SUFFOLK
David Lee Rudolph scribbled on a couple of buildings downtown in April. The 20-year-old high school grad with some college brought along a couple of younger helpers.
That was his first mistake.
When police arrested Rudolph a few days later, he was charged with contributing to the delinquency of minors.
A consultant hired by the city identified something in the graffiti as a sign associated with the Bloods, a violent youth gang with national connections. The black-and-red sign, with its five-pointed star in the upper right-hand corner, was easily recogniz able, said Jim Wiser, an assistant commonwealth's attorney in Suffolk. In the past six months, Wiser and Suffolk prosecutors have brought more than a dozen gang charges against the youth of Suffolk and made the charges stick.
Rudolph was facing two counts of contributing, two counts of street gang
participation and two counts of destroying property. In court, he took a plea bargain to one of each of the charges. He'll be sentenced in September.
He could be facing a stiff penalty - up to 10 years in prison. In another time and another place, the crime might have been a misdemeanor - destruction of property.
"We want to send a message, and we think this is one way to put more teeth in gang participation crimes," Wiser said after the trial.
Suffolk authorities blame gang activity for a variety of crimes in the city - including one slaying. Prosecutors contend that Willie Waters was a gang member when he got into a shootout in 2005. A 14-year-old girl was shot and killed. Waters, 22, is serving an 87-year sentence.
Two members of Commonwealth's Attorney Phil Ferguson's staff and two investigators were recognized recently by the U.S. attorney's office for their relentless pursuit of Waters. It took more than two years to bring him to trial.
The city has been very aggressive in use of the anti-gang laws passed by the General Assembly beginning in 2000. A couple of years ago, the Suffolk Police Department organized a special unit to seek out and charge crimes specific to youth street gangs.
The Neighborhood Enforcement Team, or NET, is meant to battle youth gangs gaining a hold in Suffolk. It does even more, said Sgt. Danny Buie, leader of the four-officer effort.
Gang-related charges are difficult to prosecute and prove because of the way they're written, Buie said.
Police would then have to look for a link in other crimes, such as a shooting.
"We can obviously charge them with assault and battery," said Lt. Stephanie Burch, who heads the team with Buie. "But, if we believe they're in a gang, we look for that connection."
The word to "clear out the gangs," the officers said, has come from the top: the City Council, the police chief and the commonwealth's attorney's office.
The gang mentality doesn't always make that task easy. Youths, especially those from lower-income families, sometimes find the support and protection from their gangs that they don't get from home.
The NET team has gone into the communities to talk. Members talk with church groups and civic leagues, and remind individuals daily to call if they have questions or concerns, Buie said.
He loves it when youths ask him: "Don't you have anything better to do?"
"I tell them 'no,' " Buie said, grinning. "This is my job. I'm supposed to watch you, see what you're doing."
Once a crime is identified as a possible gang crime, the commonwealth's attorney's gang team is prepared.
Wiser has been working solo for the past two years. Scott Alleman, with expertise in drug prosecutions, is about to take over some of the gang cases.
"The graffiti gets to the essence of gang culture," Alleman said. "They're marking their territory. What we're doing in this office is sending a message - it's not going to be tolerated in this city."
The city has monthly task force meetings involving several departments, including parks and recreation.
Alleman said the approach "speaks volumes" for the commitment Ferguson has to the problem.
"The focus of gangs is to intimidate or create fear," Alleman said.
The prosecutors have their own methods.
In January, Grady Wynn, 18, burst into a court house waiting room and threatened a witness about to testify against a member of his gang. He was convicted of participating in a street gang.
Wynn will be sentenced on Sept. 11. H e's facing 10 years.
The statutes aren't easy to prosecute, Burch said. Police and prosecutors alike have to step carefully to avoid infringing on individual rights. After all, it's legal to hang out with your friends.
Patterning its approach after that of Virginia Beach, the office is planning a gang awareness seminar later this year, with departments from across the city, schools and churches participating.
"In the last six months, we've seen kids as young as 12 in here," Alleman said. "That's why we have to reach out to the community. We have to involve ourselves even more deeply with intervention."
Rudolph, however, is facing up to 12 months in jail for each misdemeanor and up to 10 years in prison for gang participation.
And it all started when he painted graffiti.
Linda McNatt, (757) 222-5561, linda.mcnatt@pilotonline.com
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full investigation
If you have to arrest gang members to get extra funding or something..
I’ll have a group of 7 year old little girls over later all wearing the same color Hanna Montana shirts and pink converses doing weird hand signs and covering my driveway way with chalk graffiti..Maybe a gang interrogation is in order..
Better safe than sorry.. I think it calls for a field trip to your station for a few hours to do a full investigation.. You can get all their info and gang secrets on file and I can vaccum my living room…
Peace,,The Hanna Montana Mobsters
Lawmakers & Barneys take a chill pill these are kids
Outrage!!!! Shame on all of you...These are kids looking for love & attention which I'm sure he will get in prison.....
The money that was spent on prosecuting this little boy and keeping him in jail could have provided every child in Suffolk with free school uniforms..Problem solved.. No colors/acts ect trying to fit in...
What is happening with are lawmakers and police...Have you all lost your minds!!!! Are prisons so profitable that you keep filling them??
These are our children, studies, MRIs ect show the area of your brain that registers fear and consequence with action is not fully developed until you are 20 or so... It was on 60 minutes or 20/20...It is our responsibility as adults to guide them not put them in jail...... My 12 year old son/honor student wears a uniform to school.... all the kids do peace signs goofy hand signals its practically Disneyesqe in are culture....These are
I am Amazed
that it took two commonwealth attorney's staff, two investigators to bring him to trial. Is this our Justice System?
Its a shame
that so many people in our city do not realize that we do have a gang issue just as other cities do. Did you stop to think that this is not the first time this young man has been introuble with the law due to gang activity? Come on people...think about it. People are so quick to jump at the police who are trying to do what they can to keep all of us safe and keep these gangs at bay in our city and all you can do is point a finger. You all need to educate yourself about gangs and what is all involved before you post comments on here. Our police dept. is working hard to prevent gangs while these kids are young through programs/classes in the schools and other local places within our city. I would like to ask you this....what are you doing to help? If you have children, do you know what they are doing when they are away from you? Do you really know who they are hanging out with? We can not control what our children are doing when we are not with them but us along with our police dept. can educate them in every possible way to keep them from being sucked into a gang.
Try helping rather than pointing fingers at the people doing good in our city.
Lock him up, throw away the
Lock him up, throw away the key....
this IS a problem
I have been raised in Suffolk my whole life and now I work with the students who currently live in Suffolk. I think what SPD is doing is a great idea. I do not think these "wanna-be's" should be allowed to wear their gang beads to school or do their gang "hand shakes" in school either but it is okay for this behavior. I also believe that it is not okay to send your kid to 2nd grade with your drug money so you do not get busted with it. Once you step into any public school in this area I think the ones who are saying Suffolk PD is picky on these kids would have a different outlook. I'm sure the 18 (or older) kid who is in summer school who brought a gun to school came from a 2 parent household as well. First off your older than 18 (they released name and pic in news..use common sense) plus he is in summer school so use common sense again...he's not but so smart!!!!!!
proper punishment??
Instead of sending this clown to prison, have him spend his free time going around the city cleaning up the graffiti he is so proud of. Maybe if his arms were good and tired, he would think twice about defacing someone else's property. If He's such a wanna be as some folks claim...that should cure the problem, right....if it were only that easy. Wake up folks, the are real gang members in real gangs right here. Turning a blind eye to it isn't going to make it any less real.
Senseless prosecution
Two decades in jail for graffiti is in no way commensurate to the magnitude of the crime.
The city is failing to punish those who commit real-life violent crimes so they go after easier targets - youths who are out committing stupid youth-related crimes. The Bloods have no presence in Suffolk - this kid was just a wanna-be.
A white kid spraypainting swasticas would receive a far less severe punishment, yet both would be youths using these symbols for their counterculture appeal.
A great way to create a criminal is to throw a young man into our already overcrowded prison system for committing relatively minor offenses. In the long run this policy will do far more damage than it helps.
What garbage
Thank you Suffolk police for attempting to destroy our justice system. Preying on the uneducated by making them plea bargain, and charging them more harshly in certain circumstances because they "want to send a message." What message are they trying to send, exactly? That they'll bend the rules to get someone convicted? This should frighten you, as it does me.
WANT TO BE'S
I have a business in downtown Suffolk and I have been hit twice but I beleave it is mostly want-a be's that want people to think they are in a gang. I think it is a survival thing for most of them. If others think they are ina gang they will be left alone.I do think the biggest problem is the single parent factor.If you can come up with a plan that didn't cost the tax payers big $ I would love to here it. Inner city rec. centers is almost the answer but who will pay for it. From the local city's views it won't bring in new tax $ so they don't want it.
wantsjustice
your name contradicts what you say. glad you see him as a poor kid being treated mean. He is a gang member and should be in jail period. Just like the rest of them. The are all a bunch of criminals who do noithing good.
Gange violence
Gange violence is a growing problem through out the United States, especially in the more povity stricken arears. They need to be addressed/ delt with before they get out of hand. These young people have a faulse sense of reality, and need our(adult) guidence. Reach them while they are still young, and maybe there is hope.
While it is true that gangs
While it is true that gangs need to be dealt with & dealt with harshly who is to say just because there were "drawings" that meant he was gang related? If Suffolk has enough money to hire "consultants" on gang drawings, then how come they can't get other stuff done? Its a shame that this young man is facing 10 years- murders & rapists don't even get that much time. I think it's time that everyone look at the indiviual instead of sterotyping them just because they drew something that someone don't like. I know kids who aren't in gangs, but also draw the "gang signs". who said they were gang signs? the media?????
Proper Upbringing
The only way to combat gangs is to have two parents present in the raising of children. All too often, it is one parent present with little time to take care of the child, since she is busy working or caring for other children in the family. Whatever happened to young people wanting to take responsibility for the children they bring into the world? This is not an easy fix, but it all goes back to improper upbringing.
Gangs
As said before all members of gangs should be punished by law if not probation before it is to late!Let them fight for their country they"ll see a diferrent side of our countryand realize "gangs aint the answer!