Crackdown on E Block gang should reassure city residents

Consider it Youngstown’s Rite of Spring: 12 suspected members of the E Block Gang taken off the streets of the lower West Side by law enforcement in a show of force that gave residents even more reason to celebrate the end of the brutal winter.

Arraignments were held in late May in Mahoning County Common Pleas Court on charges ranging from aggravated robbery, felonious assault, trafficking in cocaine, trafficking in heroin, trafficking in counterfeit controlled substances, aggravated riot and participating in a criminal gang.

Four of the defendants face the felonious-assault and aggravated-robbery charges for the beating and robbery of a man outside a Mahoning Avenue bar in September 2013.

All the accused entered not guilty pleas, but Youngstown residents can rest assured that some bad guys will be behind bars when all’s said and done. That’s because the gangs of Youngstown have been targeted by law enforcement for some time, with many of them now guests of the federal or state prison systems.

Indeed, just last August, members of the Vic Boys criminal street gang were nabbed in a similar crackdown, resulting in the arrest of nine individuals.

Then, as now, the charges included street- level drug trafficking and gun violence.

The war on drug-pushing violent gangs was launched several years ago by a consortium of law enforcement called the Mahoning Valley Violent Crimes Task Force. It operates under the auspices of the FBI.

In last month’s roundup of the E Block members, the task force was assisted by the U.S. Marshal’s Violent Fugitive Task Force, Cleveland FBI SWAT, and the Mahoning Valley Crisis Response Team.

While the case against the 12 will play out in court, there’s an element to the investigation that is worthy of attention.

Here’s how Assistant Mahoning County Prosecutor Martin Desmond, who has prosecuted several gang cases across different sides of Youngstown, explained it:

“Probably the biggest aid we have in cases like this is public involvement.”

That comment should become the rallying cry for block watches and other grass-roots organizations committed to getting gang-bangers and other criminals off the streets of the city.

Reluctant residents

One of the often-heard complaints from Youngstown police and others in the criminal justice system is that residents in neighborhoods held hostage by the gangs are reluctant to even share information confidentially.

In fact, the refusal of witnesses to come forward and testify in court has resulted in serious cases being dismissed.

Police Chief Robin Lees, speaking at a news conference at which the indictments of the E Block members were announced, said the probe was launched last year based on tips from residents, but because of the ongoing investigation, he was unable to indicate to them in any way that relief was imminent.

The inability to share such information was frustrating for the chief, who has been around long enough to know that many residents have a distrust of law enforcement and thus aren’t prepared to stick their necks out.

Mahoning County Prosecutor Paul Gains, a former city police officer, urged residents with complaints to get in touch with the police or the prosecutor’s office.

The capture of the E Block members is proof that complaints are taken seriously and are acted on — even if it takes a couple of years.

“These complaints do get routed to the appropriate people,” Gains said.

Community leaders, especially members of the clergy and leaders of block watches, should use last month’s arrest of the West Side gang members to impress upon residents that law enforcement is not the enemy and that cooperation is the key to getting rid of the dregs of society who are destroying the social and physical fabric of the city.