15 indicted in Lancaster County gang crackdown

LANCASTER, S.C.,None — South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson and Sheriff Barry Faile said Monday 15 people had been indicted for gang activity.

Authorities say a local taskforce has been investigating gang activity in Lancaster County since 2009. The 15 suspected gang members have been indicted on more than 50 felonies including murder, armed robbery, burglary and conspiracy. All 15 are local, and police said they are behind several serious and violent crimes in the county over the past four years.

One business owner is happy to hear of the arrests.

Bobby Barchue has had his business broken into twice in the last few months said the arrest of the 15 gang members may allow him to keep his business open.

Barchue opened his store on Brooklyn Avenue in Lancaster, S.C., over a year ago. He said he was planning to close after the last break-in, and had not even bothered to repair the glass door broken by the thieves.

Barchue had been planning to give up and close its doors, but then Lancaster and state police announced the arrest of 15 gang members.

"This is good news. If this is true, and these guys are not around here anymore, then I think I'm going to stay," Barchue said.

The Lancaster County sheriff, the Lancaster police chief, prosecutor, and the state's attorney general said they hope other residents will feel the same way. The law enforcement officials announced Monday the 15 arrests of members of the "Gangsta Disciples."

"We have taken a major first step and dealt a major blow to a suspected criminal gang here in Lancaster County," officials said.

The state grand jury indicted them, and all 15 are in jail. While police called the impact on Lancaster County crime significant, some residents are still worried.

"I don't want them to think I'm speaking against them, and them target me," said one business owner who asked not to be identified. "I believe it's a step forward. I just, I'd still be a little leery. I know, that there's a lot of bad stuff out here."

Faile said officials had made just one step in stopping gangs, but said the county was a safer place after the arrests.

However, Faile said there were other gangs working in the county and said deputies and police are concerned about those gangs. He said they were actively investigating other gangs and gang members.

Wilson said he and sheriffs state-wide will be introducing a new criminal justice reform act in the coming months. The hope is that the measure will put an even bigger impact on gangs and violent crime across South Carolina, he said.

A recent FBI report identified more than 100 different gangs active in South Carolina.

Wilson has made fighting gangs a bid part of his administration like his predecessor, Henry McMaster. McMaster pushed for a change in state law in 2007 that allowed the statewide grand jury to indict alleged gang members as part of a conspiracy.

WSOC