MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Multi-Agency Gang Unit is saying enough is enough to two local gangs in Binghampton.
On Tuesday, the agencies gathered to announce the area has been classified as a Safety Zone, and told members of the Grape Street Crips and Vice Lords to get out now.
The gangs are now considered public nuisances, who are no longer allowed to associate in public.
If caught, they will be arrested on the spot for violating the injunction signed by a local judge.
According to the petition, the gangs conduct their business which includes everything from drug trafficking, to robberies and other violent crimes, near Howze Park and Lester Elementary.
Residents have complained of gambling, fighting, drug sales, robbery and gunshots, and now the city is taking action.
“These gangs have conducted their reign of terror on this community for too long,” said Shelby County Attorney General Amy Weirich. “The law-abiding citizens of Binghampton have a right to feel safe in their own neighborhood and in their own homes. That is what we aim to accomplish with this nuisance petition and the creation of this Safety Zone.”
These are the fifth and sixth Safety Zones created in the city.
Other Safety Zones have been created in the Riverside neighborhood just south of Downtown, the old Dixie Homes area north of the Medical Center, and in the Ridgecrest and Greenbriar apartments in Frayser.
The MGU Board of Directors is comprised of United States Attorney for the Western District of Tennessee Edward L. Stanton, III, Todd McCall, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Stephen Gerido, Special Agent in Charge, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Shelby County District Attorney General Amy Weirich, Shelby County Sheriff Bill Oldham and Memphis Police Director Toney Armstrong.
