Cops tell gang members their days are numbered

Jen Lawson

Friday, April 9, 2004 | 11:03 a.m.

Local law enforcement has a message for gang members committing violent crimes in the Las Vegas Valley: We will get you.

A task force comprising officers from Metro and North Las Vegas Police gang units, the U.S. Marshals Service and state Parole and Probation officers, announced this morning that they have arrest warrants for 187 gang members and began searching aggressively for them today.

"If you're out there and you're wanted, we're going to do everything we can to find you," Capt. Gary Schofield of Metro's Gang Crimes Section said.

The warrants are for crimes ranging from probation violations to attempted murder.

This is the latest of many attempts to make a dent in gang crimes. Schofield said a recent escalation of local violence has prompted the first of what he said would be many operations to quell gang activities.

This effort was sparked by a recent, ongoing battle between the Crips and the Bloods, Los Angeles-based gangs operating locally.

Since January, there have been 54 gang-related shootings in Metro's jurisdiction, the most recent this morning, police said, noting that six of the shootings were fatal, though not the one this morning.

The concerted effort to apprehend these offenders will last about a week, but Schofield said that doesn't mean people who aren't arrested this week will not be caught.

"The cycle of gang violence has to stop," Schofield said. "These offenders have to understand we are watching."

Lt. Lewis Roberts of Metro's gang crimes section said detectives have noticed a "huge influx" of gang members coming to Las Vegas from Southern and Northern California, Arizona, Detroit, Indiana and Chicago.

"That's caused us huge problems," he said.

Roberts said gang members are drawn to Las Vegas "because it is a 24-hour town." And he said gang members can sell drugs for a higher price here because Las Vegas is a smaller city than Los Angeles and there are fewer outlets for illegal narcotics.

Schofield said that on any given weekend night there are fewer than 10 gang unit officers on the street because of Metro's ongoing financial woes. There are more than 400 gangs operating in the Las Vegas Valley and thousands of members and associates.