The graffiti tags are deliberate. Scrawled out in red, the tags found on signs and buildings can read “Norte” or “x4.” They are left by members from the Norteños gang.
But the residents of Plant City should be seeing less of these tags around town. Eleven key members have been pulled off the streets of Plant City, after the conclusion of Operation Red Dawn, a 10-month investigation by the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, the Attorney General’s Office of the Statewide Prosecutor and the Plant City Police Department.
The 11 suspects face charges of racketeering, narcotics trafficking and criminal mischief involving graffiti.
“Today, our streets are much safer with these subjects off of them,” Col. Donna Lusczynski, of the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, said.
The investigation launched after a drive-by shooting during which one gang member shot another. Last summer, the Sheriff’s Office began noticing an upward trend of gang-related crime in Eastern Hillsborough County. Incidents included aggravated battery, robbery, aggravated assault and homicide.
The gang is loosely based on the Bakersfield, Calif.-based Norteños gang, identified by the color red and the number 14. There are more than 100 Norteños gang members estimated in the area. The gang members range from 17 to 27 years old, mostly Hispanic.
Det. Jim Tiller, of the Sheriff’s Office’s gang unit, said gang members can spread to rural areas such as Plant City, when their parents move them away from the cities to try to stop their criminal activity. The gang targets 14- to 18-year-olds for recruitment.
“They go out and recruit our innocent kids,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said. “They recruit kids into gang members, especially kids from broken homes because they tell them they’re going to give them a sense of family, joining a family. And that’s not what joining a gang is all about. It’s about becoming a violent, violent criminal.”
The investigation tracked activity that crossed over county lines to Polk, Pasco and Manatee counties, as well as Hillsborough County.
In Plant City, the Norteños worked in the areas between Plant City and Lakeland, Dover and Seffner. Tiller called their activity and who they targeted as “random.”
“If there was something, they would get their hands on it,” Tiller said. “The random acts, for me, makes them more dangerous.”
But, the Sheriff’s Office hopes the arrests of the gang’s key members will help splinter the gang altogether.
Lusczynski said she saw the same pattern happen following the 2010 arrest of 10 key gang members of the Hot Boys. They were indicted and sentenced to a total of 119 years. Since then, the group has not reorganized because of the phenomenon, “displacement.”
“These are the key members of those groups, so they are the ones that influence the other gang members and direct them what to do,” Lusczynski said. “And without them — out of the picture — these groups are not able to function as well.”
Bondi praised Dan Weisman of the statewide prosecutor’s office for his work on the case. She described his office as a “war room,” the walls covered with case material.
“These cases are built not just from the testimony of people, not just the statement of people, but usually a disturbing pattern of violent crime, which has manifested itself overtime to society’s detriment,” Weisman said.
The investigation included looking at the members’ histories, as well as undercover operations. Patrol units increased their presence in specific areas to stop immediate violence. The Sheriff’s Office then called for the assistance of the prosecutor’s office to get longer-term sentences for individuals.
The prosecutor’s office is continuing to work on the case.
Bondi said the individuals are the “worst of the worst” and will face a minimum of 30 years in state prison.
The rivals of the Norteños are the Sureños. Known as the “Surs,” the gang is identified by the color blue and the number 13. There are more than 100 estimated gang members in the area.
Tiller said the two gangs fight for control of the methamphetamine and marijuana trade in the area. He could not comment on whether an investigation of the Sureños was under way.
“It’s never going to stop, and we need to keep sending that message that we’re staying on top of these guys,” Lusczynski said.
Contact Amber Jurgensen at ajurgensen@plantcityobserver.com.
SPOTTING GANG ACTIVITY
Jim Tiller, a detective with the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office gang unit, shared some tips to identify gang activity.
• Graffiti. Gangs use tags to mark their turf. The Norteños use red and the number 14. The Sureños use blue and the number 13. If you see someone tagging, get a description of them and their car and report it to the police.
• Dress color. If a group of teenagers are walking the neighborhood wearing the same color, it could be a sign of gang activity.
Report both instances to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, (813) 247-8200, or the Plant City Police Department, (813) 757-9200.