Oakland gang raids may be 1st of many ON THE EAST BAY

Police Chief Howard Jordan, walking through the First Friday event March 1, says the raids are part of a concerted effort to stop gangs. Police Chief Howard Jordan, walking through the First Friday event March 1, says the raids are part of a concerted effort to stop gangs. Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle Photo: Lacy Atkins, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close Oakland gang raids may be 1st of many 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

The police raids that last week all but dismantled one of Oakland's most violent street gangs included a letter warning of the price to be paid for violent criminal behavior.

The last line reads, "You may have friends, associates, and family members who need to know that engaging in gun violence will bring this kind of special attention. If you care about them, you will share this message."

It's been a long time coming, but Oakland city officials have finally clued into the reality that olive branches and empty threats are no way to combat violent crime.

And last week the gloves came off.

The city's legal troubles linked to police reform efforts may be why its latest effort came with a compassionate letter urging criminals to change their ways. But it was armed men and women with badges and the authority to enforce the rule of law that made the difference.

The city's earlier attempts to reason with some of the same suspects arrested last week failed miserably.

A call-in program last fall that is part of the city's Operation Ceasefire, which sought to get gang members to agree to stop shooting one another, had no effect.

Oakland Police Chief Howard Jordan described sitting in a room with more than a dozen suspected criminals, listening to them deny any involvement, knowledge or association with any criminal wrong-doing.

Within 10 days of that meeting, members of one gang, identified as the Case gang, breached the treaty by firing on their rivals.

Authorities said the daily routine of the Case gang members was lounging around the house, smoking weed, playing video games and getting high on "robo," street slang for Robitussin cough syrup, and then inevitably piling into a car and going on a "hunt" for their enemies or robbery opportunities. "They don't have jobs. They're not in school. They don't have days off. These are crooks. They have to keep busy," Jordan said.

Members of the Case gang followed a no-holds-barred policy to shoot on sight any rival gang member, regardless of the circumstances, surroundings or potential danger to anyone in the vicinity. Some of the most vicious, ruthless members of the crew were teens, Jordan said.

"They went out and tried to do robberies or find anyone associated with the rival gang," the chief said. When that didn't work, they would often drive past a rival's home and shoot up the place, he said. "Every day, day in, day out, that's all they did."

In all, 17 people were charged with crimes ranging from pimping to promoting prostitution, from shootings on occupied homes to shooting other people. The crew was awash in assault weapons and handguns. It was made up of men and women who range in age from 18 to 32.

People who carry out such carnage on any city streets aren't likely to change their ways because of a friendly reminder - or a letter - that focuses on their behavior.

These are people who require that the world adjust to meet their needs, and never the other way around.

It's high time their actions carried consequences.

A few years back, Jordan had a conversation on the street with a man who described himself as an ex-convict, former gang member - and the child of teen parents. His advice to Jordan on ending the violence and reversing the lives of at-risk youth was to address teen pregnancy.

"Who do you think is raising all those children?" the man asked Jordan. "Other teenage gangsters."

It will take long-term solutions to end the cycle of violence centered in Oakland's African American community, and one of the first steps of that process is to identify those committing the violence, weed out the juvenile delinquents who idolize them, and wage war against the worst of the worst.

Jordan issued a fair warning to anyone who continues to engage in violence in Oakland and vowed to carry out actions similar to last week's raid within the year.

"This is not the end," he said. "I want them to know that more is coming. We are coming."