Gangs Find County ‘Open Territory’ for Drug Customers

VILLAS – Street gangs here? Yes.
Not just here, but in other county towns.
The belief that miles of forests, marshes and 75 miles between here and Camden and Philadelphia shield this area from the drug dealing and violence of street gangs has vanished.
Gangs, such as the Bloods, Crips and the outlaw motorcycle gang Pagans have found a comfortable spot in rural Cape May County, according to county Prosecutor Robert Taylor.
The July 25 arrest here of Oscar Randall, (a.k.a. Diablo) of 27 E. Pacific Ave, an alleged member of the Bloods, shocked many residents, but not law enforcement officials.
Randall was charged, along with 95 other suspected gang members, statewide, with conspiracy to commit racketeering, possession of heroin and marijuana.
State police linked Randall with the Nine Trey set of the Bloods gang.
Concerted law enforcement surveillance had been watching Randall’s activities, and trailed him to such places as Atlantic City, where he met other suspected gang members.
Randall’s drug possession charges are among reasons Taylor said street gangs are seeking rural and suburban markets for illicit drugs.
“They are coming here because the market for selling drugs is a new market for them, and it’s a good market compared to the city,” he said.
In cities, competition for the illegal narcotics forces prices lower, thus making enterprising drug dealers look beyond city limits.
Taylor said the county is “open territory” for gang members to sell such drugs as cocaine, heroin, and crack cocaine and conspiracy to commit homicide.
“Oscar Randall was allegedly a high-level person in the Nine Trey set working from Atlantic City, which seems to be a major base of operations down here in south Jersey,” said Taylor.
Taylor said another arrest was made last week in Wildwood of another suspected Bloods member.
“We are also looking for three of their other members at the present,” Taylor said.
Gangs have gained a foothold in a quarter of the county’s towns, including Wildwood, North Wildwood, Lower and Middle Township, her said.
There are 103 known Bloods in Wildwood and Woodbine, Taylor said.
County law enforcement agencies are targeting the Bloods, who have “their own graffiti and their own codes,” he said.
Signs that mark gang territory may be mistaken by the unaware as simply graffiti on walls, sidewalks and overpasses.
A Star of David with “Crip for Life” is an example. “Bloods Die,” “Max Out” and “Young,” “Blood Killer” are among others.
An “X” through a gang’s graffiti is a mark of one gang’s disrespect for another,” said Taylor.
To show how widespread a gang’s influence might be, Taylor cited two high-level Bloods arrested in New York City.
“They were found in possession of a stolen handgun from Lower Township, so the Bloods connection is somewhere,” Taylor said.
“Mainly, they want to get out in the marketplace and sell their drugs,” said the prosecutor.
“They are known to be violent among themselves over territories or with drug deals that have gone bad,” he added.
Taylor cited a gunfight in Wildwood, several years ago which might have stemmed from such a drug connection.
Some places in the county – Avalon, Stone Harbor and Sea Isle City – have thus far not seen any gang activity, he said.
Bloods’ members number about 4,064 of all races