Hispanic gangs are a growing problem in rural America

Yonika Willis:

In the '80s and '90s, authorities say, Michiana saw an influx of violence from predominately black gangs. But recently, Hispanic gangs have taken the spotlight, said Elkhart County Sheriff's Department Detective Marcus Wolfram.

"Gang violence has been here for some time," said Guerrero, who works for anti-gang organizations in Elkhart County. "And it's not anything new; however, the levels (of crime) are growing."

Elkhart County has experienced two alleged gang-related shooting deaths in the past 11 months.

Sixteen-year-old José Martinez was killed April 9, and 14-year-old Rogelio Reyes died Feb. 19.

"In Elkhart County, (Hispanic gangs) are a lot more prevalent, not only in numbers but in activity, than predominately black and white gangs," Wolfram said.

Like most gangs, Hispanic gangs are centered around drugs, he said.

The Vatos Locos and Sureño 13, the two most prominent Hispanic gangs in Elkhart County, are both tied into larger gangs that began in the California prison system and have access to drugs, he said.

But rustic Elkhart County, with its countryside dotted with horses and buggies carrying Amish families to and fro, seems an unlikely place for gangs to settle.

Many gang members are born and raised there.

"Their parents come here for work, usually from Mexico," Wolfram said.

And now that Elkhart County is a high employment area -- with a 2000 unemployment rate of only 2.5 percent -- many Hispanics have relocated here, said Bill Wargo, chief investigator for the Elkhart County prosecutor's office.

But often with migration comes isolation.

"Ethnic gangs started to make a strong presence because (members) feel like they're strangers in a strange land," Guerrero said. "When you have a rash of migration, it's very hard to blend in. Oftentimes ethnic gangs are formed because of that, for a feeling of protection."

And Elkhart County isn't alone in feeling the effects of gang violence, Guerrero said.

In the late '80s and early '90s, law enforcement agencies focused most of their attention on predominately black gangs from Chicago and Detroit who came to Michiana to sell drugs, Wargo said.

So whatever became of those gangs?

Although some gang members active in those groups are now incarcerated, Wargo said, the gangs still exist, but are much more low-key.

"The black gangs are still around; they're just not killing each other," he said.

But cutting down on Hispanic gang violence isn't as easy. "It's a very complex problem with few or no simple solutions," Wargo said.

With the rapid Hispanic population increase in Elkhart County, a language barrier exists between many law enforcement officers and Hispanics, making communication difficult.

Census documents put the growth of the Hispanic population at an estimated 39 percent from 2000 to 2004, but law enforcement officials note many more undocumented Hispanics in the area.

"For officers on the street level, it's hard for our guys to interrogate the Hispanic gangs," Wolfram said. "A lot of (officers) know enough Spanish to tell them to stop what they're doing and leave." Also, law enforcement in the countries where many Hispanics originate has been corrupt, so the same level of distrust exists when Hispanics move north, Wargo said.

And unlike predominately black gangs, who generally stayed in their own neighborhoods in past decades, Hispanic gangs roam, Wargo said.

Chief: Gang problem fades in and out