Police: Gang from upscale neighborhoods wreaks havoc
Associated Press
Dec 16, 2006
RICHMOND, Va. - A gang of teenagers and young adults from affluent families and upscale neighborhoods is responsible for vandalism, robberies and at least a dozen violent assaults over the last year and a half, Richmond authorities said.
Officials said Friday that they expect to seek indictments against many of the 15 to 30 members of the "World War Crew" by the end of January. Last week, authorities executed search warrants at 15 homes in Richmond's West End and western Henrico County and seized computers, homemade "WWC" clothing, weapons and other times they say documents the gang's behavior.
"They were wreaking havoc," said Richmond Chief Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Matthew P. Geary. "They hold themselves out as a gang, they act like a gang and commit crimes as a gang. And that's how they're going to be treated."
Police said World War Crew members have a finger-crossed "W" hand signal, a "WWC" graffiti tag, closed membership, a Web site, and even a weapon of choice _ a small, wooden, souvenir baseball bat.
The investigation was prompted by calls to Richmond police by the parents of alleged victims of the group. One person was beaten so badly that he suffered a concussion and memory loss, Geary said.
Richmond Police Chief Rodney Monroe suggested that a white gang from upscale neighborhoods defies the gang stereotype.
"A lot of times our impression of a gang is the TV portrayal of minorities involved in violence, drugs and shooting," he said. "Here, you're able to realize those who live so-called charmed lives can be just as involved and indoctrinated into those gangs as other kids."
Authorities label group a gang
Several middle-class, white residents of West End and Henrico could be indicted
BY JIM NOLAN
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Dec 16, 2006
They are young, white, well-heeled and reside in the comfortable neighborhoods of Richmond's West End and western Henrico County.
They met through a church group.
And, law-enforcement officials say, they are a gang -- the "World War Crew" -- responsible for vandalism, robbery and the violent assaults of at least a dozen fellow young people in the Carytown and Short Pump areas over the past year and a half.
Authorities last week executed search warrants at 15 homes in the city and county, retrieving computers, homemade "WWC" clothing, weapons and other items they say document the gang's behavior.
Officials said before the end of January, they expect to indict a number of participants in the group, which has about 15 to 30 members whose ages range from their teens to 20s.
"They were wreaking havoc," said Richmond Chief Deputy Commonwealth's Attorney Matthew P. Geary.
"They hold themselves out as a gang, they act like a gang and commit crimes as a gang. And that's how they're going to be treated."
The investigation into the group's activities stemmed from calls this year to Richmond police by the parents of alleged victims of the group. The Richmond Police Gang Unit and the city prosecutor's office, with assistance from the Henrico Police Gang Unit and county prosecutors, uncovered a disturbing pattern that extended beyond teen rowdiness.
"They don't sell drugs and they don't shoot people, but they behave like a gang in every other way," said one investigator who has worked on the case.
Police said World War Crew members have a finger-crossed "W" hand signal, a "WWC" graffiti tag, closed membership, a Web site, and even a weapon of choice -- a small wooden souvenir bat like the kind that can be purchased at a Richmond Braves game.
"A lot of times our impression of a gang is the TV portrayal of minorities involved in violence, drugs and shooting," said Richmond Police Chief Rodney Monroe. "Here, you're able to realize those who live so-called charmed lives can be just as involved and indoctrinated into those gangs as other kids."
One alleged victim of the group was beaten so badly that he suffered a concussion and memory loss, Geary said. Others have been hospitalized with wounds requiring stitches and surgical staples.
Officials said the group's members are all young men, though a handful of females has been identified as being at the scenes of crimes the group is alleged to have committed.
Investigators said the World War Crew grew out of a youth group at a Richmond church several years ago. They said a number of members attend a Richmond public high school, which they declined to name. Members are fans of the city's straight-edge, hard-core punk music scenes and consider the Carytown area their turf, though they are not known to have any ongoing conflicts with Richmond's known gangs.
Geary said there is no evidence that any of the youths' parents had knowledge of the group's alleged criminal activities.
As the investigation has taken shape, prosecutors' phones have been ringing with calls from high-profile defense lawyers whose clients wish to cooperate.
The investigation is continuing.
"It really drives home the point that kids from all sorts of backgrounds, all walks of life and all types of neighborhoods can be drawn toward the lure of gang behavior," said Richmond Commonwealth's Attorney Michael N. Herring.
Herring said prosecutors will look to impose harsher charges on suspects if the investigation turns up evidence that any of the group's allegedly criminal behavior was occurring in or around a school.
"It's a disturbing trend that all of a sudden it's almost becoming fashionable -- if not to actually be in a gang, then to behave like a gang," he said. "We intend to nip it in the bud by being absolutely intolerant of it."
