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By Alex Alonso for StreetGangs.com
posted December 22, 2002 | updated June 25, 2008
LOS ANGELES – In Los Angeles the 18th Street gang is considered the largest gang in Los Angeles County but that label is very misleading. Even though they are estimated to have approximately 15,000 members in Los Angeles County, they are actually a collection of approximately 20 separate individual autonomous gangs operating under the same label with separate barrios in the San Fernando Valley, the San Gabriel Valley, the South Bay, South Los Angeles, Downtown Los Angeles, Pico Union, Inglewood, and Cudahy. Some estimates of the 18th are as low as 8,000 members. The notoriety of the gang is based on four distinct barrios, three near downtown Los Angeles west of the Staple’s Center and the 110 Freeway, and one in the West Adams area.
The individual factions can number from 50 to several hundred members and they are dispersed throughout the County, but their strong hold and their oldest barrio is located in the Pico Union (Grand View, Hoover clicks) area east of the Staples center between the Harbor 110 Freeway (east) and Hoover Ave (west). Slightly to the north are two other barrios in the Shatto Park and MacArthur Park (Colombia Lil Cycos click) areas. There are also two significant size 18th Street Barrios in South LA, one between Vernon (north) and Slauson (south) along Vermont Avenue and the second one being between Florence (north) and 91st Street (south). One of the most infamous 18th Street neighborhoods would be in the West Adams (Smiley, Alsace, Lil Lowks) because member Catorina Gonzales was convicted for killing LAPD officer Filbert Cuesta in 1998, and more recently, member Pedro Espinoza was charged in the murder of High School star athlete Jamiel Shaw stemming from the conflict with the Bloods.
The media often states that 18th Street is the largest gang in Los Angeles, but the largest single Hispanic gang in terms of turf size and membership would be one of 18th Street’s main rivals, the Florencia 13 gang that has a turf that stretches from Western (west) to Compton Avenues (east). Members of this gang were recently indicted by the Feds on drug trafficking and murder charges.
Historical Background
The 18th Street gang formed around 1959 in the Pico Union area when members of larger Clanton 14 neighborhood decided to start a new click. Originally 18th Street was a click of the bigger Clanton 14th Street neighborhood. As membership of Clanton grew, newer members who lived off of 18th Street decided to start Clanton 18th Street. Forming a new click of a gang can sometimes be a challenge, because some members may look at it as an action that does not unify but separates the neighborhood, and possibly creates division between members that will be forced to choose sides during a conflict. On the other hand, adding a click can expand the turf, bring in more members, and make the neighborhood appear to be stronger. There is usually a protocol to creating a new click and each neighborhood is different when it comes to that, but ultimately Clanton 14 core members did not approve of having Clanton 18, so the new click members had to make a decision of falling in line with Clanton 14, or taking a defiant position to start their own gang, hence the birth of 18th Street. They just simply dropped the Clanton off their name and then became rivals against them. As the years progressed, Clanton lost their main strong hold off 14th Street, and today that area is dominated by 18th Street.
Clanton did not disappear though as their neighborhood in Hollywood off Beverly has survived and their other neighborhood on the South Side near San Pedro is still thriving. Most gangs today have clicks and there is usually little resistance from the rest of the gang when members want to start a new click, because there is a perceived benefit to the entire gang as outsiders will assume the gang is growing, and it provides a psychological edge against their rivals. Through a small act of defiance, one of the most well known gangs was born in Los Angeles. Because of its aggressive recruiting techniques of accepting any all new comers the name of this gang has caught on and has been copied and mimicked in several other cities and countries around the world.
Global Reach: Real or Perceived?
Since its inception youth from every large city in the US, Canada, Mexico and countries in Central & South America America, Europe and most likely several other cities and countries have adapted the use of the name 18th Street. Because of the wide spread popularity, the FBI has labeled this gang a transnational gang with global reach, but there is no evidence to support the existence of any such global network in which the 18th Street gang operates between cities or across national borders. Because of deportation, the gang culture of LA was introduced into Mexico and Central America, but transnational linkages in which the 18th Street gang operate have not been uncovered thus far. A study from 2007 found that international connections among Hispanic gangs like 18th Street were over stated and that there were no signs of transnational coordination among gang members. Academic studies have also fell short from identifying these types of networks among Los Angeles based Hispanic gangs.
The typical propaganda from law enforcement is designed to stigmatize the gang by over exaggerating the extent to which the gang operates. Phrases like “violent foreign-born gang members” and “their behavior is often deadly” uses the fear card to gain public support for what ever law enforcement action is desired against the group. For years the FBI has been telling us that there exists parallels between 18th Street and international crime but many of those linkages have been overstated and just because the federal government says that 18th Street possesses weapons of mass destruction does not necessarily mean that it is true. United States Senator Dianne Feinstein published a report in 2003 which erroneously stated that 80 percent of the 18th Street gang in California consists of illegal immigrants.
Gang Injunctions
The Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office has three gang injunctions against the 18th Street; two in the Rampart Division and one in the Southwest Division of the LAPD against the same faction that Catorino Gonzales and Pedro Espinoza were from. This specific 18th Street gang has several clicks including Alcase, Lil Lowks, and Smiley Drive.
The Rampart injunctions were under review and temporarily halted in September of 1999 because of the Rampart corruption scandal that implicated several LAPD officers in criminal activity. In 2002 these injunctions were refiled by the City Attorney’s Office and placed back into affect.
Warring with Bloods
Certain factions of 18th Street in South Los Angeles are feuding with Black gangs, specifically the Bloods. In 1994, members of the Rancho Park click that were hanging out on Gibraltar Avenue in the Jungles got into a conflict with members of the Black P Stones in the Jungles. The actual source of this conflict remains in question, but an argument ensued, and an 18th Street member was murdered, thus starting the cycle of violence between the Bloods and the 18th Street. The Black Stones from the City joined the conflict, then in 1996 the Rollin’ 20s Bloods got involved. More recently the Fruit Town Brims, the 4th Blood gang joined the conflict against the 18th Street. This conflict followed the war between the Venice Shoreline Crips, a predominately black gang and the Hispanic Venice 13, that saw 17 murders in 9 months from 1993-94. Eventually, Venice 13 had the support of three other Hispanic gangs; Culver City Boys, Sotel, and Santa Monica 13, but that war was over by 1996.
List of all 18th Street Neighborhoods in Los Angeles County
Photo of 18th Street Graffiti from 1997
18th Street in the News
18th Street Gang: Another Injunction?, August 4, 1997, KCBS
Judge Bans 18th Street Gang, July 11, 1997, KCBS2.com
Popularity: 12% [?]
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November 29th, 2009 at 1:55 am
And after all of this it is plain to see, the white man again prevails over the minority races. Why is this I ponder… Is it the idea of education, post-secondary level? (That means college), is it the concept of hard work equating to good pay? I have figured out this conundrum (problem)! It is that white men do not feel anyone “owes” him a thing. We don’t have the mind frame of “they be holdin us down!” If a school is bad we find one that is excelling because education is key, we work hard and know the value of earning a decent pay, and instead of holding our hands out for reparations or work for beans, we are keeping our hands in our pocket saving a dollar here and there. Why? It is the American way.
December 5th, 2009 at 4:00 pm
fuck loas fuck cartoon
December 5th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
18th ST LLS FUCK HOVVER 18
December 5th, 2009 at 5:37 pm
FUCK U LAMES AZZ MOTHERFUCKERS……RANKERSSSSSS.
WE STAY CONTROLLING CUDAHY
December 5th, 2009 at 10:51 pm
I am a white dude that lives in a heavily “blood” neighborhood. The bloods, meaning the blacks are cool with me, they watch my vehicle and I talk to them with respect and I give them respect, they have no ulterior motive with me, because I don’t snitch on them selling their weed and I dont stick my nose in their business. The mexicans I met always cool with me and shake my hand with one hand and stab me in the back with the other, they pretend they you’re friend and they try to jack u. Although I am white, I have been on the street most my life, the blacks get a bad shake because of their skin color. I would hire a black before a mexican any day, because if u trat them right, they do right by u, if u treat a mexican right, most of them will try to jack u anyway. I am not being racist, I am in my mid 40’s and I know the deal. I have been out here all my life. Its just a fact that I see. But I am not trying to group people saying all mexicans are that way, most of them are hard working. But if I had choice, I would trust a black over a mexican. It’s unfortunate to me sometimes that I am white, because I’ve been called a nigger lover just because I am walking down the street with a black dude. If I ever went to prison, I couldn’t see myself having to hang with the white power cock suckers, I would jsut assume hang myself.
December 5th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
By the by…I know in general most blacks in the hood wouldn’t want nothing to do with me and see me as an enemy and I have balls enough to go through compton and other areas where you don’t see any white people. Im not afraid, because I mind my own business and do what I do and get out of there. Not all white people are enemies of minorities, and I base my liking of people on an individual basis not by the color of their skin. In general, the people I get along with the LEAST are my own people, I grew up very poor so I have always made friends with minorities, we understand each other and where we came from. When I go to a “black” party, I always have a good time, when I go to a white one, I always get bored and want to leave within 10 minutes. LOL ni66as know how to party! And I didn’t mean to say shit things about Mexicans, I can be cool with them, but it just seems no matter how much I have always helped mexican people, they try to fuck me in the end. At least black people if they don’t like me, they keep walking, they don’t ask me for favors and then talk shit about me. Sorry, thats my experence.
December 6th, 2009 at 1:59 am
those stats you posted don’t show the amount of illegal mexicans over here getting benefits, those stats are also from 1993
Blacks were brought to this country against their will by force, they were red lined into ghettos and then those ghettos were pumped with crack/cocaine and were not funded like the white areas, u had deteriorating schools etc…..all african culture/identity was stripped away
what was left was slave culture shown by the white man, blacks still stood up and fought for equal rights for ALL COLORED PEOPLE, that includes your wetback ass lookin like a ben davis monkey happily typing away on your computer
who do ya’ll got Ceaser Chavez……lol clowns
you illegal ass wetbacks are jumping the border by the thousands, and because of your catholic religion your not using any birth control, every time i see a wetback female tha bitch got 3 kids in a stroller and another 10 walking behind her, i see them at the grocery store pulling out EBT cards, why? you guys came here free will, no other minority that came here free will is on welfare the rate you guys are
look at African immigrants, they all are majorily succesfull, matter of fact Nigerians are the most succesfull minority in America, you dumb ass grape picking wetback learn something
and your females have no ass, their butt is flat as a washboard, probably to accomadate your little ass dicks, not only that but “Maria” hairy ass will grow a mustache and gain about 400 lbs after her first kid, and that kid usually comes at a very young age
LOL stank ass wetback, still wearin carpets dressin like some tacky ass clowns with swapmeet rip off outfits, your whole look says “cheap”
and all you wetbacks saying this is your country state etc… the Aztecs did not live in this area, it was the northern Natives, so take your bullshit down south to mexico where half your anscestors are from, the other part of your ancsestors are from europe, you know before the raping happened, in case you forgot your a product of the spaniards raping the aztecs and mayans ha ha ha
oh yeah, and stop gangbangin, cuz ya’ll suc at it, just stic to walkin around with your khakis pulled up to your chin pretending your hard, because on the east side the donkeys are still losing even though they make up the majority of the population and have turned it into mexico……
December 9th, 2009 at 9:40 am
E’z up to all the homies from 18st,Menace Westside Xv3st Shatto Park Locos,first off fuck cudahy you lames act all bad cuz u supposably killed the homie Lil Silent from Ss Xv3st Tds,if that was you lames you levas did a drive by,you fools are 13 you aint suppose to that pussy shit,and slobs get down with what fist,all you slobs be snitchen,ask boo boo and worm from rollin 20s second avenue how menace left both them on the ground like the little snitches they are after they snitched on the homie drowzy from rancho park lil locs,and striker wtf u sayin fuck all ni666as homie,la eme told us kick out all blacks but the vato who started 18st made our 18 rules and one is always back up a 18str cuz they from the hood,to join 18st u gotta get down with rivals,get jumped in,kick it with us for months to prove ur down,what do u slobs do,gang rape the newest bitch to ur hood cuz u lames cant get no pussy,we got every race in 18 and if we werent shit we wouldnt be in 13 countries and 39 states bitches,were known and were killen all our fucken rivals
fuck mierda seccas,i fucked up ur bitch homie lil bandit from hls and lazy,lazy could rest in piss that lame was nothing but a chester,i fucked up villen from ns ms fulton locos,dozer from ws ms adam locos,temper from ws ms harvard criminals,criminal from ws ms normandie locos,you mierdas aint shit,we took you levas out all of LA,you fools aint shit but vatos who think ur hard cuz u kill innocent ppl,thats dats da only reason u lames known for
December 9th, 2009 at 12:53 pm
A bunch of wetbezzzy’s
December 9th, 2009 at 9:42 pm
man you youngsters, you vatos still dont get it, you fucking peewees dont know shit, what the fuck, learn your history, you vatos dont know shit, fight the niggers and all those that discriminate the raza, because when it all comes down to it we need to stick together and blast on this fucking niggers…el og brown creeper from sur 13 eighteen street gang and yes fuck niggers
December 10th, 2009 at 9:17 am
og brown creeper,wtf you talken bout ese,18st we dont ride for the 13 homie,we ride for the E the 18
December 10th, 2009 at 7:53 pm
I’m a white man and I’m glad you wetbacks and niggers are killing each other
December 10th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
hey menace you done time en la pinta??? because if you have junior you’ll know that in the streets you bang the varrio but you still a sureno ese get it right lil vato,
December 11th, 2009 at 8:51 am
ese ive been to camps but never the pen,they call me Menace from Ws Xv3st Shatto Park Locos,2 of my older brothers are from 18 too,my brother Cuete Ws Xv3st 106th Tiny Wynos,than my other brother Sniper Es Xv3st Bebitos,and me and none of the homies from WS,ES,NS,CS,SC, ride for the 13 or say were surenos cuz we aint,Ss18strs are cuz theyre reppin the south,and ese we got 18 rules to follow,1 is always back up a 18str no matter what race they are or what la eme says,we were a varrio before la eme said we were.we didnt ride for da 13 back than,we dont now,and were all about the 18,yea we got homies who are in la eme,we got the deepest number of soldados for la eme,and we got homies who are leaders but we get orders from homies from 18,they got vatos from other varrios given orders to different hoods,for us if they aint from 18 we wont do it
December 11th, 2009 at 8:51 am
and ese i bang the varrio everywhere,homies doin time still dont give a fuck,especially mierda seccas,we smash on them all day everyday
December 11th, 2009 at 9:18 am
im a nigga and all niggas ant da same we put food on each other table
December 12th, 2009 at 12:19 pm
fuck you fakes, ala verga leva puro ws clanton 14 gang dukes, fuck you menace and that pienche brown creeper hey old man fuck off puto, hahaha menace you little bitch from shit park we’ll blast you levas like we did that mocoso b.huero fucken leva fuck you puto and that pienche cock sucker oscuro, puro clanton 14 gang fuck faketeen street pienche rankers you putos dont control nada ese big bad CLANTON X1111 ST DUKES
December 12th, 2009 at 3:34 pm
I dont know about the country but I work for L A county dpss, and Hispanics make up close to 50% of the welfare recipients here. So maybe 18k is not the only one who needs to do more homework.
December 12th, 2009 at 3:37 pm
Or selling dope.
December 12th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
Bitch we still here. You just dont want to admitt it.
December 12th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
You stupid ass illiterate fuck. You belong to a mutt race of native Indian (Inka, Aztec), Spanaird, and African lineage, for you to talk about Black people in such a manner is ridiculous. You obviously dont read much, which is correct for your people. I read alot on these posting about blacks on welfare, being lazy and acting a fool and the such. Admittedly some Black people do these things but by and large its hispanics who do the most cowardly stupid discusting things. I work for LA county DPSS and I can tell you most county recipients are hispanic and they behave in a most disrespectful manner and do alot of disgusting things while in the office. Peanut seems to be like most of those who psot on this web site talk alot of shit about Blacks probably because they got there ass beat by someone Black, and dont have the heart or guts to stand up for themeselves so they just write a bunch of uneducated crap on here. Most of you on here most likely dont even know more than one Black person, youve maybe seen some crack heads who were Black or you just go by what you see on T.V. or movies and form an opinion that goes for you too Ally and the dumb asses Wrong and Peanut who are both obviously uneducated and lack any type of real life one soounds like a shut in afraid to go outside and the other like a welfare recipient who is angry about being on welfare. As far as I’m concerned they can both as well as the rest of the HATERS can go fukk themselves.
December 12th, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Them mexican bitches have alot of babies get fat and apply for welfare everyday all day. It’s a fact. Just go to any county building in L.A.
December 12th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
clanton aint shit ese,we took you vatos out along time ago,yea u blast at us,in our barrios its playboys,rebels,crazy riders,easy riders,crazies,and some rockwood but they got taken out,were 10 deep in the park and none of our rivals show up,south central ese 54th and vermont,vermont and shatto run up ese,Menace Ws Xv3st Shatto Park Locos,fuck clanton,ask ur bitch ass homies from es clanton grumpy and flaco how i fucked them up,grumpy has family from white fence,and u lil lames cant even take loco park,ghetto boys,or primera flats,fucken pussy,
December 13th, 2009 at 8:39 pm
SO WHY DONT YOU TELL ME WHAT HAPPEND TO THOSE PUTOS FROM BEVERLY LOKS…PIENCHE FAKE BITCH FUCK YOUR LEVA HOOD PURO CLANTON X4 GANG FUCK THE PUSSYOCHEROS LEVAS 187 PUTOS
December 13th, 2009 at 8:45 pm
LA MARA SALVATRUCHA TRECE HOLLYWOOD LOKOTES EL KWETE
FUCK LOS PUSSIOCHEROS PINECHES LEVAS FUCK CALSONES PUTOS
December 13th, 2009 at 9:14 pm
beverly loks,wtf is that shit leva,that aint a clicka from my hood,u bitches cant even handle varrios in the 818 or pussy flats and gay bitches in sc,and fuck mierda seccas,ur from hollywood jotos click,u must know what happened to ur bitch ass homie lazy than,that leva was nuthin but a child molester,and tell ur bitch ass homie lil bandit from hollywood jotos click that his girl or ex girl needs to quit hitten up da homies tryen to get some dick,that lames all pussy whipped off her and she dont even like mierdas u fucken pieces of shit,you levas want some south central LA 54th and vermont west up levas
December 13th, 2009 at 9:18 pm
fuck mierda seccas
fuck these bitch ass mierdas:
fuck temper from harvard criminals
fuck lil bandit and lazy from hollywood locos
fuck villen from fulton locos
fuck bam bam from francis locos
fuck doser from adam locos
fuck criminal from normandie locos
they all know how i fucked them up,and fuck stomper from ur lakewood locos click,hes hyna who he was pussy whipped off fucked our homies after he got fucked up and started cryen like a bitch,sayin he wasnt from mierdas and she smacked him told him to man up and fight like a man and he cried,what a bitch move,but thats all you mierdas know to do
December 13th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
thats why homies from the hood took half ur hood while gay boys and pussy flats took the rest,u levas dont even have a hood to kick it in,shit u guys had to hang out with waffles who got taken out too by clicka los primos,2 old hoods of los and aint got no hood,u levas are jokes,fuck you,fuck waffles,and fuck mierdas
December 13th, 2009 at 9:31 pm
18ST gang worldwide 13 countries 39 states,westside,southside,eastside,northside,south central,central side 18st clicks
E’z up to all the homies,Menace westside xv3st shatto park locos gang
fuck these levas:
clanton 14th
mara salvatrucha
hang out boys
street villens
ghettoe boys
black p stones
inglewood family
crenshaw mafia
centinela park piru
harvard park brims
primera flats
cuatro flats
must be crazy
mi gran familia
redondo beach los nietos
alley tiny criminals
harlem 30s
mexican klan
55th bunch
5th and hill
41st
rebels
easy riders
playboys
florencia
crazy riders
tepas 106st
muertos 102nd
inglewood 13
lennox
lil watts
watts 13
grape st watts
fruit town brims
white fence
maravillas
rollin 20s bloods
alley locos
radford st locos
vineland boys
varrio san fer
nortenos
latin kings
gangster disciples
vicelords
longos
southside 48 campo
coachella valley
logan heights
38st
36st
temple st
orphans
46st
nino surenos
unos sin verguenza
culver city boys
sotel boys
sanat monica 17th st
venice 13
es wilmas
ws wilmas
westside locos
la mirada locos
westside crazies
harpys
diamond st
and any other hood that wants beef with 18,shout out to the homies from pico nuevo,quiet village gangsters,pico viejo,silverlake,alley boys,colonia chiques,cyclones,evergreen,eastlake,arcadia st
December 14th, 2009 at 12:59 am
Once you minority scum get done banging on eachother we’ll be happy because no more section 8 welfare sucking shit heads will be around. You are gunna all bang eachother into oblivion. But who will then serve us whites your Burritos and fried chicken and corn bread???
December 14th, 2009 at 9:06 am
Wow,a white guy talking shit,listen you redneck little bitch,you could hate gangs all you want,that dont mean shit,your little bitch ass cant do anything to stop anyone,no matter how much money,effort,or man power you put into it,gangs will always be a part of society just like your racist bitch ass,section 8 housing,any area i drive i see a bunch of whites asking for money cuz theyre too lazy to get a fucking job,atleast us minorities will be working trying to get money,your just making your race look bad so why dont you shut the fuck up,your just upset cuz you caught your sister fucking a hispanic,she wanted a real man bitch,not a sick fuck like you
January 22nd, 2010 at 7:35 am
Have you often been at the right time in the right place and had a chance to take the right opportunity?You are now!