Latino gang finds new turf outside of city limits in rural West Virginia

Baltimore Sun:

It seems an unlikely setting for a meeting of big-city gang members - a secluded spot along the Shenandoah River where the loudest noises come from water rushing over the dam.

But it's here, on a narrow road just across the Virginia state line, that authorities say members of MS-13, one of the nation's most violent gangs, have begun to congregate.

"If you just drove through, you wouldn't notice. But we sit and watch what they do," says Jefferson County Sheriff's Lt. Bobby Shirley. MS-13 is shorthand for Mara Salvatrucha, a Latin American gang founded in Los Angeles by refugees from El Salvador. Federal authorities consider it one of the nation's most vicious street gangs and estimate that it has about 10,000 members in more than 30 states.

Earlier this year, after several killings in the suburbs of Washington, D.C., the FBI announced a crackdown. Hundreds of members have been rounded up, and some have been deported. But, the gang is spreading out, including to West Virginia's Eastern Panhandle, which is less than 70 miles from Washington.

"We're so close to Baltimore, Washington, even Philadelphia, that we're getting an element that we definitely don't want," says state police Capt. Rob Blair, commander of the troop based in Charles Town.

Police suspect MS-13 in a few assaults and robberies, but Jefferson County Sheriff Ed Boober is certain the gang is present - and preying on some of the county's newest residents.

A growing number of Hispanic immigrants have found work here. Often, though, they arrive alone and friendless, a situation the gang can use.

"They're recruiting everywhere. They're looking for people who don't belong," Boober said. "The bad thing is, once you join, you can't unjoin."

Though gang activity is not pervasive, Boober says there are subtle signs: MS graffiti on buildings. Clothing emblazoned with 13, XIII or MS. Teens at Jefferson High School weaving red bandannas through belt loops.

"It's very quiet. It's below the top of the water. But we know it's there," the sheriff says. "To say that they are not present in our community is putting your head in the sand."

Later this month, Thomas E. Johnston, U.S. attorney for West Virginia's northern district, will hold a training session for local law enforcement agencies.

"I view this as something that's possibly on the horizon and certainly a potential threat worth preparing for," Johnston said.

Former Modesto, Calif., police officer Jared Lewis says MS-13 markets the gang as a way to embrace Latin American heritage. Parents who are unfamiliar with American teens' customs may not recognize what's happening, mistakenly believing their children are just learning to fit in.

"I don't know of any culture - Mexican, Irish, African-American, Polish, whatever - that gang membership is part of the heritage," says Lewis, director of Wisconsin-based Know Gangs, a group of consultants who educate law enforcement, teachers and social workers. Lewis says West Virginia should take MS-13 seriously, regardless of how benign it seems.

"If that interest is there, that's a problem," Lewis says. "It's just a matter of how long it takes interest to turn to action."

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