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FBI to aid in gang task force

By Kelly Townsend
The Times-Journal

Published April 7, 2008

The Federal Bureau of Investigation plans to target violent gangs in northeast Alabama, centering on DeKalb and three other counties.

DeKalb County Sheriff Jimmy Harris attended Monday’s press conference in Boaz and said he was glad that the FBI has put the Safe Streets Task Force together.

Carmen S. Adams, special agent in charge of the Safe Streets Task Force, said the operation will pursue gangs involved in racketeering, drug conspiracy and firearms violations.

The agency coordinate its’ efforts with the U.S. Attorney’s office, the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the U.S. Marshals Service.

The conference came seven months after the FBI joined several local law enforcement agencies in Boaz in announcing that they had arrested more than 350 people in Operation Clean Sweep. That operation also targeted illegal gang activity.

“If it’s half as successful as Operation Clean Sweep, it’s going to work out very well,” Harris said. “There’s no way that we have the manpower or money to do something like this on our own, and when the FBI comes in and offers to help, we are glad to take them up on it.”

Harris said this is going to give them the extended investigation access in that all the county lines are going to be dropped.

“All the sheriffs, district attorneys and task forces are going to be working together,” Harris said. “We feel like if we make just one arrest on a crime that is gang-related, it has been successful. We’re excited about this and can’t wait to get started.”

FBI Supervisory special agent Robert F. Larksy said this is the formalization of something that has been going on for more than a year.

“Our goal is to identify and disrupt these organizations,” he said.

DeKalb County District Attorney Mike O’Dell said all of the district attorneys throughout the state are grateful to the FBI in taking leadership and putting together this operation

“With the new demographics, primarily with the growing number of Hispanics in our area, we are beginning to see more and more evidence of gangs, such as MS13,” O’Dell said.

He noted DeKalb County hasn’t seen the extent of frightening violence on a day-to-day basis, but there are some indications that a number of the young people are gravitating toward such organized gangs.

“The idea is that if we can create a strong and eventful operation, the increasing presence of any of these very dangerous or deadly gangs will decrease,” he said.

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