Clanton 14

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Clanton 14
In Los Angeles
Territory Los Angeles, Downtown Los Angeles, Hollywood and North Hollywood
Ethnicity Mexican
Criminal activities Murder, Assault, Drug trafficking, Racketeering, Motor vehicle theft, Witness intimidation, Robbery, Extortion, Burglary, Vandalism, and Theft
Allies Mexican Mafia and Sureños
Rivals 18th Street gang, The Avenues (gang), MS-13, Bloods and Crips

Clanton 14, also known as C14, is one of the oldest Mexican street gang in Los Angeles. Dating back to the early 1930's,[1] A notable precursor to the street gangs that rose to prominence in the 1980s, it remains an active gang today. C14 is under the direct control of the Mexican Mafia.

[edit] History

The gang took its name from Clanton Street, which is now called 14th Place just south of Downtown Los Angeles. (The name was changed, despite neighborhood protests, to make civil service businesses easier to find.)[2][citation needed]

The gang's territority was centered about one mile east of Downtown Los Angeles. A second neighborhood was sanctioned in the late 1950's around Pico Boulevard and Union Avenue, where the gang expanded west. By that time, the gang's territory was bounded by San Pedro Street to the west, 7th/9th Streets to the north, Alameda Street to the east, and Washington Blvd to the south.

The gang was involved in fights against other gangs;[3] in 1942, member Frank Torres was shot by a member of the First Street Gang at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.[4] A decade later, Clanton members were involved in a bar fight that led to the death of Edmund Pacheco, a member of the Loma gang.[5] In 1978, a shootout between Clanton and the rival 18th Street gang gravely injured four people at the corner of 7th and Broadway.[6]

Though overshadowed by the growth of the newer, more dispersed street gangs, Clanton remains powerful in Los Angeles. They have expanded into the Hollywood and North Hollywood area.

Clanton was one of the first gangs to create a significant presence on the Internet, with a "professional quality" website,[7] featuring photos, a detailed history, and message boards on which older and younger members keep in contact and post pictures of art work and become pen-pals with older gang members who are serving time in the California penal system.

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Wills 6. Unsourced yet: It dates as far back as 1922 but 14th Street gang dates back to 1917, as stated by former Police Chief Joe Reed in an article from the 1940's.
  2. ^ (City Archives)
  3. ^ "Gang Shooting" A2.
  4. ^ "Gang Shooting" A2.
  5. ^ "Suspects Held" 2.
  6. ^ "Four Wounded" B3.
  7. ^ Briscoe.

[edit] Bibliography

  • Baker, Bob (1988). "Deeply Rooted in L.A. Chicano Gangs: A History of Violence." Los Angeles Times December 11.
  • Briscoe, Daren (2006). "Netbangers, Beware." MSNBC.com. Retrieved September 17, 2007.
  • (1942). "Police Seize 300 in Boys' Gang Drive; Many Weapons Taken in Roundup Conducted by Hundreds of Officers." Los Angeles Times. August 10.
  • (1942). "Gang Shooting Told in Court." Los Angeles Times August 12.
  • (1953). "Suspects Held in New Gang Killing." Los Angeles Times. December 15.
  • Will, Bob (1953). "Youthful Gangs Active in All Parts of the City for Many Years." Los Angeles Times. December 16.