A second and burgeoning "pipeline" leads to Los Angeles and the "Crips" streetgang. Evidence of involvement by Los- Angeles based gangs on Chicago's Westside is continually being gathered by Chicago police and paramedics. On at least two occasions weapons and explosives have been confiscated, that supposedly belong to members of the now infamous California gang.
For example, a November 4th, 1991 "raid" on a garage in the 1400 block of So. Ridgeway Ave. resulted the in the confiscation of Seven (7) military fragmentation hand grenades, three (3) Soviet "AK-47" Assault rifles, one (1) Soviet "SKS" Assault rifle, one (1) British "Sten" Machinegun, one (1) Ruger Semi-auto carbine, several 9mm and .45 caliber pistols, and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. A burglary suspect that voluntarily helped to locate the weapons is quoted as saying that the weapons belonged to a member of the L.A. "Crips" street gang.
Reports have also been recieved that members of the "Crips" are said have formed an temporary alliance with members of at least two factions of the Westside Chicago "Vice Lords" street gang. The alliance is said to have involved the outright distribution of large quantities of drugs and the trading of guns for drugs. The "Vice Lords" are said to control much of the drug traffic on the Westside and are thought to expanding into other areas of the country. Reportedly there are Chicago connected "chapters" of the Vice Lords in such unlikely places as Green Bay, Wisconsin and Des Moines, Iowa.
Due to a desire for expansion by both the Chicago and L.A. gangs into untapped drug markets, a reputable crime analyst who has requested anonymity, says that in some ways the linking of the "Crips" and "Vice-Lords" is "an evil natural". He said, "They both are in it for the money... and in Chicago, the Vice Lords already control much of the traffic on the Westside". "They either have to form some sort of strategic alliance or fight each other for each block and street corner", he continued.
"If they combine forces, the `Vice Lords' obtain vast quantities of drugs and exotic weaponry, and the "Crips' are afforded the protection that they need to operate in a `hostile' environment", he continued. "In the case of any out-of-state expansion their combining resources makes good business sense because, together, there is often no one with the power to fight the two of them... in the smaller towns that they are now invading", he told EmergencyNet NEWS.
"Presently, the violent struggles are about determining who gets what share of what territory and how the `spoils' will be distributed", the veteran reviewer said. "There are also several groups that do not want to form any sort of alliance and are protecting their `turf' with automatic weapons and explosives... the large numbers of dead and wounded in recent months are the results of this resistance", the analyst concluded.
An informed drug enforcement agent say that there is also evidence of the "Crips" attempting to also gain a foothold on parts of Chicago's Southside. Recent reports have been received that suggest that members of the "Crips" have been linked with selling drugs and guns in the vicinity of the Chicago Housing Authority's Robert Taylor Homes.
Another report indicates that members of the "Crips" are thought to be fighting with members of both the "Black Disciples" and the "Gangster Disciples" in order to further drug distribution networks in the Chicago Housing Authority projects. There is a definite difference between the two Chicago groups, and they also frequently shoot at each other for control of the "valuable" drug territories in the South State Street corridor.
Somebody probably already beat me to it, and I ain't going through all the pages in this thread, but...........