Yard Down (eBook)

From the Crime Scene to Testifying in Court

Johnny Rey (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2023 | 1. Auflage
258 Seiten
Bookbaby (Verlag)
979-8-3509-2820-4 (ISBN)

'Yard Down' is a book on the investigations on violent gang crimes that happen inside the walls of one of California's oldest prisons.

This book is about investigating violent gang crimes that happen inside the walls of one of California's oldest prisons, from the moment of the crime to the appearance and testimony in court. By reading this book, you will learn about and experience the dangers of working inside a prison. How to investigate gang crimes, build your case, learn techniques, work with the Deputy District Attorney, testify, and develop tactics to prepare yourself for your investigation. You will also learn how to interact with the gangsters on a day-to-day basis as well as how to react when a crime occurs. This is a story about my own personal journey, in my own words. I dedicated 27 years of hard work to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). Ten of those years were devoted to working investigations. I've had the opportunity to testify nine times in San Joaquin County courts as a gang expert on three different gangs: Norteños/Northern Structure, Sureños, and Northern Riders. The cases I've worked have produced over 24 gang enhancement convictions and over 100 years of prison time for the convicted gang members involved in the cases.

This book is about investigating prison gang crimes-the crimes gang members commit for the benefit of, at the direction of, and in association, with the specific intent to promote, further, and assist their criminal street gang. A story told by me, a retired experienced California gang investigator who has testified in San Joaquin County court nine (9) times as a gang expert. Come on this exciting journey and learn how to investigate prison crimes, what to do when you arrive at a crime scene, and some tactics on how to determine who is involved. How to talk and communicate with the gangsters. How to collect evidence, DNA, photograph, interview, document, Miranda Admonishment, how to set up a Simmons Lineup, and prepare your case for the Deputy District Attorney. Learn how to prepare a gang write-up, a Curriculum Vitae and how to testify in court as a gang investigator.

CHAPTER 3

WHY JOIN A GANG?

This section is just a basic introduction to gangs. Later in this book, I will discuss gang life in more detail.

A gangster is a criminal who is a member of a gang. Some gangs are part of organized crime. Gangsters have been active for many years in countries around the world. Gangsters are involved in criminal activity such as murder, robbery, rape, drug sales, prostitution, intimidation, extortion, etc. If the criminal activity can enhance their power, territory, or profit, the gang will use these factors to their benefit. I’ve interviewed thousands of gangsters over the years and heard various stories of what inspired them to join a gang. It’s heartbreaking, but some of them have no choice. Believe it or not, many gangsters are born into the gangster lifestyle. As a young child, I’m talking 10 or 11 years old, these kids are introduced to the gang life by their family. The pressure to join or remain in a gang can come from the family.

For example, in 2011, I conducted an attempted murder investigation involving a Norteño from Salinas, California. For those who don’t know about the city of Salinas, it’s a heavily populated Norteño city and could be considered headquarters for the NF. Norteños from Salinas are an entirely different breed of Norteño gangster. (Just type “Nuestra Familia in Salinas, California” in your web browser to learn more.) This Norteño from Salinas had stabbed another Norteño in the shower. This assault was sanctioned and ordered by the gang. Initially, the Norteño attacker was loyal to the gang, but after fighting the case for more than a year and ultimately receiving an additional 10-year sentence with a gang enhancement, it took a toll on him.

In 2012, I went to a gang training on the NF. The training had a guest speaker who was an NF member. The crazy thing was that the guest speaker happened to be the father of the Norteño I was investigating. What a coincidence! During the training, I had the opportunity to ask some questions about the investigation I was working on. I never revealed that I was investigating his son, but the speaker answered all my questions regarding the attempted murder case. Once the case was over, the Norteño from Salinas decided to contact me for an interview. I was shocked, but I knew he had been through a lot in his young prison career and was ultimately going to be asked to do more and more by the gang. I interviewed him, and he educated me on how the NS operated in the prison. After the interview, I asked him if he was going to inform his family on the streets that he was done with the gang life, and he said yes. I knew he was going to write his family, so I was monitoring his mail. His first letter was to his mother, who was separated from his father. He explained to his mother that he took the plea deal of 10 years with the gang enhancement. Furthermore, he was tired of the gang life, violence, responsibilities, and gang expectations and was dropping out of the gang. He told her he was sorry and that he loved her. When I received the response from his mother, I was shocked. In her response, his mother begged him to remain strong and not drop out. It was part of being in the gang, and she told him to continue pushing forward as an active Norteño. It was obvious that his mother was still heavily involved with the NF on the streets, given that she was still encouraging her son to remain an active gang member. This goes to show you how dedicated Salinas Norteños are to the criminal street gang life and how gang families encourage each other to join and stay in gangs.

A lot of it stems from the environment they grow up in—the hood, varrio, set, projects, or neighborhood—whatever you choose to call it. Most kids in this environment grow up with no father figure. Their father either abandoned them while they were young or is a transient, in prison, or dead. So they rely on their single mother, who attempts to maintain and keep control of these fatherless kids. It’s not an easy task for a mother who works and struggles to provide for her children. In fact, growing up in the hood is not easy for children and young teens due to recruitment by gangs and gang leaders. These young adolescent kids are desperately seeking love, affection, guidance, and security, and the gang leaders know this. It makes these kids easy targets for recruitment into the gang. Some of the benefits gangs offer to recruits include having an authority figure and mentor in the gang. The gang offers leadership skills, protection, security, unity, street education, fast money, and affection, and that’s the brotherly love that they don’t receive in their own households. Life is not easy growing up in the hood. If you have children, always shower them with love and tell them you love them. These young kids watch social media, movies, and TV shows and think being a gangster is cool. Some even say they’re not scared to go to jail or prison and want to experience that environment. I tell them to ask a lifer in prison who has given up 25+ years of his life to the prison system and see what they say. The lifer would tell them to stay away from gangs and continue their education. I guarantee it!

How They Join

Some become gang members by committing an act of violence to show their loyalty and commitment to the gang. Some aspire to eventually be that big, bad gang leader. However, it will almost certainly never happen. Instead, the gang member will continue to be used by the gang until he is tired of the political side of the gang lifestyle. Yes, there is politics in gangs, believe it or not. But we will discuss that later in this book.

Some go through a beatdown process to gain gang membership. This is where members of the gang beat the new recruit for a certain number of seconds or minutes. After the beatdown, they have gained their membership in the gang and will receive their new badge of honor, which is their gang tattoo. If you start seeing this type of activity or behavior in your child, you need to act fast so you can save their life before they make the mistake of their lifetime and commit a felony. As gang members, they are taught who their allies are and who their enemies are and to never talk to law enforcement.

Gangs and Drug Use

Some gangsters get introduced to narcotics at a young age, starting with marijuana and then moving on to harder drugs such as heroin, meth, pills, or cocaine. But teenagers are supposed to learn about the world and develop judgment based on their memories and perceptions. If they are constantly under the influence, their emotions and memories are altered, which affects their development. They don’t learn to control their impulses like their drug-free peers do. Then a threat from an enemy comes into play, and, not really knowing the severity of the consequences, they get a gun in their hand and bang—either they get killed or they end up in prison.

A Word About Gangs and Race

Whether in an interview or a report, never use the words Northern Hispanic or Southern Hispanic when identifying or documenting a Norteño or Sureño. We used to use these terms years ago, but here is why I suggest not using them anymore: A Northern Hispanic, for example, is just a Hispanic from Northern California. That term can describe individuals who are not involved in criminal activity. I’m a Northern Hispanic, and I am a corrections officer. Furthermore, ask a law enforcement officer how many Black, Asian, or White individuals they have encountered or observed who are members or associates of the Norteños or Sureños. I’ve come across a lot; I’ve even met a Black Sureño who spoke fluid Spanish. Most gangs have no color barriers. All they want is loyalty, commitment, dedication, and trustworthy members. Working in a prison setting, you will witness Norteños who are Black, Asian, and White. I’ve even came across a few Pakistanis who were members of the Norteño criminal street gang.

Around 2016, I testified in a case involving a White Norteño from Varrio Bosque Norte (VBN) Woodland. During cross-examination, the defense attorney tried to trip me up on the defendant’s being a Norteño when he was a White male. I saw her angle from a mile away, and I already knew where she was headed during questioning. The defense attorney asked me if I knew what nationality her client was, and I said, “Yes, he’s White.” Her next question was, “If he is White, how can he be a member of the Northern Hispanic gang?” I’d been preparing for this question for years by now and had been teaching and training staff how to respond to it on cross-examination. So once it was my turn to answer, I broke it down and dropped some serious clecha (education) for the court.

I explained it this way on the stand:

“‘Northern Hispanic’ is not a gang. Your client is a member of the criminal street gang known as Norteños. Norteños are a criminal street gang from Northern California whose members wear the color red and utilize the signs and symbols of XIV, 14, a star, a Huelga bird, Norte, and one and four dots. Norteños don’t care about race regarding membership. They recruit and welcome African Americans, Asians, White, etc. Norteños care about commitment, honor, loyalty, and dedication when seeking members.” The defense attorney had no further questions regarding Northern...

Erscheint lt. Verlag	12.10.2023
Sprache	englisch
Themenwelt	Sozialwissenschaften ► Politik / Verwaltung
ISBN-13	979-8-3509-2820-4 / 9798350928204

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