate the actions of their drug dealers, thus forming "branch off gangs." Which are small gangs with no official membership who attempt to mimic larger gangs by wearing the same colors, taking similar names and using the same signs and gestures.

Professor Krista Minnotte, with the sociology department at Utah State University, points to the oppression of youth and racial minorities as another reason for rural gangs. "Oppressed youth and minorities often turn to gangs in hopes of being accepted," said Minnotte.

The Logan-Cache Gang Project lists effective communication as one of its goals, and spends $800,000 annually to achieve that goal. However, when asked if the Logan-Cache Gang Project tried to foster good relationships with existing members of youth gangs, Wolcott said, "We want them to know that we're bigger, badder and better than they are. They should think of us as the meanest gang in town."

Minnotte noted that many gang members in Cache County belong to minority groups, she says, "Police have huge amounts of discretion. Otherwise the courts would be backed up, and that's where racial profiling can come into play."

According to the Regoli and Hewitt book, Delinquency in Society gang activity throughout the United States peaked in the mid 1990s and has been declining ever since. Hopefully gang activity will continue to decline until it is no longer a factor in society. In the meantime, the Logan-Cache Gang Project reminds us that, "Gangs thrive on ignorance and apathy. Keeping them out of a community takes cooperation and a willingness to say, 'This will not happen here.'"

The Logan-Cache Gang Project has a list of things citizens can do to help guard against gangs, the list along with more information about gangs in Cache County can be found here: http://www.ci.logan.ut.us/police/Investigations/Gangs/WhatCanYouDo.htm

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