Police tell of gangs on spree

Three gangs made up mostly of high school-aged youths are terrorizing the southwest valley with violent stick-up jobs, Las Vegas police said.

Describing the gangs' manner of attack as similar to "packs of rabid dogs," police say the groups are made up of 20 to 30 youths ranging in age from 12 to 20.

Sgt. Jim Young, who works with the Southwest Area Command's problem-solving unit, said that since the groups have come on law enforcement's radar, the attacks have grown increasingly violent.

Police first noticed the gangs in January. Their criminal enterprise started small, with graffiti and alcohol consumption. Then it escalated to burglaries.

Young said the gangs found some guns during burglaries and the stick-ups started. He said the groups pick on random victims. They ask for directions or stake out ATM machines, or follow drivers home as they're talking on cell phones.

The attacks occur in spurts, sometimes four or five times in a few hours.

In recent weeks, the robberies have ended with violence. Young said the attackers have pistol-whipped and punched their victims and fired guns at them, even when victims cooperate with the robbers.

That has led police to conclude that the groups are committing violence for the sport of it, Young said.

"These are not underprivileged kids. Some live in gated communities," Young said. "Some of these kids don't have a basic respect for human life."

They also have no fear of the juvenile justice system, Young said. In some cases, teens have been arrested at 3 p.m. and have been out robbing again by midnight, he said.

"Sometimes an officer would still be completing reports and the kids would be walking out the door before the officer was done," Young said.

He said police have spoken with prosecutors, and the more violent offenders no longer will be released to their parents.

The gangs are educated and calculating and able to adapt to police tactics. They know the police pursuit policy, Young said. They also know to drop their guns when confronted by police.

The gangs go by the names MOS, which stands for Murder One Squad; MOB, Money Over Bitches; and Da Block. There has been some feuding among them, but they also are known to share information about the police, Young said.

Young described the gang members as neighborhood kids who formed crews while attending Sierra Vista and Durango high schools. They emulate the gangster or thug lifestyle portrayed in popular culture, he said.

Unlike most valley gangs, these groups are not exclusive by race. Young said the members are whites, blacks, Hispanics and Asians.

During the school year, the crime sprees started after school let out for the day. In the past week, police have seen the robberies begin at 9 a.m. or 10 a.m.

Many parents of gang members didn't realize their children had joined the criminal element, Young said.

He told parents to be wary if their kids sport a new iPod or cell phone and claim it is a friend's.

Young said the gangs often drive stolen cars.

On Tuesday, three teens who reportedly are members of the gangs were caught after several robberies hit the southwest valley. Police arrested a 17-year-old, a 14-year-old and a 19-year-old.

The 19-year-old's name is Keshone Owens, according to jail records. He was charged with four counts of robbery with a deadly weapon, three counts of conspiracy with a deadly weapon, and one count each of robbery with a deadly weapon of a victim over 65, possession of a stolen vehicle and violating parole.

Owens is being held at the Clark County Detention Center on $115,000 bond.

The charges against the other two teens were not released, but police said they remained in custody Thursday.

Police allege that about 3 p.m. Tuesday, Owens and the two other teens targeted victims in apartment complex parking lots and open garages near Flamingo Road and Tenaya Way, and Jones Boulevard and Robindale Road.

In these attacks, the teens pointed guns at citizens and grabbed their wallets and cell phones, according to police.

In one of the robberies, the teens pistol-whipped an elderly man, police said.

Police swarmed the area and caught the three suspects, recovering a stolen Toyota Tacoma and two semiautomatic handguns.