NEW UNIT FIGHTS GUNS AND GANGS

Monday, January 14, 2008
By RONALD LEIR
JOURNAL STAFF WRITER

Hudson County will be rolling out a new weapon to combat the spread of gang violence - a gang unit operated by the county prosecutor's office.

Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said: "We can't ignore the fact that there has been increased gang activity in Hudson County and this new unit is being created to undertake longterm investigations to gain intelligence on that activity and suppress it."

"In Jersey City, most of the homicide shootings involve drugs and/or gangs," the prosecutor said. Bloods, Crips, Latin Kings and other gangs have been identified as operating in the county, he said.

DeFazio called the Nov. 28 killing of James Singleton, 21, in Jersey City's Arlington Park "the latest example" of gang-related homicide. But he said it was difficult to provide reliable statistics on gang violence.

The prosecutor has named newly promoted Lt. Keith LaMont Stith, a 15-year veteran who has served most recently with the prosecutor's homicide squad, to lead the new squad.

DeFazio said the new task force "will draw on the resources of other law enforcement agencies such as the State Police, county corrections department, the sheriff's office, and local police."

The unit, which will operate from the old county police building at the foot of Duncan Avenue in Jersey City, "should be up and running sometime in the first quarter of the year," DeFazio said.

Structure and size of the task force has yet to be determined but there will likely be some overlap with the other enforcement groups - in particular the narcotics and homicide squads, both within the prosecutor's office and from local police departments, DeFazio said.

The county will look for grants to supplement whatever county funds are available to help finance the unit's operations, DeFazio said.

When it's operating, the unit figures to get some backup from the courts with the recent passage of legislation introduced by former Jersey City Assemblyman Louis Manzo that makes the recruiting of gang members a second-degree crime, with those convicted of that offense potentially spending 10 to 15 years behind bars before parole.

Manzo has also sponsored bills that would regulate the purchase of ammunition and compel the owners of guns to report them missing or stolen within 36 hours. Both await final passage. "These are unique ways for us to combat illegal guns in our streets," he said.