Everyone wondered why I included NJ.com’s Eliot Shorr-Parks in the Field of 64. Certainly not as well known as some other local writers, Eliot just cranks out good work. Today is no different.

Eliot is reporting that twice since 2010, the LAPD has talked to DeSean Jackson about gang related murders. Jackson was not a suspect in either case, but one murder was by a Jaccpot (Jackson’s record label) rapper and the other took place at a house “owned or leased by a member of Jackson’s family.”

Sources told Eliot that the Eagles were concerned over Jackson missing meetings, his work ethic and chemistry with teammates. When they looked into those things, that’s when they discovered some troubling connections:

Acting on unspecified information that Jackson might have knowledge of Shakir’s activities on the night of Watson’s murder, LAPD detective Eric Crosson said he interviewed Jackson on the phone in late 2011. Crosson wouldn’t reveal details of that conversation, but he described Jackson as “cooperative at the time.” Crosson also told NJ.com that he reached out to the Eagles by phone in early 2011 — even before he interviewed Jackson — as a courtesy to alert them to Jackson’s connection to an alleged killer. He never received a response from the team, he said. The following year, the Eagles signed Jackson to a five-year, $48.5 million contract extension. When contacted by NJ.com on Wednesday, the Eagles issued a statement that they “no comment at this time,” and team officials would neither confirm nor deny whether anyone in the front office had spoken to Crosson about Jackson’s ties to a homicide suspect. On Thursday, a source in the organization said current front-office members had been unaware of Jackson’s links to an alleged killer.

A second murder:

A little over a year after the rising NFL star was interviewed by police about his connection to Shakir, Jackson’s name once again made its way onto the desk of Detective Crosson. This time, Jackson’s name surfaced as part of an investigation into a 2012 gang-related murder that occurred outside a South Los Angeles business where a party had taken place. The building was owned or leased by a member of Jackson’s family, police said. During a search of the building, Crosson told NJ.com investigators found several documents belonging to Jackson, including a car title, a gun permit issued in New Jersey and credit-card receipts. After discovering the documents, Crosson said he made multiple attempts to contact Jackson by phone, but never was able to connect with the wide receiver. Crosson added that Jackson was never considered a suspect in the crime.

Crosson went on to talk about how Jackson routinely throws up gang signs and described how the two C’s in Jaccpot was to avoid “CK,” which stands for Crip Killer.

There’s always been this sort of weird undercurrent that Jackson had some involvement with the Crips and that he flashed gang signs in his Instagram photos. Earlier this month, TMZ hopped on that story and actually reported that Jackson was a Crip.

Does this have anything to do with the current trade rumors? Probably. All along fans and media have been searching for a “smoking gun” as to why the Eagles seem so eager to get rid of Jackson. This sort of thing is a good one.

On a related note, I’ve been hearing that the Eagles were quite interested in the ongoing investigation of the burglary at Jackson’s house in January. The inference there is that it was far from a random incident and had something to do with Jackson’s associates– the gang members.

Read Eliot Shorr-Parks’ full story on NJ.com.

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But wait, there’s more! You can commemorate DeSean’s gang affiliations with this limited edition t-shirt, which is on-sale for only $15! In fact, make an offer. Any offer. For real. We need to get rid of these, ya digg?