Bloods not on the street
Top members of gang in Park Hill are indicted on federal charges
Federal and local law enforcement officials on Friday announced a major indictment by a federal grand jury of top Bloods gang members in Denver, taking off the streets a group accused of sowing fear and disrupting life in the North Park Hill neighborhood.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office, the Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Department and Denver, Aurora and Lakewood police departments teamed up to use the federal Violent Crimes in Aid of Racketeering statute (VICAR) for the first time to target the most violent offenders with investigative tools that included shellcasing analysis, acoustic gunshot detection technology and cellphone and social media monitoring.
“Nothing tears at the fabric of a community like fear,” acting U.S. attorney for Colorado Bob Troyer said at a news conference about eight gang members who face charges of attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon. “The business of the Bloods is violence. VICAR allows targeted prosecution of a criminal enterprise.”
Denver police chief Robert White said the grand jury indictment this week should be a lesson to other criminal groups operating in the city.
“We’re sending the message to other organized groups that are intent on committing
crimes — you’re next,” he said.
The alleged crimes cited Friday weren’t limited to the city of Denver. Two of the four major incidents that underlie this week’s indictment, Troyer said, include violent home invasions in both Douglas and Arapahoe counties. He said additional felons in possession of firearms indictments have been entered against nine other defendants suspected of also being involved in the Bloods criminal enterprise.
“We’re taking the violence out of the neighborhood and restoring trust in us,” Troyer said.
He said using VICAR to obtain the indictments was critical because it allowed federal and local law enforcement to combine resources and efforts and tie together shootings and criminal activity across a wide area that might have otherwise been investigated in isolation.
The defendants listed in the indictment are: Aaron Wilhite, 22; Bryce Wilhite, 22; Isaac Jonathan Hernandez, 20; Jason Harris, 20; Keandre Mims, 22; Michael Byrd, 22; Theophus Williams, 20; and Xavier Davon Claypool, 22. They face multiple counts, including attempted murder and assault with a dangerous weapon in aid of racketeering.
Six of them were already in custody at the time the indictment was handed down and the other two were recently arrested, Troyer said.
Prosecutors accuse the Bloods members of using violence and intimidation to protect and expand the gang’s territory and activities in the Denver metro area. They are also accused of advertising underage girls online and then following the girls into the homes of those responding to the ads and robbing those people.