Task force cracks down on gangs
Published 6:42 pm Friday, August 7, 2015
At least three individuals were apprehended Friday during a task force sweep in the Craig Field community. District Attorney Michael Jackson said more arrests will follow.
Suspected gang members scattered as soon as members of a task force organized by Dallas County District Attorney Michael Jackson rolled into Craig Field on Friday
Agents chased several of them them down, apprehending at least three within a matter of minutes.
This was just the beginning of what Jackson hopes to be a sweep of gang activity going on in Selmont and Craig Field.
“We want to make sure the crackdown continues on these gangs,” Jackson said.
Friday’s task force was made up of agents with the Fourth and Seventeenth Judicial Circuit Drug Task Forces, the Selma Police Department, the Perry and Wilcox County Sheriff’s Departments and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
“The gang problem has gotten real serious around here, so the more agencies we can get involved in helping, the better chance we’ll have of stamping this problem out,” Jackson said. “We have a lot of coordination with a lot of different agencies across the state.”
Jackson said the task force is also getting help from U.S. Marshals and other law enforcement agencies.
The task force started several months ago after several incident, but recent gang related shootings have inspired them to crank up their crackdown to rid Selma and Dallas County of what Jackson called a gang infestation.
Jackson said a lot of the gang problems are in Selmont and Craig Field, and a recent YouTube video has shown how dangerous the gangs have become.
“We want to make sure those guys that made that video are going to be sorry they made that video,” Jackson said. “You literally just have to declare war on these gangs. That is the only way we’re going to tackle this problem.”
The video showed gang members wielding high-powered weapons, including an SKS assault rifle, TEC-9 handguns and handguns with extended magazines.
“There are going to have to be more patrols in these different areas,” Jackson said. “But beyond just patrols of course, we’re going to have to keep these sweeps going to get these major guns off the street. It is all involving drugs, guns and gangs.”
