Riverside Gang Raid Nets 20 Members, One Being A Grandma
Operation Tampa Bay 16. Members of the 1200 Blocc Crips criminal street gang have adopted the Tampa Bay Rays baseball team logo to identify their members, equating the team's TB to their "T"welve hundred "B"locc initials. Photo by OfficerGreg via Flickr.
Wednesday night's Riverside gang sweep, Operation Tampa Bay, apprehended 20 suspects, reports KABC.
By mid-morning, members of the 1200 Blocc Crips, one of Riverside's most dangerous street gangs, were behind bars.
"Is this a mortal blow to this gang? Probably not, they're resilient. But it is important for us to keep the pressure on them," said Riverside Police Chief Sergio Diaz.
Authorities - Riverside police, agents with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the California Department of Corrections & Rehabilitation, Corona police, the Riverside County Gang Task Force and other agencies - handled 36 arrest warrants, 19 state search warrants and 21 probation and parole searches.
Men and women of all ages were detained, including one grandmother - an alleged drug dealer.
"They're violent people, they're not people who get up and go to a normal job," said Sgt. Chad Milby of the Riverside Police Department. "Their normal job for them is to get up, go and sell drugs and participate in violent crime."
Several weapons were also seized during the raid, and police hope that the neighborhood can sleep more soundly at night.
