38th Street gang

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The 38th Street Gang is a Latino street gang, originally from South Central Los Angeles.

38th Street began in the 1920's.They date back to the pachucos and zoot suits.They formed in South Los Angeles (formally South Central).The gang received national attention in the early 1940s as a result of the "Sleepy Lagoon Murder" and trial. Several members were arrested along with hundreds of other young Latinos.

Over the years the gang has grown in territory. It has spread across the country and has members in the hundreds.

[edit] History

The 38th Street Gang can be traced back to the 1920's making it the one of the older or the oldest gangs in South Central Los Angeles<ref name="Delgadillo">"Delgadillo, Bratton, Perry Announce Crackdown on South L.A.'s 38th Street Gang", Office of Civil Attorney, L.A., August 24, 2006.</ref>. In 2004 the gang was estimated to contain around 350 members. During the 1940's the 38th Street Gang gained national attention for their involvement in the Sleepy Lagoon murder and trial, in which Jose Diaz was killed and 22 of 24 suspects of the 38th Street Gang were indicted; of those 22, 17 were convicted.<ref name="PBS">"People & Events: The Sleepy Lagoon Murder", PBS, Unknown.</ref> On October 4, 1943, the convictions of the gang members were overturned and the gang members were allegedly welcomed back to their communities as heroes. <ref name="NAGIA">"A History of california's Hispanic Gangs", National Alliance of Gang Investigators' Associations, Unknown.</ref><ref name="PBS" /> Shortly after "Sleepy Lagoon", the newspapers were said to have exaggerated the headlines about the gang that wore zoot suits and created war-time hysteria and prejudice against the Mexican-American Zoot Suiters. Many Mexican-Americans from the segragated parts of town were attacked by sailors and members of other of other branches of the U.S. Military. The military personnel felt Zoot Suiters were not contributing to the war effort and were wasting valuable resources by dressing so flamboyantly.<ref name="NAGIA" /> This became known as the Zoot Suit Riots and culminated in a massive riot involving hundreds of zoot suiters against the military and some civilians. The day after the riots the city council adopted a resolution that banned the wearing of zoot suits on Los Angeles streets.<ref name="PBS">"People & Events: The Zoot Suit Riots of 1943", PBS, Unknown.</ref>

The 38th street gang was not involved in the death of Jose Diaz. It was not even proven that Jose Diaz was 'killed,' he died, but a murder was never proven. The boys who were rounded up for the murder were labeled as gang members, when they really were not. The court gave the name 'the 38th street gang' to the boys who were arrested. The papers called them this, but they were not a part of this gang at all.

[edit] Criminal Activities

The 38th Street Gang continues its activities and has evolved to become one of L.A.s most violent gangs. In the late 1990's a federal task force was set up in order to regulate the gang's involvement in a drugs ring; this resulted in the arrest of several of its members, the authorities confiscated thousands of dollars in drugs and money reported the Los Angeles Times and local news channels. The gang is also surrounded by many rival gangs, this culmination has resulted in many shootings and deaths. The gang is involved in many criminal activities, from drug sales and murder, to car theft and vandalism. <ref name="Delgadillo" />On August 24, 2004 a preliminary injuction passed barring members of the 38th Street Gang from carrying replica firearms, associating with eachother in public, staying out past 10PM, and prohibiting them from carrying alcohol, graffiti materials, dangerous weapons and drugs. <ref name="Delgadillo" />The 38th Street Gang is most active around the LAPD's Newton division and was also blamed for the race fights at Thomas Jefferson High School. The 38th Street Gang is also considered one of the largest gangs in Salt Lake city, Utah. The gang has spread to different cities across the United States and Mexico.