Law enforcement officials arrested 30 people and seized drugs, firearms and several vehicles Saturday during a series of raids across the Bay Area that were carried out to dismantle one of the region's most notorious and violet gangs, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The first of the raids occured in the 1400 block of Camellia Drive and Gardenia Way in East Palo Alto, about 7 a.m. It was part of the larger operation involving around 500 city, state and federal personnel at about 30 homes in East Palo Alto, Menlo Park, San Jose, Emeryville, Gilroy, Sunnyvale, Oakland, San Mateo, Redwood City, Hayward, Belmont, Fremont, San Leandro and Newark.
According to residents in the East Palo Alto neighborhood that was raided, smoke bombs were detonated, doors were broken and fences tore down as part of the operation there. Neighbors watched in surprise as local humane society officials confiscated pit bulls from homes on the block.
The arrests stemmed from an 18-month-long investigation into the so-called 'Taliban' gang that was sparked by an increase in violence, East Palo Alto Police Department Capt. Carl Estelle said Saturday near where the raid in his city took place.
Authorities said the group used the name 'Taliban' for shock value.
The East Palo Alto and Menlo Park-based 'Taliban' gang formed in 2002, an off-shoot of a smaller gang called the Midtown Hogs, in response to a conflict between the rival Sac Street gang, authorities said. The Taliban gang started with 10 members but grew in size and force when the Sac Street gang was dismantled by police in 2006 in "Operation: Disrupt and Dismantle."
"(Saturday's raids) will result in dismantling one of the most notorious gangs in East Palo Alto," Police Chief Ronald Davis said at a news conference following the raids. "I'm confident that this will have a positive effect and reduce violence in East Palo Alto. But tomorrow is a new day and we will target a new gang."
Menlo Park Police Chief Bruce Goitia called the raids "the most significant operation in the last 20 years" in securing the safety and quality of life of his community.
Members of the 'Taliban' gang consist of men ranging in age from from about 20 to 60 years old who wear green camouflage, police said.
Its members have been arrested for at least 237 crimes and are suspected of being involved in at least 12 homicides, as well as 30 violent felonies including armed and strong-arm robberies in the Bay Area over the past six years, according to FBI Special Agent Joseph Schadler.
"We're trying to dismantle the gang," Schadler said. "They're a bad bunch of folks."
East Palo Alto police Detective Ed Soares said the gang routinely traffics cocaine and other drugs and uses weapons such as high-caliber handguns and semi-automatic rifles to terrorize the community.
He noted that the methods used by this group and other street gangs have become increasingly sophisticated with the advancement of technology, making them more difficult to target.
"It's a constant cat and mouse game," Soares said.
Those arrested in Saturday's raids were slated to make court appearances on Monday in federal court in Oakland. The suspects were identified by the FBI as:
Alfred Washington, 42
Amanuel Hinruy, 22
Andre Anderson, 33
Anthony Pratt, 33
Christine James, 30
Darrel Snowden, 28
Delin Cole, 20
Dontae Gardner, 32
Emiliano Morfin, 22
Gary Carter, 33
James Bagby, 24
Jason Fitch, 26
Jason Reese, 27
Javier Yepez, 22
John Schofield, 19
Juan Lopez, 20
Kevin White, 30
Lonnie Brown, 22
Marcus Lewis, 29
Nathan Farris, 25
Nathan Gardner, Jr., 36
Raymond Richard, 29
Rajnesh Lal, 26
Rodney Mason, 19
Sharmaine Porter, 30
Stoney Gipson, 24
Tahir Millener, 30
Towanna Deldridge, 29
Vianna Powell, 40
Warren Jordan, Sr., 47
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Foo datz da ville dumbfuk
xMW2xGERRYx5 1 month ago
@realstreetkid do they make u laugh when they fuck your girlfriend backwards???
rickflare101 1 month ago
You might think Taliban is a black gang, "but many legal children of very good citizens which are undocumented earning a living to acquire citizenship. Their children get caught up in those gangs because they have no where else to turn. Cheif of The IMF is aware of that and politics like that are effecting Wallstreet, Greece, Italy, effecting Mexico negatively, and enraging China because they like the U.S. and they are currently allocating their investing toward Europe.
N.W.O.
emuguy2003 4 months ago
@ moneyilltee view what epa650chp stated. That YouTube member below my statement said fuck all them N words. Look at this video closely a white female news reporter addressing a topic w/ a black officer talking about crystal clear. The female being escorted out is a white Hispanic woman covering her face w/ her long black hair tilting her head forward.
To answer your question your right and wrong @ moneyilltee.
emuguy2003 4 months ago
@ moneyilltee I will further elaborate. If you notice Stanford has a brown exterior which is not a lucrative shade yet it is very comforting. In other words Black people in recent times are acting as though their white in a Country founded by Spanyards & English.
emuguy2003 4 months ago
@moneyilltee that is entirely accurate although you are on to something. I've had many roommates of many backgrounds in Northern Cali. Ranging from Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, & Ethiopian. My Ethiopian roommate read the Quran and kneeled religiously to a rug.
emuguy2003 4 months ago
@emuguy2003 EPA's "Taliban" is a black gang
moneyilltee 4 months ago
Of all the people arrested not one person sports a, "Middle Eastern Name."
emuguy2003 4 months ago
This sums up the just to it. If your not a business owner or in a nice big position in California especially Northern California and you don't live in a so called respectable area many people want you out of California or in jail period.
Reverse racisim 101
emuguy2003 4 months ago
I had a good long conversion w/ a black guy walking w/ a white woman in Palo Alto. I found out personally what this is all about.
Black and white people in this country have it out for white Hispanics in this country because they look, "Middle Eastern."
emuguy2003 4 months ago