As many as 30 law enforcement officers fanned out to arrest seven local suspects last week in relation to a what police officials are calling a recent “gang-related retaliatory” assault on a Jersey City youth.
According to New Jersey State Police Public Information Officer Sgt. Gerald Lewis, the seven individuals arrested were: Gilberto Rivas, 21, of Union City; Frederick DeLeon, 20, Union City; Miguel Grullon, 19 of North Bergen, and Juan C. Fernandez, 22 of North Bergen. Three other subjects, all juveniles, were also arrested and are alleged associates of the Dominicans Taking Charge (DTC) gang.
According to state police officials, Rivas, DeLeon, Grullon and the three juveniles were charged with aggravated assault, possession of weapons for unlawful purposes and conspiracy. Fernandez was arrested on a criminal warrant issued by the Union City Municipal Court.
Said Lewis, “This was a cooperative investigation between us and many other agencies. And that is such an important component. Any time we’re dealing with [alleged] gang activity, it becomes a quality-of-life issue.”
Union City Mayor Brian Stack, whose administration has made quality of life issues a priority, praised the various agencies involved in the arrests.
“I praise the efforts of not only the New Jersey State Police Gang Unit,” Stack said, “but our own police department, led by acting Chief Charles Everett.”
A major component of the arrests and the continuing investigation was that all the agencies involved were sharing information and intelligence. The arrests were a as a cooperative effort involving the New Jersey State Police Gang Unit, the New Jersey State Police T.E.A.M.S. (Technical and Emergency Mission Specialists) Unit, the Union City Police Department, the Hoboken Police Department, the Jersey City Police Department and the New Jersey Department of Corrections and the New Jersey Department of Parole.
“This is so crucial,” said Union City Police Department Detective Captain Brian Barrett, who is also the Commander of the Detective Bureau. “All of the agencies involved are sharing information. Nothing is held back. In fact, a lot of the information that we get from, say, the state police, isn’t only localized. We get information that may not be occurring in Union City, but it still helps us.”
Added Barrett, who was involved in the joint investigation, “My credo is that I’ll take whatever information and resources I can get.”
For years, old police wisdom had separate police agencies keeping their collected information close to their collective vests. However, in recent years, that thought process has changed. In light of the events of Sept. 11, 2001, more and more law enforcement agencies are seeing the advantage of sharing information for the greater collective good.
Detective Juan Colon of the New Jersey State Police Gang Unit echoed those sentiments when he said in a recent interview, “This is an intelligence-driven initiative that targets street gangs, and we work with municipalities. We have sources of information out in the streets.”
Barrett said, “In Union City, if you make the decision to become related to a gang, we’re coming for you. And we have a lot of resources at our disposal.”
Barrett said that the arrested members are being investigated related to a “retaliatory” assault several months ago in which gang members allegedly beat a Jersey City youth.
One suspect from Hoboken has not yet been suspended. The state declined to release his name.
Part of keeping children out of trouble starts in the schools, Barrett said.
“Our D.A.R.E. program addresses many of the issues that may cause a young person to become involved in gangs,” he said. “We also have officers that go into the schools and act to cut [gang activity] off early.”
The investigation, according to officials, is ongoing.