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By JIM VAN NOSTRAND; Times Leader Staff Writer
Saturday, May 13, 1995     Page: 1A

DALLAS TWP. — Township police arrested five suspected gang members and
seized a small arsenal of stolen weapons in a sweep that began late Thursday
night and continued Friday morning.
   
All five arrested are male juveniles ranging in age from 15 to 17, police
said. Four live in Dallas Township and the other in neighboring Franklin
Township.
    All are students in the Dallas School District, police said. And all were
involved in some way with the “187 Gang.” The name refers to Section 187 of
the California penal code, which deals with murder.
   
The youths were known to wear bandanas, tattoos and earrings signifying
membership and were part of a loose-knit collection of known gangs in the
Wyoming Valley area, including the GLPs and Third-World Knights, police said.
   
“If we haven’t hurt it, we sure in the hell got their attention,” Dallas
Township Police Chief Carl Miers said of the 187 Gang. “Some were in the inner
circle, some were in the outer circle.
   
“I can say the parents were surprised at the activities their children were
involved in.”
   
One of the weapons seized was a .44-caliber Magnum, a long-barreled
revolver made famous in Clint Eastwood’s “Dirty Harry” movies, complete with
Black Talon “cop killer” bullets.
   
Black Talons are high-powered hollow-point bullets designed to flatten on
impact and leave razor-sharp barbs in the victim’s body. They were outlawed by
the Brady Law in 1994, but ammunition sold before the legislation passed is
legal.
   
Other weapons included a combat-style “Survival Master” knife, a 9 mm
semiautomatic pistol, a .357-caliber Magnum revolver and an Intratec
.22-caliber semiautomatic machine pistol with 1,500 rounds of ammunition.
   
All the weapons were taken from a Dallas Township homeowner in two
burglaries Saturday and Tuesday, Miers said. The victim gave police the name
of a suspect, who was among the five arrested.
   
Arrest papers filed Friday charged four of the youths with burglary, theft,
criminal conspiracy and firearms violations for entering the house and taking
the weapons.
   
The fifth youth, a 15-year-old described as the ringleader, is charged with
receiving stolen property, manufacturing and possession of a controlled
substance (marijuana) and an unspecified probation violation.
   
The 15-year-old is known to harbor strong anti-establishment and anarchist
sentiments, as well as a keen interest in explosive devices, Miers said.
Witnesses have told police that he has built pipe-type bombs strong enough to
lift portions of concrete pavement.
   
Police are investigating reports that the youth might have downloaded
bomb-making instructions from the Internet, a worldwide computer network.
Investigators have no physical evidence of that, and he isn’t charged with any
explosives violations, Miers said. Fuses for toy rockets, which theoretically
could be used to detonate an explosive, were seized.
   
Police also are investigating alleged threats made to family members of the
homeowner who was burglarized, such as “I’ll blow up your house, blow up your
car, blow up your dog,” Miers said.
   
Four of the suspected gang members will remain in Luzerne County’s juvenile
detention facility during the weekend; one was released to the custody of his
parents.
   
They are entitled by law to a detention hearing within 72 hours. It is
scheduled for 9:30 a.m. Monday before Luzerne County Orphans Court Judge
Chester Muroski.
   
There are no provisions for bail in the juvenile court system. They could
be released if Muroski determines they aren’t a flight risk or a danger to the
community.
   
Prosecutors aren’t sure yet whether any of the youths could be tried as
adults. If they are found delinquent in juvenile court, the possible penalties
range from probation to confinement in a juvenile institution until the age of
21.
   
Police are still looking for other items from the two burglaries and could
make more arrests in the case, said Miers.
   
Participating in the sweep were five Dallas Township officers, three
officers from neighboring communities and two state police troopers.
   
Luzerne County District Attorney Peter Paul Olszewski Jr. described the
gang activity as one of the most serious situations law enforcement has faced
in Luzerne County in a long time.
   
Olszewski asked parents to be aware of their teenagers’ activities and take
any measures necessary to protect them from criminal influences.
   
box
   
TIMES LEADER/BOB ESPOSITO
   
Weapons seized
   
Dallas Township Patrolman Jeffrey Dennis displays an Intratec .22-caliber
semiautomatic machine pistol seized from some teenagers suspected of burglary.
The teens are suspected of being members of the “187 Gang.” Among the other
weapons seized:
   
A .44-caliber Magnum, the type made famous in Clint Eastwood’s “Dirty
Harry” movies.
   
Black Talon “cop killer” bullets, which are high-powered hollow-point
bullets designed to flatten on impact and leave razor-sharp barbs in the
victim’s body.
   
A combat-style “Survival Master” knife.
   
A 9 mm semiautomatic pistol.
   
A .357-caliber Magnum revolver.
   
1,500 rounds of ammunition.