Authorities take people into custody Tuesday morning at Windgate Place in Charlotte.
Dozens arrested in gang sweep
Dozens of people were plucked from their homes Tuesday in an early morning raid that may signal a tougher approach to combating violent street gangs in Charlotte.
Sixty-two people were arrested, including 53 gang members or associates who now face deportation hearings, authorities said.
"The message we are sending gang members and would-be-gang members is simple," U.S. Attorney Bob Conrad said. "Not in our neighborhood."
As children waited at bus stops and curious neighbors watched, police and federal agents fanned out about 5:45 a.m., walking toward apartments and houses in east and southwest Charlotte.
Some of the 150 or so officers and agents were armed with assault rifles; others wore bulletproof vests.
In teams of six, they entered homes and questioned occupants. Those suspected of being illegal immigrants were then led toward white vans and squad cars, their hands bound in plastic flex cuffs.
The arrests were part of an initiative, called Operation Fed Up, that targeted members of Mara Salvatrucha 13, a traditionally Salvadoran gang tied to at least 11 killings in Charlotte since 2000 and five in the last six months.
Police have documented more than 200 MS-13 members in their gang database, but say there are likely many more.
Most of the gang members arrested Tuesday were members of MS-13, but they also included members of rival Latino gangs Sureno 13 and 42nd Street Little Criminals. Most of the people arrested were men. They're from Venezuela, Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador, authorities said.
Capt. David Graham, who heads the police department's criminal intelligence unit, said Tuesday's arrests were part of an ongoing initiative begun in April after a gang-related homicide at McDowell Park involving MS-13.
Around that time, members of the gang threatened to kill Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officers, Graham said. He described the threats as credible, but wouldn't be more specific.
Carlos Moreno, 28, said police knocked on the door of his apartment before daylight Tuesday. The Honduras native said he and six others were taken away in handcuffs and brought to the immigration office.
He was eventually allowed to leave, but said his friends were still inside with about 50 others. He said he didn't know why police came for them.
"I no MS-13," he said. "I work. I sleep. I am no problem."
Six of those arrested were juveniles; they were released pending immigration hearings. And three gang members face federal charges involving illegal possession of firearms or ammunition and illegal re-entry into the United States after being deported.
The arrests were made by Charlotte-Mecklenburg police, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the State Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Secret Service.
Mecklenburg County commissioner Dan Ramirez, who joined law enforcement officials at a news conference Tuesday, said that while the initiative focused on Latino gangs, the law enforcement actions should not be seen as an attack on that community.
"We have to do something to eradicate gang violence in this community," Ramirez said. "If this is one of the tools we have to use, so be it."
Said Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Chief Darrel Stephens: "We have gangs of other ethnicities and they will not be ignored."
Police have documented about 800 gang members. Of those, 39 percent are Latino; 47 percent are black, 10 percent are Asian; 4 percent are white.
Police have created an intelligence unit to collect information on street gangs of all races and assigned two officers in each of the 12 districts to work on gang issues. They've begun reaching out to the faith community and making presentations about gang recognition to school principals.
Police in Charlotte-Mecklenburg loosely define gangs as three or more people who share common colors, insignia or tattoos and engage in criminal or delinquent behavior.
Authorities say the use of federal sanctions against gang members in Charlotte is not new.
In 1994, members of the Flowe Organization were sentenced to some of the heaviest sentences imposed in N.C. history. Two men were given a combined 16 life terms plus 205 years. The Charlotte crack dealers were convicted of three murders, kidnappings and assaults.
Conrad said Tuesday that authorities would use "every weapon in our state and federal arsenal to eradicate gang violence." That includes deportation, a tactic used nationwide against hundreds of MS-13s. Some experts say that can be only a temporary fix.
"Deportation is just one tool," said Wes McBride, president of the California Gang Investigators Association. "It's not going to solve the problem, because they don't seem to have a problem getting back in. It's really law enforcement's responsibility to make the gang lifestyle uncomfortable."
Conrad hopes the gang members arrested Tuesday won't return to Charlotte.
"We suspect that the mere fact we are focused in this community ... will deter people from coming back to this area."
Conrad warned: "We intend to make Charlotte off limits to gangs.
"Simply put, gang activity will not be tolerated. Membership and participation in a gang will come at a high cost."