Stoop side
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Stoop Side, also known as The Stoop Side, is the name of the infamous street gang from the Los Angeles area.1 The gang began in 2001 from the slums of Whittier, Santa Fe Springs and Pico Rivera California. To this date the posse, as they refer to themselves, consists of 10 different chapters. These chapters are spread out across the world and have there headquarters in: Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City, Mexico City, Paris, Moscow, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Bangkok, and the slums of Shaolin.
Only in its 5th year of existence the gang is said to have reached nearly 5,000 members, spread across three continents.6 Stoop side has become one of the fastest growing criminal groups in the world. This is mainly attributed to the fact that gang members is very difficult to indentify, covering most gang-oriented tatoos and insigna much like the Japanese Yakuza.
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[edit] Origins
The Stoop Side was founded in Santa Fe Springs, California (an industrial incorporation of Los Angeles proper) in 2001 by 16 year old Alex "Blacktooth" Ochoa and Tres "Trips" Colacion. Colacion and Ochoa intially called the gang by several different names before setteling on Stoop Side, derived from Stoop where they often hung out. The name Stoop Side was first introduced by Saint Paul Double Edge Sword newspaper in a description of a group of hooligans who were seen frequenting the stoop of a class room door.
[edit] Expansion
The two young boys quickly attracted the attention of fellow class mates. Soon the gang recruited a plethora of new members, including: "MC" Rich McCullar, "Fat" Chris Ochoa, Pancho "Blackie" Garcia, Andrew "Steak-Sauce" O'Neil and future cop killer Adrian "2-G" Camacho2. By 2002 the gang controlled much of St. Paul High School (Santa Fe Springs, California), harassing its student body with various scams including, but not limited too; embezzlement, fraud, money laundering, racketeering.
Only three years after the gang formed they had already extended their reach across the country. Andrew "Steak-Sauce" O'Neil was sent to San Francisco, assuring the gangs growth. In San Francisco the gang took roots in the Tenderloin and China Town districs forming heavy alliances with Chinese immigrants.4 When several undocumented Chinese, Stoop Side members were arrested and deported they brought the Stoop Side gang to main land Asia. The gang has enjoyed a great deal of growth in Asia and now has chapters Tokyo, Bangkok, and Shaolin5
[edit] References
1.Street Gang Patterns and Policies (Studies in Crime and Public Policy) by Malcolm W. Klein and Cheryl L. Maxson 2.NC Times: Adrian Camacho 3.Gangbangers: Understanding The Deadly Minds Of America's Street Gangs by Loren W. Christensen (Paperback - Nov 2005) 4.The Gangs of San Francisco by Herbert Asbury 5. The Asian Gang: Ethnicity, Identity, Masculinity by Claire Alexander 6.Studying Youth Gangs (Violence Prevention and Policy) by James Short April 28, 2006
