Meeting tonight to focus on gangs in Virginia beach

VIRGINIA BEACH

With fox trot, tango and swing lessons, the Magic Moments Ballroom on Virginia Beach Boulevard usually doesn't appeal to gang members, owner Marvin Riner said. But the ballroom ended up at the center of a shootout between rival gangs last month, leaving a bullet hole in the studio window and two people injured.

Gang-related crime is a growing problem in the Beach and throughout Hampton Roads, said Alex J. Turner, special agent in charge of the FBI's Norfolk office. Roughly 116 gangs claim 6,700 members in the seven cities, he said.

In an effort to stem that growth, law enforcement agencies, churches and community organizations are hosting a town-hall meeting aimed at finding solutions to gang activity in Virginia Beach. The "Not In Our Town" event is at 6:30 p.m. tonight at the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts. It's open to the public, and organizers are hoping to draw about 1,000 people.

"The community already knows that a gang problem exists," said Vanessa Torres, community outreach specialist for the Norfolk FBI. "But we want to come together and find solutions."

Beach officials have said that at times, there are so many self-professed gang members in the city jail that it's difficult to find enough space to keep them separated. The city tracks gang graffiti as a method of measuring the groups' spread. Two years ago, the school division added gang-prevention education to the fourth-grade DARE program.

But the problem persists.

In the spring, state and federal authorities busted a methamphetamine operation housed in various Sandbridge homes and condominiums. They say it may have been linked to a Mexican gang.

And then there was the evening of Aug. 30. Riner rented out his studio for a private back-to-school party. There was no alcohol allowed, and security guards were on hand. But shortly after midnight, an argument broke out among some of the party guests, Riner said. So he flipped on the studio lights and asked everyone to leave.

A few minutes later, after the guests had filed into the parking lot, Riner heard gunshots. Seconds later, a bullet flew through the studio window.

"I was scared," Riner said. "I thought, 'Oh my God, I hope nobody gets killed.' "

The shooters fled, leaving two victims with gunshot wounds. Both survived.

The party guests had been caught in a fight between two rival gangs - the Berkley Boys from Norfolk and YNIC from Portsmouth, according to a search warrant affidavit filed in Norfolk Circuit Court on Sept. 3. The gangs claim affiliation with the Bloods and Crips, respectively, two rival national gangs with a history of violence and drug trafficking.

Police have arrested six people in the shooting, including three juveniles. One lives in Virginia Beach, one in Chesapeake and the rest in Norfolk, police said.

It's not uncommon for gang activity to spill over from different cities, Turner said.

"For the most part, they are home-grown gangs, so they are very familiar with the Hampton Roads area, and they will cross jurisdictional lines to perpetuate crime," he said. "They go where it's most profitable for them."

Every Hampton Roads city is seeing an increase in gang activity and membership, although it's difficult to quantify, Turner said. Gang crime is often motivated by profit, territory and machismo, he said. The economy also can play a role.

Some teens join gangs because they don't have positive alternatives, Turner said.

That's a problem Aaron Wheeler Jr. is hoping to fix.

The pastor and former police chaplain relocated his business, the Aaron Wheeler Group, from Ohio to Virginia Beach in December. The group provides diversity training, leadership development, motivational speaking and other community services, according to its Web site.

Wheeler said he also wants to offer programs to help teens avoid gangs. That's why he decided to host "Not In Our Town."

"I'm tired of kids dying on the streets in America," he said. "Gangs work off of fear, and we have to let them know, 'Not in our town, we're not afraid of you.' "

Wheeler has invited representatives from the FBI, the Police Department's Intelligence Unit, the Sheriff's Office, churches, civic groups and other organizations to participate. The town hall will include a question-and-answer session and information on how to prevent, identify and report gang activity. The event also will help educate people on how to help teens leave or avoid joining gangs, Wheeler said.

Incidents like the shooting at Magic Moments Ballroom rob people of their quality of life, Turner said.

"Usually the victims are the people who live in the neighborhoods," he said, "whether it's a physical injury or just a loss of their freedom."

Riner said the shooting outside his studio haunts him.

"I keep having these recurring nightmares about people getting shot," he said. "This is not fun. This is not what our school is all about. We have a very nice establishment where we teach ballroom and Latin dancing."

Some residents, like Green Run's Chandler Scarborough and David Nieves, take an active role to help decrease gangs in their communities. Scarborough photographs graffiti and reports it to police. Nieves, a police officer, helps keep teens out of gangs by mentoring them as coach of the Green Run Spartans recreational football team.

"I tell them, 'If you're thinking about joining a gang, you've already joined one,' " Nieves said. "You've got colors, you've got family and you've got a fight every Saturday."

Kathy Adams, (757) 222-5155, kathy.adams@pilotonline.com