Jun 17, 2008 8:38 pm US/Pacific
Raids, Arrests Target Violent Oakland Street Gang
OAKLAND (BCN) ―
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Oakland police said weapons like these were confiscated during Tuesday's sting.
CBS
Oakland police officials said they believe that a raid conducted by 400 officers from 17 different law enforcement agencies at 34 locations simultaneously Tuesday dismantled the worst gang the city had seen in many years.
Lt. Ersie Joyner said he believes it will be "very difficult, if not impossible" for the Acorn drug gang to regain its former power in the wake of Tuesday's raids, which included the arrest of the gang's leader, 33-year-old Marc Anthony Chandler of Oakland, who is known as "Mac."
He said that 54 people were arrested and 41 firearms were confiscated in what police called "Operation Nutcracker," which began three months ago and culminated in the raids.
Joyner said an "ongoing gang violence war" pitting the Acorn group against rival groups Ghost Town and the Lower Bottoms resulted in 37 homicides in West Oakland in the last three years.
Joyner said the Acorn group is "the most violent gang we've seen in a long time" so Tuesday's arrests focused on Acorn instead of the other two gangs.
He said the other gangs also are engaged in criminal activity, but to a lesser degree.
Joyner said four of the suspects arrested Tuesday were involved in recent takeover robberies, including those at Milano Restaurant on Grand Avenue and the Red Boy pizza parlor on Leimert Boulevard.
Joyner said those suspects "made an art out of robberies."
He said there were many reasons why the Acorn gang was involved in an ongoing battle with the other two gangs, but he said "a dispute over a car and a girl culminated in 37 murders in the West Oakland area."
The raids were given the name "Operation Nutcracker" as a play on the name of the Acorn gang, which is based at the Acorn housing project in West Oakland.
Joyner said that although the raids involved suspects who were considered to be dangerous, the arrests were uneventful, as officers didn't have to use force and didn't receive any complaints about their actions.
Oakland Police Chief Wayne Tucker said, "Today is a great day for the city of Oakland and the people who live here" because violent gang members have been taken off the streets.
And Tucker added that he had a message for other gang members.
Referring to the raids, he said, "We're going to do more of these."
In addition to Oakland, the raids were conducted in Alameda, Castro Valley, Hayward, San Leandro, Pinole, Hercules, Antioch, Concord, Vallejo, Fairfield and other sites.
Joyner said Chandler was born and raised in East Oakland but at the age of 14 he moved to the Acorn project and began to "flex his power."
Joyner said Chandler was involved in dealing drugs and "got people to follow and idolize him and built a reputation."
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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