Gangs get more active in October

Law enforcement and community activists in Seattle's South Delridge neighborhood and unincorporated White Center neighborhood offer many viewpoints on the degree of gang activity that hugs Roxbury Street, the boundary that both divides and unites their communities.

Some say gangs are under control. Others declare the sky is falling. But all agree that gang activity was relatively quiet over the summer while spiking in October, an unsettling trend.

The consensus is that ground zero for White Center's gang activity is just south of Roxbury Street, a three-block stretch of 16th Avenue Southwest, where two all-age clubs are located, Club Evolucion, at 9625 16th Ave. S.W., and Club Entourage, at 9826 16th Avenue S.W. All-age clubs do not serve liquor and attract both young teens and young adults, fertile ground for gang recruitment, parking lot drinking, and inappropriate sexual behavior.

Club Evolucion is open 10 p.m. to 2 a.m., usually limited to Saturday nights. Club Entourage, open on both weekend nights, has been closed for three weeks as it "tries to stay out of the police blotter" to qualify for a liquor license, say activists. However, the club just hosted a recent Halloween party, and may reopen soon, sans booze.

Entourage's license request has so far been denied. A large posse of concerned neighbors complained, recalling that before Club Entourage there was the club "Docks" at the same address. Docks had a liquor license, and also attracted gangs, but with alcohol legally thrown into the mix. Currently, gang members have been flocking to Club Evolucion, and surrounding parking lots.

The club is divided in two. The rear features professional mariachi bands. A contingent of well-mannered men, many with white cowboy hats, well-pressed clothes and shiny boots, dance smoothly with their partners, also elegantly dressed.

Closer to the front entrance, two DJ's control the tempo with cage-rattling hip-hop mixes. This stirs up a crowd of young girls posing as young women with thick make-up, allowing mostly older boys with shaved heads wearing jeans and sweatshirts or t-shirts to grind dance, or press against them, as they are voluntarily pinned against a mirrored wall. Of course, not every guy here claims gang affiliation, and may simply live nearby. The gang members, however, cruise in from suburbs like Kent, Renton, South Park, Rainier Valley, Auburn, and even the state of California, where being a gang member is illegal. It is legal in Washington.

A cultural clash has been observed between the two clubs after closing hours, as Evolucion's clientele is predominantly Hispanic, while Entourage tends to attract an African American crowd.

King County Sheriff's Deputy Jeff Hancock, 34, replaced Steve Cox, who was fatally shot last December. Hancock patrols the Saturday night partiers who hang out along that 16th Avenue rambunctious runway, and has noticed a recent increase of gang activity. He said he is enthusiastic that the King county gang unit will be up and running Jan. 1.

"Seven were trained in Montana and say it's the best training they ever had."

He is quick to defend Evolucion and points out they comply with the law and zoning by not serving alcohol, and by guarding aggressively against crime within the club. Still, he observes inappropriate "dating" in the club.

"I see 13 year-old girls grind-dancing with 30 year-old guys. It's legal, but just wrong. I wonder where their parents are."

Neither Seattle nor unincorporated King County has a curfew.

"Teens, usually girls, accompany older guys, some gang-affiliated, to their cars to drink (alcohol) and then re-enter the clubs," he said.

The clubs are legally obligated to charge at least half the $10 admission to re-enter, but some have observed girls re-entering many times a night without paying the $5 fee. Some gang members save their money by cruising past the clubs, taunting each other with threats of violence, and sometimes following through.

"We jailed 13 people last Saturday night (Oct. 20) in the three-block area," said Hancock. "Also, the I.C.E. came through. So some might now stay away." He is referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which he said deported four hard-core gangsters. On Saturday nights, his beat also gets assistance from both the Seattle Police Department and from those deputies who serve as the Burien Police Department gang units, and Guardian-1, the King County Sheriff's helicopter that takes off from Boeing Field and patrols the Roxbury area from above.

He said the chopper is a tremendous help as it shines its spotlight into an unruly crowd, causing people to disperse.

"These gangsters are brazen." Some are disturbingly sadistic. Hancock said that, after closing hours, some gang members beat homeless that drift into sight. "The vagrant population is among the most vulnerable, and carry nothing of value for the gangsters to steal." As 2 a.m. approaches, some homeless men and women try to hide a few blocks away.

Meg Higgins, coordinator, White Center South Delridge Drug Free Communities, occasionally monitors gangs cruising past the clubs from the sheriff's office storefront at 9609 16th Ave. S.W.

"If I see the same car pass six or seven times, I consider that cruising," she said. Community service officer Vary Jackson, a feisty White Center watchdog proactive with graffiti removal and other neighborhood nuisances, helps facilitate the effort.

"We documented 20 cars Saturday night (Oct. 20) and sent the information to James Bush at Dow Constantine's office," said Higgins,

Kathy Kaminski works with Higgins, and is program coordinator for Weed and Seed, a federally funded communities organization that supports law enforcement and youth programs. She and Higgins facilitated the Greater White Center-South Delridge Neighborhood community safety meeting Oct. 25. They join other neighborhood activists in a push for a local anti-cruising ordinance confined to Saturday nights in the area of the two clubs. She said Constantine is receptive to the ordinance. Higgins said it is easy to spot the cruisers. Of course, the rented cars really stand out. Gang members and others use rented cars to transport drugs. If caught, they get legal cover by claiming the drugs were in the car before they rented it.

Lois Grammon-Simson works with Kaminski and Higgins. At the meeting she said she was focusing on educating different communities on Washington State's nuisance laws as a way to fight crime. She set her sites on Evolucion and Entourage.

"We can use nuisance laws as a process to protect residents impacted by the (negative) effects outside the clubs. Even if a club does not violate code, and operates legally, if it disturbs a neighbor's quiet use and enjoyment of their property, this can be legally actionable."

While Higgins counted cruising cars, Kaminski participated in a neighborhood walk to monitor the club area. She was joined by Virgil Domaoan, manager, White Center Business District, also an anti-cruising legislation activist, and 10 others.

"It was a really tense environment, " acknowledged the urban street-savvy Kaminski. "I walk everywhere. I would not feel safe walking there alone. That's rare for me."

Hancock offers a good-natured, but firm, approach while questioning gang members outside the clubs. He recognizes many, and the gangs they represent. Many recognize the deputy, and seem willing to open up to him. This is his way of keeping track of things on the street.

Steve Shay may be reached at steves@robinsonnews.com