Armenian Power: Difference between revisions
Incident not gang related; taking out unsourced info also. |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 6: | Line 6: | ||
| founding location =[[Los Angeles]] The intersection of [[Hollywood Boulevard]] and [[Normandie Avenue]] |
| founding location =[[Los Angeles]] The intersection of [[Hollywood Boulevard]] and [[Normandie Avenue]] |
||
| ethnic makeup =[[Armenian]] |
| ethnic makeup =[[Armenian]] |
||
| allies =[[Mexican Mafia]], [[Sureños]], |
| allies =[[Mexican Mafia]], [[Sureños]], |
||
| founded on =1990s |
| founded on =1990s |
||
| rivals =[[White Fence]], [[Tooner Ville Rifa 13]], [[MS-13]], [[Norteños]], [[The Avenues]], [[Bloods]], [[Crips]], [[Vineland Boys gang]], |
| rivals =[[White Fence]], [[Tooner Ville Rifa 13]], [[MS-13]], [[Norteños]], [[The Avenues]], [[Bloods]], [[Crips]], [[Vineland Boys gang]], |
||
Revision as of 15:54, 4 December 2008
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (September 2008) |
| Founding location | Los Angeles The intersection of Hollywood Boulevard and Normandie Avenue |
|---|---|
| Territory | Hollywood, East Hollywood, North Hollywood, Montreal, Laval |
| Ethnicity | Armenian |
| Membership | 800 |
| Criminal activities | Drug trafficking, Murder, Drive-By Shooting, Theft, Identity Theft, Assault, Extortion |
| Allies | Mexican Mafia, Sureños, |
| Rivals | White Fence, Tooner Ville Rifa 13, MS-13, Norteños, The Avenues, Bloods, Crips, Vineland Boys gang, |
Armenian Power, also known as AP[1], is an Armenian street gang located in Los Angeles County.
History
The collapse of the Soviet Union prompted a massive wave of Armenian immigration into Los Angeles County, California, primarily in the communities of East Hollywood, North Hollywood, Hollywood, Pasadena, Burbank and Glendale. Faced with pressure from Mexican and Salvadoran gang members in the area, young Armenians in East Hollywood grouped together to form Armenian Power.[2] Armenian-American street gangs are not large in terms of numbers but are violent and influential enough to allegedly be involved in Mexican Mafia peace talks between Hispanic gangs[2]. The Armenian Power gang was a quickly growing gang in Hollywood and Glendale which formed partnerships with other gangs. [3] The gang's main enemies are Tooner Ville Rifa 13, The Avenues (gang) and MS-13. [4] Armen Petrosyan was the founder and leader of Armenian Power, also known as Silent. On the day of his death, Petrosyan slept until noon at his parents’ North Hollywood home, family members said. Ten miles away, at the corner of Sunset Boulevard and Western Avenue in Hollywood, and roughly an hour before Petrosyan awoke, an unknown member of Armenian Power flashed the gang’s hand sign and pointed a .45-caliber pistol at three members of White Fence, according to court testimony. During the late 1980s, a new gang developed in the Glendale area. This gang was comprised of Armenian youth who had banded together for commonality of culture and protection from others. The group developed into a street gang called Armenian Power. The Armenian Power gang formation was heavily influenced by members of the Mexican street gang Florencia, which had a clique made up of Armenian gang members. The corner of Hollywood Boulevard and Normandie Avenue had become a mecca for transvestite prostitutes. “Sometimes there would be 10 drag queens there,” Salazar said. “We tried to shoo them away, but they’d come back.” Armenian Power members, seeing a chance to make some money, told the transvestites they would charge them $25 a night for protection from beatings. The drag queens objected, pointing out that they weren’t having any trouble with beatings. “I told those freaks, ‘Oh, no one’s jacking you?’ Then we jacked them up,” said Bizzy, a 19-year-old gang member. Salazar confirmed that the transvestite problem disappeared. In May 2000, a Latino gang member shot and killed a former leader of Hollywood's Armenian Power gang in a deli in East Hollywood where the Armenian gang held turf. [5]
In Hollywood an Armenian immigrant group — Armenian Power (AP) — were believed to be responsible for a dozen driveby murders by mid- 1997.[6]
References
- ^ Native in a Strange Land: Trials & Tremors - Page 192 by Wanda Coleman
- ^ a b Violent Gang Is a Stain on a Proud Ethnic Community
- ^ In Dark Alleys - Page 17 by Brian St.Claire-King
- ^ The Glendale Police Foundation
- ^ The Story of Hollywood: An Illustrated History - Page 381 by Gregory Paul Williams
- ^ Hearts and hands: creating community in violent times - Page 38 by Luis J. Rodriguez