Graffiti Tied To Deadly 18th Street Gang Found At Wildwood

NORTHAMPTON, NY — Gang graffiti associated with the violent 18th Street gang was found at a bathroom at Wildwood Lake in Northampton recently, police said.

According to Southampton Town Police Lt. Susan Ralph, the graffiti was definitely associated with the 18th Street gang.

Tensions between the deadly MS-13 and 18th Street gangs have been reported on the East End dating back to 2014, after a shooting in Southold that's believed to have stemmed from a dispute between the rival street gangs, police said.

Despite the known friction between the gangs, Ralph said she's not concerned about possible turf wars or escalating tension "because we are addressing this issue."

Southampton Police, she said, had added extra patrols in the area and are actively investigating who painted the graffiti.

For residents in the community who might be concerned about gang activity, Ralph said, "Contact us if you see any graffiti so we can address it immediately and conduct an investigation."

Ron Fisher, newly re-elected president of the Flanders, Riverside and Northampton Community Association, said the graffiti "pretty clearly referenced the 18th Street gang."

He said he's confident the police department is doing everything they can to address the issue of gang activity "before it gets out of hand." And, he said, "It appears to be an isolated incident."

The graffiti has been mostly cleanup now, Fisher said.

Curtis Sliwa, founder of the Guardian Angels, outlined the history of violence between the MS-13 and 18th Street gangs for Patch.

"There was a very violent civil war in El Salvador from 1980 to 1992. In 12 years 75,000 people were killed. It created a refugee crisis and many El Salvadorians fled North to Los Angeles," he said. "They settled in Mexican neighborhoods and immediately were preyed upon by the largest Los Angeles street gang, the 18th Street gang, which got started in Los Angeles in 1965," he said. "In order to protect themselves from the 18th Street gang, the El Salvadorians formed MS-13 and started to defend their turf. And even though they were outnumbered they proved to be durable and extremely vicious."

The "Mexican Mafia," which controlled the Latinos in the California prison system, had MS-13 join their ranks, Sliwa said.

"This larger group was referred to as the Surenos. That's why, to this day, MS-13 is sometimes referred to as SUR-13. But their enemy continued to be 18th Street gang — and that is similar to what exists presently in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. It is MS-13 vs. 18th Street. MS-13, with this newfound strength had more protection in the barrios and prisons of Southern California," he said.

As El Salvadorians migrated east, looking for work, they landed in large numbers, first in Fairfax County, Va,. which is right outside of Washington, D.C., Sliwa said.

"They then followed the trail up into Nassau and Suffolk counties, where there was a lot of day laborer work," he said. "In the early 90s they embedded themselves into Fairfax County and in the late 90s they began to spread into Long Island. Along the way, MS-13 started to recruit Guatemalans and Hondurans who were also being picked on by the Mexican 18th Street gang."

The machete is a hallmark of bloody MS-13 crime, Sliwa said. "The weapon of choice for MS-13 is the machete, which can be homemade in metal shops or garages," he said. "Unlike other gangs, which prefer guns, Ms-13 uses the machete as a weapon of terror. They will slash their victims, slice off fingers and limbs and on occasion, behead their intended targets. It is done to silence any potential snitches. Since their main form of getting money is to shake down and extort their own community, the machete spreads fear to those who are being extorted."

The machete, he added, is also a weapon that is used to do field work and gardening and can easily be transported around to do work. "But its secondary purpose is to spread fear," Sliwa said.

Sliwa said those who join or affiliate themselves with MS-13 or the 18th Street gang have been initiated into, or joined, a "paramilitary group with a strong code of internal discipline. To slight, diss or repudiate your membership in MS-13 means that you are to be disciplined. There are weekly meetings and dues that are to be paid. To ignore these responsibilities of being a member of MS-13 will earn you a brutal beatdown. MS-13 is paranoid about those who are perceived to be snitches."

Both gangs, Sliwa said, have tattoos to identify their gang and also carry notes explaining who they are and their role in the gang, often written in Spanish or in code so only "shot callers" or gang leaders, can understand the materials.

Patch photo of 18th Street gang members courtesy of the Guardian Angels.