Click below to read the full Anniston Star story about how Anniston law enforcers and residents are split on the definition of area “gangs.”
Putting Anniston’s ‘gangs’ in focus
A member of YNTO talks about the group from his home last week. Bill Wilson/The Anniston Star
In a matter of months, “gangs” has been transformed into a buzzword, a touchstone people reach for when discussing the recent rash of homicides in the Anniston area.
District Attorney Brian McVeigh identified criminal gang activity as a focus of law enforcers for the first time during a September press release.
In a follow-up interview with The Star, he identified two area groups as gangs and said the crackdown stemmed from increased public concern in the wake of the shooting death of an Anniston police officer and other high-profile crimes.
But McVeigh also emphasized this in that September interview: There is no indisputable evidence that ties gang activity to Officer Justin Sollohub’s shooting death or to any of the other 15 homicides in Calhoun County this year.
And despite recently arresting more than 46 people in a gang-focused warrants roundup, McVeigh and police officials have been consistently tight-lipped about the specifics of these so-called gangs, including how they’re connected to the recent spate of violent crimes.
Read more:Anniston Star – Putting Anniston’s ‘gangs’ in focus
