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| Calif. Prisons Brace for Violence |
| By The Herald |
| Published: 12/12/2005 |
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California's Monterey County Jail, along with police departments and prisons across the country, are being warned of security threats if Stanley "Tookie" Williams is executed. Monterey County sheriff's Chief Deputy Bert Liebersbach confirmed last week that the Sheriff's Office and jail officials have received warnings of threats to local law enforcement stemming from next week's scheduled execution at San Quentin State Prison. Liebersbach's acknowledgement came after California Department of Correction and Rehabilitation officials confirmed a statewide threat to prison staff and police officers. In a Dec. 1 memo to Salinas Valley State Prison warden M.S. Evans obtained by The Herald, investigation officer Roger Martinez warned "all law enforcement" about the impending execution, and asked corrections officers to report retaliation threats to the department's investigations unit in Sacramento. "We have identified a number of threats against correctional staff at our prisons," said CDCR spokeswoman Terry Thornton. "All those threats are being investigated." The warnings spring from a reputed "green light" urging three gangs in prison and on the streets to attack police, according to CDCR sources. "The stuff is still out there: 'We're going to hit a cop,'" said one of the sources, who asked to remain anonymous. One of the gangs involved is the Crips, which Williams co-founded in Los Angeles. Crips are now said to number more than 30,000 in 221 cities across the nation. Corrections officers say they are concerned about a reported alliance of three groups inside prison walls: Crips, their longtime rivals the Bloods, and the San Francisco Bay Area street gang Kumi 415. Officers are also concerned about support for those gangs coming from black Muslim inmates. The three gangs are present in the region's three prisons: Kumi 415s reportedly attacked a Salinas Valley inmate in August 2003, and Crips and 415s have been on lockdown at Pleasant Valley State Prison in Coalinga for much of this year. Corrections officials have known of the threats since at least June 2003, when a prison message was intercepted at Corcoran State Prison authorizing Crips to attack prison staff. Even then, officials linked the plans to retaliation for Williams' death sentence. In response, the prison locked down 1,300 African-American inmates. The state Corrections Department has long defended its policy of locking down groups based on race, saying it prevents violence. Locally, authorities are being cautious but haven't taken extraordinary precautions. "At this time, we see no need to beef up security, but we're being vigilant," Liebersbach said. "We haven't had a real serious Crip problem in a couple years." But that doesn't mean the gang doesn't have a local presence. "There are quite a few Crips with (gang) tattoos in the jail right now," said Assistant District Attorney Chris Harter. "Currently we're prosecuting cases of Crips from Los Angeles with Seaside connections, and Crips from Seaside." Though sheriff's deputies say the number of Crips in jail is low, a Southern California Crips member was allegedly behind a recent attack on a sheriff's deputy. On July 4, Michael Emmanuel Rayford an alleged gang member - reportedly stabbed Deputy Humberto Coronado in the throat while being escorted to an isolation cell. Coronado needed stitches as a result of the attack. |
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