Various agencies work on new force

Group to focus on gangs in area

The FBI is working to form a Northwest Arkansas gang task force including officers from area police departments, including Springdale and Rogers.

The agency’s Little Rock field office sent out a news release about the task force’s formation late Friday after a spokesman declined to answer questions about the task force earlier in the day.

The formation of the gang task force was referenced in documents the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette obtained from the Springdale Police Department through a Freedom of Information Act request earlier this month.

Friday’s news release said the Safe Streets Task Force will address street gang violence, drug-related violence and “specific violent crime problems.”

“The investigation of other specific violent crimes such as kidnapping, bank robberies, drug related murders and apprehension of dangerous fugitives continues to be a primary purpose” of such task forces, according to the release.

The action comes after a series of violent incidents in Springdale this year, including two homicides police said were gang-related, and gang-related shootings

that injured several people.

Springdale Police Chief Mike Peters declined to answer questions about the task force earlier this week. He said the task force wasn’t a Springdale initiative and referred inquiries to the FBI.

Among documents released under the FOI request was a Nov. 10 email from Randy Jackson of the FBI sent to Peters, Rogers Police Chief Hayes Minor, Dallas McClellan with the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and others.

The email refers to an attached “proposal” about the task force and requests the recipients review it and email back the signature page with a signature.

“This is the proposal we prepared which was reviewed/approved at” FBI headquarters “and is being approved” by the U.S. Department of Justice, Jackson wrote.

Springdale police Lt. Derek Wright said the “proposal” referred to a memorandum of understanding the department destroyed prior to the Freedom of Information Act request, which was sent Dec. 3.

Springdale police included only the signature page from the memo in its response to the FOI request. Those whose names are included on the signature page are Kenneth Elser, U.S. attorney with the Western District of Arkansas; David Resch, special agent in charge with the FBI; Peters; Minor; and Tim Helder, Washington County sheriff.

Minor confirmed the Rogers Police Department intends to take part in an FBI task force, but referred a list of questions to the FBI. The Washington County Sheriff’s Office has been in discussions with the FBI about the task force’s formation, said its

spokeswoman, Kelly Cantrell.

Fayetteville police Sgt. Craig Stout said Police Chief Greg Tabor has also discussed the task force with the FBI, but hasn’t made a decision about participating “given the limited information he has received so far.”

Bentonville Police Chief Jon Simpson said the Bentonville Police Department hasn’t communicated with the FBI about a gang task force. Likewise, Benton County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman Keshia Guyll said the department isn’t part of the initiative.

The Safe Streets Violent Crimes Initiative started in 1992, according to the news release. There are more than 130 task forces under this initiative across the nation.

“This initiative was designed to allow the Special Agent in Charge of each FBI field division to establish FBI- sponsored, long- term, proactive task forces,” the FBI website states. “These task forces would be focused on violent gangs, crimes of violence, and the apprehension of violent fugitives.”

The FBI website lists the Metro Gang-Joint Task Force as the only gang task force in Arkansas. It doesn’t list the task force’s location.

“The Safe Streets Task Force concept expands cooperation and communication among federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies, increasing productivity and avoiding duplication of investigative efforts,” the FBI website states.

The email from Jackson references a possible meeting the FBI planned to hold between participant agencies and people with a gang unit from FBI headquarters.

“They offered to share ideas that are working with other task forces throughout the country, and to provide training regarding prosecution of gang groups utilizing an enterprise approach,” Jackson wrote in the email.

A Safe Streets Task Force would be able to bring together resources of different agencies across Arkansas, including FBI special agents, local police departments and Arkansas State Police, the release says.

“Information sharing and intelligence development through the [task force] reduces and impedes violent crime in the state of Arkansas,” it says.

Another email obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by the FBI’s Brenan Despain discusses background “qualifiers or disqualifiers” for local officers who would serve on the task force. A list of “automatic disqualifiers” included in the email lists not having U.S. citizenship and having been convicted of a felony.

Springdale police have confirmed several violent incidents as gang- related this year. The string of recent incidents began March 13 when Fabian Rodriguez, 18, was fatally shot and two others were injured by at 32 Applegate Drive in Springdale. Hector Saul Ramos, 17, was charged with first-degree murder in the death.

Then on April 11, Jimmy Rodriguez, 20, died after being injured in a drive-by shooting at 609 Savage St. in Springdale. Police arrested a 13-year-old boy and three men in connection with that crime.

Springdale police arrested two men July 1 in the shooting of a 14-year-old boy while he was riding a bicycle June 25 near Marylyn Street and Crawford Avenue.

Jose Yanez, 18, of Rogers and Hector Vega, 20, of Lowell were arrested on charges of attempted capital murder and engaging in gang activity.

Police didn’t release the identity of the boy, who was wounded in the hand and leg.

Records show police believe the shooting stemmed from a chance encounter between “rival gangs” at a nearby Kum & Go convenience store at 1010 N. Thompson St.

Most recently, a 17-year-old was arrested in connection with first-degree attempted murder and possession of a handgun by a minor or possession of a gun on school property after a shooting near Springdale High School on Aug. 19. A 16-year-old was wounded.

Two gangs called Brown Pride Midgets and TLS were involved in the shooting, Lt. Scott Lewis with Springdale Police Department has said. Police believe TLS stands for Termite Loco Savage.

There were other shootings and homicides in Springdale this year police didn’t characterize as gang-related.