Going after gangs

APPLE VALLEY - The young man with a tattoo on his right forearm that read "R.I.P. Bucky" said he came to the High Desert to get away from the gangs in Los Angeles.

"He told me originally that he was from Rollin' 40s down in L.A.," sheriff's Deputy Eddie Bachman said during a Wednesday morning patrol through the streets of Apple Valley. "He says he's inactive in the gang."

Whether or not the man actually is semi-retired from gang life, San Bernardino County is already home to an estimated 16,193 gang members, probation Officer Nathan Scarano said Wednesday morning during the inaugural meeting of the High Desert Gangs and Drugs Task Force.

An estimated 2,107 those gang members live in the High Desert, Scarano said. And those estimates are on the low end.

"There is no way we can know every single gang member and every single gang," he said.

That said, the newly established High Desert Gangs and Drugs Task Force is intended to be a place where those working against gangs can share the information they do know.

The new body is an extension of the San Bernardino Countywide Gangs and Drugs Task Force. Formed in 1989, that group's affiliates include police departments, school districts and nonprofits.

Kim Epps, a county probation officer who is also the Countywide Task Force's strategic plan coordinator, said the group's purpose is to be a vehicle for planning, research and coordination.

Scarano spent much of Wednesday's meeting delivering a presentation on how black, Latino and white gangs use graffiti and tattoos to identify themselves and communicate.

"Time Magazine has nothing on graffiti on the street," Scarano said. "Graffiti tells me who's in town, who's doing what, who's going to get shot in the future."

Since gangs are often active at schools, Scarano said a working knowledge of gang insignia can help educators know which students are involved in gang activity.

Bachman, a five-year member of the Sheriff's Department and a recent addition to the Apple Valley station's two-man gang team, spends his work days investigating suspected gang crimes and keeping track of the town's gang members.

He went on patrol Wednesday morning after the new task force's first meeting wrapped up.

The young man who said he left Los Angeles was interviewed during a traffic stop.

The young man, who appeared to be in his 20s and wore a faded black T-shirt, jeans and a black-and-white Dodgers cap, calmly answered Bachman's questions and lifted his shirt to reveal he had no gang tattoos on his stomach or back.

The deputy took the young man's thumb print and used a camera to capture images of the young man's face and tattoos. A records check showed the young man had missed a court appearance, so he received a ticket with a new date to show up in court.

"It wasn't the crime of the century or anything," noted Bachman, adding that the interview would mean another chunk of information would be added to the station's intelligence on who is in and around the High Desert gang scene.

The new High Desert group is slated to meet once every two months to give anti-gang forces there a chance to discuss policies with each other, said Michael Martinez, the Countywide Task Force's chairman.

He stressed the importance of finding successful programs designed to prevent gang activity and drug abuse, rather than simply relying upon cops to haul gangsters to jail.

"Back in the 1990s, we thought we could arrest our way out of this problem," Martinez said. "Were we successful? No. Just look at our prison population."