Craig "G-Flecth" Fletcher from Elm Street Piru

There is a rich history in our urban streets and many articles and documentaries are discussing these guys. Post your thoughts here about those O/Gs, Veteranos and other historical figures from the past.
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yahyah
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Craig "G-Flecth" Fletcher from Elm Street Piru

Unread post by yahyah » April 13th, 2005, 7:46 am

Has any body heard of him

He an O.G for that hood

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Re: G-Flecth from Elm lane

Unread post by yahyah » April 13th, 2005, 7:50 am

The Taker
written by Craig Fletcher a.k.a. G Fletch, ESP

“He’s a taker!” This is what the district attorney explained to the jury during the sentencing phase of my trail where I was convicted of aggravated assault. The district attorney asked that I be given a sentence of no less than 50 years in prison. The jury ended up giving me 30 years.

“He’s a taker!” After this statement by the prosecutor, the thought in my head was that the bitch was right. I was most definitely was a taker. My life had been one of extreme violence and dead friends. I was headed to the penitentiary for the fourth time…..

I remember the day well in 1986 when I joined the Piru Bloods Gang on the Eastside of Compton, California. I walked with a gangsta limp down Elm Street (Elm’s Lane) swiftly with a purpose as headed for Burris Street where members of the Elm Street Piru Bloods Gang hung out. The way I walked down the street, you could tell that I had something on my mind. I wanted to be a part of the Elm Street Gang. My Dickie khakis sagged as I approached the Elm Streets and greeted them. “What that Elm like, Blood?”

My court-in (initiation) was supposed to be the night before, but I had second thoughts and backed out at the last minute. My homeboy, Twin, had been telling me about his court-in and tried to scare me out of going through with the initiation. It worked! Twin kept telling me repeatedly, “They gonna fuck you up Blood!” I didn’t get much sleep that night if any.

The next day, the little kids in the neighborhood were saying to me, “Fletch, you ain’t from Elm” and their words really bothered me. These kids looked up to me as their gangsta role model. I had let them and the Elms that spoke for me down. I was going to show everybody that I was not a coward and that I was hard. I was like “Fuck that! This is Elm!”

Now all the Elms looked at each other wondering if I was going to really step up and be a true part of Elm. P-Dogg asked me, “Are you ready?” and I replied, “Hell yeah, I’m ready!” Then, P-Dogg handed me a 40-ounce of 8-Ball (Olde English 800 Malt Liquor) and told me to guzzle it to the head without stopping. When I finished the 40, I threw the bottle to the side and punched P-Dogg in his face. After that, everything went black as several Elms jumped me. I never lost consciousness because I could hear all the blows pounding my body. Each time my eyesight recovered, a blur of a fist wrapped with a red bandana came towards my face. But I couldn’t dodge it (That fist belonged to the homey, Stokey). The bandana would strike me and things would go black again. This repeated until somebody said, “That’s enough”.

They didn’t knock me out and I felt good. I felt very proud. The Elms stood me up and I dusted myself off and threw up the neighborhood gang sign. All the Elms started smiling. They knew they had a brother and I knew I had a new family. This is the day I became a taker…..

Why did I join a gang? Why does anyone join a gang? There are many reasons, but it doesn’t matter why. The fact is that gangs exist and the violence is real.

The definition of a gang: a surrogate family and its purpose is the same as any family to provide for and protect its members. Every aspect of gang life is not negative. There is good even in the most evil things in life. Of course, there isn’t any real glory in being a gangsta, although, the portrait of a gangbanger can be painted that way. A real gangsta doesn’t seek glory. He is just who he is.

When I made the choice to join a gang, I felt many things..… I felt strong and powerful. I felt that I was needed and that I belonged. I felt I was completely ready for the violence, but the loss of a family member and many friends to gang related murders, the depression, the wakes, the funerals, the hospitals, courtrooms, jails, and penitentiaries took its toll on destroying me. Anger and revenge was my daily motivation. I had placed myself in a kill or be killed environment.

There were times when I contemplated suicide. I remember beating up my girlfriend and placing a 9mm pistol in her hand as I started calling her a bitch. I put the gat (gun) in my mouth, placed her pointer finger on the trigger and called her a bitch again while ordering her to squeeze the trigger. Her eyes weren’t filled with anger; only with tears. ‘Bitch’ was the word that always set my girl off, but it didn’t work that day.

It didn’t matter if I lived or died. I never expected to make it past 25 and lived each day as it could be my last as most gangstas do. To this day, the hurt has not gone away and it never will. I honestly feel that I will never truly be happy until I am in the grave. I say this with a positive perspective because death can mean happiness and bring peace. There can be brightness instead of darkness.

What is the hurt I speak of? The shootings (I got shot while in the car with my girlfriend and her 1 year old daughter in Houston, Texas at the Scott Plaza Apartments on February 9, 1995), the maiming, the stabbings, the sleepless nights, the being hunted, the betrayals by someone whom I would die for, and the look in my mother’s eyes behind the glass the first time she visited me in jail crying, shaking and breaking down. The deep hate that grows within and the murders will always haunt me in one way or another.

Gangstas are not machines or animals, however, one can act as such. Gangstas are sufferers. They feel, love, hate, run, bleed, and die. But gangstas can be giving instead of always taking. Gangstas owe a lot of people!

I clearly remember the day of a prison visit from the mother of my daughter. My girl placed a baby carrier on the table and pulled back the blanket. I was looking at my daughter for the first time. She was just three weeks old. That day was the happiest in my life and should have been the turning point in my life, but unfortunately it wasn’t. The gang lifestyle was more than a way of life; it was an addiction. On that joyful day, I was in prison awaiting extradition back to California for the murder and attempted murder of two Crips.

My daughter will be 12 years old in the summer of 2003 and I will be 37. Since the first time I saw her during that prison visit, I have only spent two and half months and a few hours with her. My daughter’s grandmother says that I am too dangerous to be around my daughter. Her words have never left my mind. I owe my daughter so much. I don’t have any fears, but at times I fear myself because of the violence that I am capable of. I don’t want to hurt anyone, but there is still anger and revenge in my heart. Each day is a struggle not to lose control and act violently which is all too easy and second nature.

I remember the day I walked into my house and my daughter’s mother was tearing up my address book of Blood Gang members from every set (gang) that I had collected while in the Los Angeles County Jail when fighting the murder and attempted murder charges, which had just been dismissed for the second time. My girl told me that I only needed her and my daughter, Bria and not them. I felt as if my whole world was about to end. I fucked my girl up; beating her up real bad. (She shouldn’t have torn up my Blood book!)

Today, I thank God that I am alive and well. I am an OG, highly respected by everyone and praised by many in Houston, Texas and Compton, California. I feel honored as a true street soldier. My gangsta mentality has turned into a positive and determined attitude. Moreover, I am no longer in a self-destructive state of mind. I will always be a Blood. Now, I have to make all this pain inside me mean something. Truly, I believe that surviving the gang lifestyle has given my character real substance and made me a stronger and more focused man. Now, I know how to lead the way.

I have been locked up 8 years on this 30-year sentence. During these years, I have gained a lot of power from reading books. Knowledge truly is power. Also, I became a writer of songs, poetry, and currently writing a screenplay. In addition, I am an editor and participating poet in an upcoming poetry book entitled “kites Volume 1: Poetry from the Streets and Prisons of Prison” which will be published later this year. It will be my first publication and I look forward to several more.

During my incarceration, I have bought books on the music industry and studied the business extensively. In a way, I have given myself a self-taught degree on the business of music. Two other inmates and I created music concerts at the Darrington Prison Unit in Texas. At the beginning, I co-produced and performed in these concerts and even though I no longer participate in the shows, they still continue and lift the moral of the Darrington Prisoners. I am proud to have helped to create this.

I was just getting back into music when I got locked. I was too deep into the streets, but I did the hypeman thing for my nigga, Big Mello (R.I.P), at a few shows before I got arrested. While I was in jail, Mello made me get serious about music and now I’m on some Suge Knight, J. Prince, Irv Gotti shit. I used to deejay and had a rap group named “Double Trouble” back in Monterey, California in 1985. During my younger years, I played the trumpet in a stage band. Music is just in my blood and always has been. I was just crazy and not focused being caught up in banging and the street life.

I was unjustly convicted, but because of new evidence from alibi witnesses, God willing, I will be able to get a new trial. Each day I look forward to regaining my freedom and reuniting with my family. I have been offered opportunities in the entertainment industry and I look forward to producing records and movies. I want to educate other Bloods and other ghetto people on the business of music and entertainment helping to empower them economically. Now, I am willing to make sacrifices to succeed in a positive way. My gangsta mentality will be the driving force in reaching my goals before it’s my time to go back to the dust. This taker is now a giver…..

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Re: G-Flecth from Elm St

Unread post by yahyah » April 13th, 2005, 7:53 am

yahyah wrote:Has any body heard of him

He an O.G for that hood

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Re: G-Flecth from Elm lane

Unread post by yahyah » April 13th, 2005, 7:56 am

yahyah wrote:Has any body heard of him

He an O.G for that hood
I meant ELM Street

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Re: Craig "G-Flecth" Fletcher from Elm Street Piru

Unread post by alexalonso » April 28th, 2018, 4:33 pm

is he still around.

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