Dec. 2, 2002, 10:25PM Weapon-toting neighbors declare war on local thugs But police say few gangs there By ZANTO PEABODY Copyright 2002 Houston Chronicle

A band of residents of an East End neighborhood, fed up with cowering on their porches, has decided to respond to street gangs with a two-by-four to the head -- and maybe worse.

The loose collaboration that includes dads, military veterans and young men who spurned gangs has gone on the offensive, patrolling for gang members and attacking at least one when they believed they had caught him committing a crime.

"If we have to use violence, we'll use it," said Frank Black, the posse's leader.

The group began enforcing its own brand of street justice recently after seeking help from city officials and concluding that they couldn't count on Houston police to keep their neighborhood safe.

Black and his partners have agreed to a two-week cease-fire, however, after city officials promised to investigate the problem and put more officers on the streets.

Police added a warning that they will not tolerate vigilante justice and will treat lawbreakers the same, regardless of which side they're on.

Assistant Chief Charles McClelland said the group's efforts could backfire and touch off a new gang skirmish -- one between the residents and street thugs.

The posse confronted gangsters two weeks ago on a street corner and beat a one with a plank after he tried to intimidate a young woman, Black said.

After Black informed city officials by e-mail that he had taken matters into his own hands, the Mayor's Anti-Gang Office began investigating, and Black agreed to the two-week grace period.

Black not only knows the battle could intensify; he hopes it will draw attention to his cause.

"I'm not going to lie to you," he said. "I'm scared. But we've been scared for a long time. I know somebody on our side's liable to get hurt or worse before somebody takes care of (the gangs)."

Black takes issue with what he sees as neglect from the Houston Police Department and the Anti-Gang Office. Gangs have their way on East End streets, he said, urinating in yards, selling drugs in plain view and robbing homes.

From his porch, Black said, he has not seen enough police to deter the criminals.

In addition to Black, the 13-member group includes a pipefitter, a man who resisted a gang invitation, a man whose wife was beaten by gang members, a young woman and eight other men.

Although she doesn't look especially tough, the woman is known in the neighborhood as a "pretty bad son-of-a-gun," fellow group members said.

Members who did not wish to be identified said they carried handguns on patrol last weekend and will do so again.

Two residents made their case to the City Council during a public comment session on Oct. 1. Since then, Black and his cohorts have gained an audience with police supervisors from their local South Central station, including Executive Assistant Chief Joe Brashears.

On Monday, after police learned that the Chronicle was looking into the issue, the blocks near Black's home were teeming with patrol cars and motorcycles.

Elisa Montes, a resident, said she wishes someone would do something about the gangs but fears that a mini-militia might do more harm than good.

"When they come looking for who hit their gang member, how do I know they won't come to my house?" Montes asked.

The working-class East End neighborhood near Jackson Middle School, at 5100 Polk, has its share of gang graffiti painted on warehouses and trash cans. Distant crackles, possibly from gunfire, could be heard from time to time Saturday night. A man was killed there three years ago during a gang initiation.

But to the casual observer, the neighborhood does not appear to be overrun by gangs. Children play in the parks, teenage girls walk home from school alone or in couples and residents work under jacked-up cars parked along the streets.

McClelland said that, while Black may see some gang activity, the area is not especially bad.

"There are no unique crime patterns," said McClelland, who heads South Bureau patrol units. "Crime is not out of control. Residents are not in life-threatening situations."

Police have investigated Black's many calls since early last year. McClelland said undercover officers could not confirm that the young men Black identified truly are gang members.

"Mr. Black definitely has some young people he doesn't like, and the feeling is definitely mutual," McClelland said. "But citizens still can't arm themselves to enforce the law."

A group of young men whom Black pointed out as gang members had the stereotypical look -- including tattoos and baggy, sagging jeans -- but they said they had no gang affiliation. One of them said they had shouting matches with Black but no physical fight.

Adrian Garcia, director the Anti-Gang Office, said forming an armed posse is "a crazy remedy. We would never encourage residents to do that."

A violent response to street thugs might only foment more violence, Garcia said. The gang task force, he said, instead tries to find creative, peaceful resolutions to street conflicts.

In a 1998 case in southeast Houston, Garcia's office found that a family feud centering on two young lovers had sparked what seemed to be a gang war. The office began trying Monday to get to the root of the East End battles.

If a real resurgence in East End gang activity is occurring, Garcia said, it may be because some leaders convicted of crimes in the 1990s are making parole.

The Anti-Gang Office is conducting a study to determine where gang violence is most concentrated in the city. After reviewing 3,000 police reports and interviewing hundreds of schoolchildren and gangsters, Garcia said, the hot spot seems to be in southeast Houston, well south of Black's neighborhood.

But for all the skepticism among city officials, Garcia and McClelland said they will send more officers to the blocks near Jackson Middle School to be sure there is no reciprocal violence against the vigilantes.

"If all these crimes were being reported and we did nothing, then we failed this guy," Garcia said. "Then my job is to go out there and get them out of harm's way."

McClelland believes Black wants police to resolve a dispute between neighbors, not gangs. If members of the vigilante group are found patrolling illegally with weapons, he said, police will disarm them.

-- Anonymous, December 03, 2002