Jersey City police, in conjunction with the Hudson County Narcotics Officers, scored one point in the war against gang-related crime last week when U.S. Marshals arrested alleged “United Blood Nation” (Bloods) leader Tommy Terrell Thompson.
Thompson, a.k.a “Omega Red,” is accused of having been the leader, or “Five Star General” of the Jersey City Bloods “set” known as “Sex, Money, and murder – 252.” A set is an organizational unit, also called a crew in traditional organized crime parlance.
Gangs are involved in everything from graffiti, drinking in public, and drug use, to murder.
“They commit all types of crimes,” said Police Department Spokesperson Edgar Martinez.
According to new police director, Sam Jefferson, gangs have changed the dynamic of crime in Jersey City over the past 10 years.
“Years ago, the average street crime was purse snatching, chain snatching burglary and car theft,” said Jefferson. “Now they’re using high-tech weapons, and they use them on each other and in robberies.”
Thompson is the last alleged member of the set to be arrested.
Starting last summer, city and county police began using surveillance, undercover buys, and wire-tapping to track the actions and gather evidence on alleged gang activity, leading to a slew of arrests last fall. Thompson, knowing he was wanted, left Jersey City, prosecutors said.
“He knew we were looking for him, and he made himself scarce from the area,” said County Prosecutor Edward DeFazio.
The prosecutor engaged the U.S. Marshal Fugitive Task Force, who arrested Thompson last week coming out of a go-go bar in Passaic, officials said.
The U.S. Attorney’s office will prosecute members of the group, including Thompson. In Hudson County, they will be charged with racketeering and conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, in addition to other charges.
“It was a fine example of interagency cooperation,” said DeFazio. “The Jersey City Police Department, based on their street work, realized there was what appeared to be gang activity. They contacted the prosecutor’s office, our narcotics detectives, and a joint operation was established.”
Police first noticed alleged Bloods activity in early 2003, after Police Chief Ron Buonocore and Mayor Glenn Cunningham started a gang initiative involving all city precincts.
“We saturate the area with undercovers who gather information,” said Martinez. “Then we arrest the individuals.”
After making arrests, the police department puts in uniformed officers to make sure that the criminal activity does not return.
“[Buonocore] doesn’t just want them to just move to another area.” said Martinez. “If you find out they move from one location to five blocks away, you are there, because of intelligence gathering and the deployment of officers.”
DeFazio said that while the Bloods are firmly established in Essex County and New York City, their foothold in Hudson County is weak.
“They [gangs] are all weak,” said Martinez. “Maybe you have remnants of them, but you don’t have a hierarchy. That is not the same kind of threat. You have to be vigilant, so wherever they turn, there is no resting place.”
Gangs increase violence, threaten communities
Gangs increase crime damage because people tend to act more brazenly violent in groups. “There is ancillary violence that seems to occur when there is this type of gang activity because when people travel in packs,” said DeFazio. “That’s a psychology of crime. When groups of young men and women get together, they feel that they’re invincible and powerful, and that makes them more dangerous.”
The Bloods exist in cities throughout the country. Other franchise gangs that exist or have existed in Jersey City include the Latin Kings, the Crips and Vietnamese gangs. There are also smaller local gangs.
DeFazio estimated that the Bloods brought in $10,000 to $20,000 a week of street-level distribution of drugs including heroin, cocaine, and marijuana.
According to Martinez, a gang is defined as two or more individuals who are involved in criminal activity or have designated signs for self identification, such as tattoos or colors.
Preventive measures
Martinez says education is a key to keeping teenagers out of gangs, and said that the chief incorporate the school resource office and approaches churches and other community groups to get involved.
“We can try to work with community leaders to assist them in trying to get [their kids] out of a gang, or educating them about what gangs are about,” Martinez said.