Police: Members of 2 gangs involved in rock incident
A rock altercation Monday night has focused attention on two gangs operating in the South Side area.
St. Joseph police said the fight involved members of gangs called the Southside Criminals and the King Hill Posse. City misdemeanor charges were filed Tuesday against the alleged rock fighters.
“This is not the first time we have had trouble with the people using those names as the guise with which they were doing things,” said Cmdr. Jim Connors of the St. Joseph Police Department. “Some of them are largely responsible for some of the graffiti that we are seeing around.”
Mr. Connors said the two gangs were not fighting each other but were throwing rocks at a third party. There were no injuries in the incident, which occurred Monday on Carnegie Street at about 7 p.m.
Witnesses reported 12 to 15 individuals at the rock fight. Police arrested six, including one who was taken into juvenile custody.
Chad Reigenborn, 17, Jeffery Johnson, 24, Darin Dudley, 17, and Jeremy Johnson, 19, each were charged with a misdemeanor of disorderly conduct by fighting.
City misdemeanor charges of assault and resisting arrest were filed against Tyler J. Ortega, 18.
Police had to use a Taser on Mr. Ortega, Mr. Connors said.
Mr. Connors said police are keen to squelch the gang activity before it gets out of hand and escalates from rocks and spray paint to weapons, turf battles and other serious problems.
“We delivered the message last night, we’re not going to tolerate it,” Mr. Connors said. “If we have to bring six people to jail every night, we’ll do it.”
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Wag the Joe dot com linked me to this story. They have a couple of post about this that are worth reading...funny!
Posted by njones60 on May 7, 2008 at 1:25 p.m. (Suggest removal)The Southside Criminals and the King Hill Posse?!?! HA HA! Who came up with these clever and intimidating names?! I'm embarassed for them. According to the article, "the two gangs were not fighting each other but were throwing rocks at a third party." It's nice to see our St. Joe gangs coming together for a greater cause. Idiots...
Posted by bearie04 on May 7, 2008 at 4:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)this is the funniest thing i have ever heard!!!! these kids dont know what a gang is..they are just a bunch of kids that need role models....ms13...now thats a real gang..they murder people...they dont throw rocks..and graffiti....this is lol hilarious!!! they have been watching to many movies and listening too way too much rap!!! get a life!!!! lol
Posted by MichaelH on May 7, 2008 at 5:16 p.m. (Suggest removal)^^^Don't give these fools any ideas... they're doing just fine on their own. Gangs... come on.
Gangs were created as a means to protect yourself among enemies or those you intend to make enemies. What exactly do they think they need protection from?
Oh, I get it. It's just cool to be in a gang... *rolling my eyes*
Posted by nunya13 on May 7, 2008 at 7:49 p.m. (Suggest removal)haha i really think that all yall that commented this must not kno about them..like forreal..
Posted by njones60 on May 8, 2008 at 9:04 a.m. (Suggest removal)i mean yea..it sounds dumb..
but today u almost HAVE to b part of sumthin to b realized..
n maybe they think this is the only way they can get attention..
i mean dont every one want SOME KIND of attention??
plus i kno most of them personally..
n they really rnt that bad..or that stupid..
n honestly if half the parents in St. Joe would actually learn to raise their kids..maybe stuff like this wouldnt happen..i mean seriously..
is RESPECT..really soo hard to teach someone??
Nunya13 - I will concede that I don't know people in gangs or much about them. I also totally agree with you that parents need to step up and raise their children to be honest and respectful. However, I don't agree that this is their only way to get attention, nor is it an appropriate outlet for gaining attention. Instead of throwing rocks at people, why don't they volunteer to clean up the highway? Read to grade school kids? Cook meals, clean houses, or do yard work for the elderly and disabled? The list goes on and on. "Needing" attention is a selfish attitude. You need to be happy being who you are and not getting approval from your "gang family" or anyone else. These "gang members" are not children, they are adults and need to take responsibility for their own actions. I assume you're all smart enough to know right from wrong... make the right choice. And if you make the wrong choice, you'll just have to get used to people poking fun at you!
Posted by gladimgone on May 8, 2008 at 9:34 a.m. (Suggest removal)Hasn't SJPD in the past stated there are no gangs whatsoever around here?
Njones60 is correct, the names Criminals and Posse are, ummmm, patheti-sad at best. How about:
The St. Joe REALLY Bad Guys
Posted by shockedandamazed on May 8, 2008 at 9:36 a.m. (Suggest removal)Rebels Without A Clue
The Feelings-Hurters
Don't Tell Our Moms, 'K?
The Wannabe's
Gary's Good Time Gang & Glee Club
Come on St. Joe wake up. Gangs are here in St. Joe, believe it or not. These rock throwing juveniles might be to young for the bigger activities or maybe even they are taking out worse people. I don't know. Get out of your bubble and walk around the lower income neighborhoods, they are here. It's just that currently they are out numbered. But that can change easily. This is a call to wake up now. The good old days of leaving children unsupervised, is over. There's a reason why two different groups were throwing rocks at one individual. Just no one is telling the inside story.
Posted by g73 on May 8, 2008 at 4:10 p.m. (Suggest removal)The "decent" folks in the South need to take control of the community before it becomes a total loss. There are some great families who migrated to South St. Joe generations ago and were hard working family oriented people. These families were the fabric of the South side. Well, now it seems that some of the misguided youth feel they are heirs to the throne and they are having their way with things. If you so called gang members are reading this, why don't you find an older person in the community to talk with, maybe they will be able to shed some light on what it takes to make a neighborhood work. Trust me, you will earn more respect from your community by being a positive influence than by being in the police briefs. Think about it.
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