News-Press from Fort Myers, Florida • Page 26

2C NEWS-PRESS, SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1996 LOCAL GANGS: Bonita activity on rise Where there's a town, From Page 1C there often are gangs News-Press staff HOW TO HELP I If you want to give Information or get help about dealing with gangs, call the Gang Hot Line at 335-2996. about 40 to 50 youths battled a gang called the Cape Coral Crips at Burton Field. The fight, where no one was seriously injured, was witnessed by parents and Little Leaguers playing on a nearby field. "We haven't had anything as serious as a shooting," Cape Coral police spokesman Angelo Bitsis said about gangs. "What we have Is the potential for development." After the Burton Field incident he said the Crips isn't organized, but its members do burlgarize homes and cars.

Cape Coral Chief Arnold A. Gibbs is one of the proactive gang fighters in the county. He sees Lee County ripe for gangs. He has called for a state law that would make it illegal to recruit gangs. He's also been active helping schools attack the problem.

He said kids join gangs to fill a void, so it's up to the community to provide other ways to fill the void. The formation of gangs is not exclusive to Bonita Springs. "Cape Coral has groups of them. North Fort Myers has 0f them," said Bill Westel, who runs youth outpatient programs for Southwest Florida Addiction Services. "Every part of the county except Sanibel and Captiva has a little core group of delinquents." And like Bonita Springs, the problem has become more public in the past year.

In the past month: Vandals struck three homes and the BMX park at 1410 S.W. Sixth Place with gang-graffiti. Five alleged gang members were arrested for allegedly threatening teens in a rival group. The most apparent incident of a gang problem came last June when launched Bonita Springs into the headlines and newscasts of Southwest Florida. Deputies from the the nearby Reynolds Street substation have since aggressively patrolled the area arresting a handful of people each week for having open containers of alcohol.

"We're still right on top of it," said Lt. Dennis Brooks, the commander of the sheriff's substation in Bonita Springs. "We stop kids if they're hanging out in groups." But the goal of area churches, schools and police is to stop kids from even thinking of joininggangs. Bonita Springs Middle, a school with a zero-tolerance policy toward anything glorifying a gang, makes kids tuck in their shirts and bans baggy pants. If a student is found to be affiliated with a gang or displays gang-related paraphernalia, a parent conference is called.

Ultimately, the student could be suspended and referred to the Alternative Learning Center, a school for problem children. The Lee County Sheriff's Office calls in its "A-Team," a counselor who leads and teaches at-risk kids about discipline and self-esteem while cleaning local yards for needy senior citizens. "I lived in Detroit and Chicago. I know what a gang problem is," said Kim Cogsdill, a Bonita Springs resident who canvasses Lee County to provide counseling about gangs. "I don't want my hometown to to become a Detroit of Chicago." Cogsdill said she belives Bonita Springs can tackle the problem because the town has an identity and spirit.

But she said it still comes down to parents. "The community will do everything it possibly can," Cogsdill said. "The problem is at home. It's the parents who don't show up at pied and busy. But there isn't a cohesive group to tie the anti-gang effort together.

The question of a gang problem arose last March after a shooting incident on Pennsylvania Avenue. And while there was a summertime lull, gang activity picked up last month: Lee County sheriff's records show that the alleged flashing of a gang hand-sign at a New York Street home led to a confrontation between two groups of boys. On Oct. 24, two boys and two adults were arrested for brawling with Lee County sheriff's deputies near a pickup parked at the Circle convenience store on 10530 Rosemary Drive. Sheriff's reports at the time identified and arrested a 15-year-old Bonita Springs boy as a member of the Latin Kings.

He was never charged under Florida's enhanced penalties for gang-related crimes because more investigations concluded he wasn't a member. But officials did say that some of the eight people who were in the red Chevy pickup are members of gangs. Going straight Stephen Montes said he was a four-year member of the Imperial Gangsters in Bonita Springs until six months in a Collier County boot camp set him straight. "I have a 3-year-old brother. I don't want it to get to him," the 17-year-old said about why he quit.

"That broke the ice." Stephen said kids join gangs to get attention, respect and love. He said it works on the gullable kids in elementary and middle schools. "Little kids don't know any bet- SOUTHWEST FLORIDA Lee County DARLING VERDICT: William Darling was found guilty on 18 counts of bankruptcy fraud and his wife, Anne Darling, was found guilty of five counts of trying to defraud the estate of their local television station in a Tampa federal court, their attorney said Saturday. Attorney John Ryan also said the Darlings, who owned the formerly Naples-based WNPL-TV, were found not guilty of filing a fraudulent $468,664.46 bankruptcy claim. Darling was charged with 31 counts of bankruptcy fraud and his wife with 13 counts.

The jury deliberated 5' hours Saturday. The sentencing is set for 9 a.m. Jan. 31. Fort Myers Beach PEDESTRIAN KILLED: A 54-year-old German resident died at Lee Memorial HealthPark on Friday night after he was struck by a car while attempting to cross Estero Boulevard, according to the Florida Highway Patrol.

The fatality was the the 72nd on Lee County's roads this year, which equaled last year's total. Klaus Ahrens, 2 Lindenplan, Os-terode, Germany, was attempting to cross Estero Boulevard at the crosswalk near Bahia-Via Drive at 6:25 p.m. when he was hit by a Volvo driven by Robert P. Winters of 4765 Estero according to Trooper Jon T. Leohner.

Winters, 60, was not charged. News-Press staff BROWN: PC necessity ter," he said. "They start hanging out with them and the gangs give them money." In addition to his former gang, Stephen said Vatos Locos and Latin Kings have groups in Bonita Springs. He said they aren't hard-core gangs yet, but they might evolve in the coming years. That means gangs will stop hanging out between petty crimes and start carrying guns while pedaling drugs, Stephen said.

Fort Myers police officer Keith Nicholson, who is tracking juveniles for the state's attorneys office, said he sees groups struggling to improve their structure. "A lot of kids say they're more organized than we say they are," Nicholson said. "But if it's that organized, we have a hard time identifying a structure." But a 16-year-old Estero High School freshman cruising Bonita Springs on his mountain bicycle last week said gangs are more fact than fiction. "There are a lot of gangs," Marco Ruelas said "I do hear a lot." Bonita reacts If the so-called gangs had a structure, it wasn't strong enough to withstand a flood of Lee County Sheriff's deputies earlier this year. In March, a couple of drive-by shootings in the Rosemary Park area From Page 1C asked to name some of the lies, he said: "There are so many, I don't know where to start.

The basic lie that blacks and whites tell one another is that one group or race is supposed to have dominance over another one. It's not true. We all didn't come over in the same ship but we are all in the same boat." And he's sure that the people without computer skills are simply going to sink: "Seventy percent of jobs created in the next 10 years will be in the computer field. A family is not going to fit into the new millennium if that family does not have a five years ago, Muhammad has had to borrow facilities at the STARS complex. The center offers swimming, sports, martial arts, tutorial assistance, cultural dance, scouting and writing programs to children in the Dunbar community.

Muhammad is also, to Brown's pleasure, developing a computer technology class. Brown, who has a controversial radio talk show in New York City and hosts Tony Brown's Journal on PBS, also published a book called "White Lies, Black Lies: The Truth According to Tony Brown" last year. When Hispanics set first Thanksgiving festival By JOHN F. BERRY News-Press staff writer BONITA SPRINGS After a week's delay Southwest Florida Hispanics on Saturday announced their first Thanksgiving festival for Dec. 1.

The festival is set for 1 1 a.m. to 4 p.m. Six bands are scheduled to play and Whidden will read the history of Thanksgiving in both English and Spanish. Whidden said the day, a Sunday, is the only day when most Hispanics can be assured of a day of Unlike the previous agreement, Partnership in Housing, the group backing Pueblo Bonito, will not get a booth at the festival. "Months ago we planned to have a victory celebration," Whidden said about Pueblo Bonito.

"But we were worried that some people from the community (might picket)." United States." The deal comes a week after the Naples-Fort Myers dog track, site of the festival, and Spanish language radio sponsor WWCL-AM (1440) were expected to reach an agreement. Whidden said apprehension that the celebration might become a victory party for Pueblo Bonito a farm workers village that won rezon-ing in August caused the delay. "It's not going to have anything to do with Pueblo Bonito," Whidden said. "It's just going to be the first Hispanic Thanksgiving festival in Bonita Springs." "Many Hispanics don't know what it is," festival organizer Cathy Whid- 2935 Taylor Way rn nn nttr. Parksview, US 03125 5ll '( SoutMhislBsrA S3 'For.

7t31fls: 0 00, 000 rf WHIDDEN den said about Thanksgiving. "It's a holiday only celebrated in the eta Ours MR. AND MRS. MICHAEL ROGErS 2935 Taylor Way Parksview, US 03125 Jill? Paytoth ay to we Order of VOTRE SHOW Anxious to see what qOQ OOODOD'f 000 Spring looks like? The Votre Spring Collection Show is your best chance yet to get a preview of the forward shapes, in microfiber and tencil fabrics, for the travel-perfect look you love. Sam Alexander, the Votre representative will be on hand to assist with your selections.

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