Once Upon A Time in Compton

by Brennan, Tim; Ladd, Robert; Files, Lolita

  For Tim and Bob, this was the greatest job in the world.

  ***

  One of the reasons they would get so high-strung was because there was always some violent gangster somewhere they had to chase down. One of the most elusive was a serial rapist and robber who always had at least two guns and a camera with him during his crime sprees. He specialized in home invasions where he targeted young women who lived alone. He would force his way into their homes, rob them at gunpoint, then tie them up and rape them. Afterwards, he would photograph the women. He’d struck several times in Northridge and L.A.P.D. had been trying to hunt him down. They had composite sketches and grainy video of him at an ATM, but no one knew who he was. The images were broadcast on an episode of LA’s Most Wanted.

  Tim and Bob got a call from one of their best informants telling them the man was “Ju Ju,” a member of the Fruit Town Pirus from the east side of Compton. Ju Ju was into more than just rape. He also liked to rob drug dealers. The informant said Ju Ju would come back to Compton after his raping and robbing sprees. Tim and Bob knew Ju Ju’s real name was Julius Bragg. They contacted L.A.P.D. and shared this information.

  Twice over the next two weeks, Tim and Bob’s informant called with a description of a car Ju Ju had stolen and his location. The first night he called it was raining heavily. Tim and Bob pursued Ju Ju, in the stolen car, through the Fruit Town Piru (FTP) area. Ju Ju crashed the car and abandoned it. Even though a containment area was set up to capture him, Ju Ju still got away.

  The crashed stolen vehicle was thoroughly examined. Inside were two disposable cameras, Polaroids of a bound and naked girl, jewelry, stolen credit cards, cocaine, an assault rifle with a 100-round drum magazine, and a loaded .45 caliber semi-automatic handgun. Tim and Bob recovered the evidence and contacted L.A.P.D.

  The second time their informant called, Tim and Bob had better luck. This time they captured Ju Ju. He was in yet another stolen car, which he also ditched as he tried to get away. The guys caught him hiding in a yard. Inside the stolen car were two more handguns.

  Julius “Ju Ju” Bragg was put on trial for all his crimes. He was found guilty and received a 550-year sentence.

  ***

  The majority of the people Tim and Bob went after had committed crimes in Compton. Since they made it a point to patrol gang areas every night, they often came up on crimes already in progress.

  One night, while patrolling in the area claimed by the South Side Crips, they stopped to eat at a McDonald’s on Long Beach Boulevard. Directly behind the McDonald’s was a known hangout for the South Side Crips. Tim and Bob, creatures of habit, went to this McDonald’s several times a week. Bob wasn’t a fan of the place. The employees weren’t friendly, usually giving the cops dirty looks. Bob just knew the employees were spitting in their food.

  “Why do we have to eat here again?” he complained.

  Tim just laughed and placed his usual order: a double cheeseburger, a cheeseburger, small fries and a milk.

  What the two men didn’t know was that the unfriendly McDonald’s employees were the least of their concerns. On this particular night, the South Side Crips were planning to kill them. Michael “Lil’ Owl” Dorrough, Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, and Lovell Moore were teenagers at the time, fifteen or sixteen years old. They were eager to become members of the South Side Crips. As a way in, the OG’s had ordered them to ambush Tim and Bob. Shooting at the cops would give the three instant fame. If they killed the cops, they would be heroes.

  Tim and Bob had purchased their food and were driving away, about to turn onto Long Beach Boulevard. Tim was behind the wheel. A prostitute walked up to Tim’s window. She wanted to give the guys information about crimes happening in the area. They were used to people doing this kind of thing. As Tim and the woman talked, shots rang out directly behind them. Shots fired in Compton was a common occurrence, but these were close. Really close.

  A hail of bullets rained down around them, some of them hitting the car. That’s when they realized what was going on.

  “Shit!”

  Tim dove out of the car, throwing the prostitute to the ground. Bob jumped out, running toward where the shots originated. It had stopped and the perpetrators were out of sight. Tim and Bob stood side-by-side, guns drawn, blood and adrenalin racing as they braced for more bullets.

  “Shots fired at officers at the McDonald’s on Long Beach!” Bob radioed, activating the troops. They noticed a group of Samoans across the street at a church and went over to talk to them.

  “Did you see anything?”

  “Yeah. There were several Black guys shooting at you. They took off running that way.”

  They pointed south. The same direction as the South Side Crips hangout behind the McDonald’s. Tim and Bob went to the house and waited for backup to arrive. When it did, the cops stormed the place. Dorrough, Anderson, and Moore were found hiding inside. All the cops lit into them, then the three teens were taken to the station to be interviewed. Tim and Bob weren’t allowed to do the interviewing this time. They were the victims.

  It didn’t take long to get the teens to crack. They admitted they were new to the South Side Crips.

  “They said we could really make a name for ourselves if we got those two.”

  That was when Tim and Bob realized how legendary they were becoming. So much so, the South Side Crips had shooting at or killing them as a way to become famous.

  Dorrough and Anderson walked and Moore ended up getting a slap on the wrist by juvenile court. This was Tim and Bob’s first encounter with Dorrough and Anderson. They would have many more over the years as the two became hardened gangbangers and killers.

  ***

  There were many violent gangs in Compton, and similar to the way Dorrough, Anderson, and Moore were initiated into the South Side Crips, other gangs had initiation rites and requests to prove loyalty that involved violent acts. Before the Mexican Mafia Edict of 1993, there were Latinos in Black gangs or closely associated with them, and vice versa. Black gangs would often make Latino members and associates do something violent to prove they were loyal. Latino gangs demanded the same.

  One example of this in the early nineties involved Anthony Bankston, aka “Evil” - a baldheaded Black guy who wore prescription glasses. Evil was from the 92 Bishop Bloods and hung around with the Mexican gang the Compton Varrio 70’s (CV70’s) based near Lueders Park. Evil had gone on a killing spree that covered several jurisdictions - Compton, L.A.P.D., and L.A.S.D. Word on the street was that a crazy Black guy was killing Mexicans and Crips.

  Tim and Bob had been dealing with two unsolved murders. One was a Crip in the Kelly Park area and the other was a Latino member of the Compton Varrio Chicano Gang (CVCG). An AK-47 had been used in both murders. Their arrest of a gang member named Dopey, whom they’d caught with a 9mm while on probation, led them to a motherlode of information. Dopey and his family lived in the Lueders Park area, so he knew a lot about the CV70’s. Because he was caught violating his probation and didn’t want to be locked up again, Dopey was eager to sing like a bird to Tim and Bob in exchange for leniency by talking to his probation officer and the D.A. Tim and Bob agreed under the condition that Dopey become an actual witness and would go on tape with the information he was providing to them.

  With that, Dopey proceeded to recount to Tim and Bob instance after instance of murders Evil had boasted about, all done in recent months after Evil had been paroled. Evil had killed eight people and shot even more. He always carried an AK-47 or an Uzi. Evil loved bragging about his killings and had warned that if any cops tried to stop him, he would kill them, too.

  Dopey was released back onto the streets, and Tim and Bob began running down leads that ultimately identified Evil to be Anthony Bankston. They pulled his photo and shared their intel with L.A.P.D. and L.A.S.D. Tim and Bob were able to make him on two murders and several attempted murders. The other agencies were scrambling to get him identified on their open cases.

  One nigh
t, Tim and Bob got a call from Dopey.

  “Evil’s back.”

  “Where?”

  Dopey told them Evil was at a Lueders Park Piru and CV70’s hangout in the 900 block of North Muriel Street.

  “It’s a lotta us over here,” he said. “And a whole lotta guns.”

  Tim and Bob drove over to Muriel and rounded up eight gang members. They recognized most of the gangbangers as they patted them down, including Dopey, who was among them. Nobody had a gun and none of them were Evil. Bob hung back and talked with them as Tim searched the tagged-up houses and cars for guns and dope. He came up with nothing. He and Bob left empty-handed.

  Dopey called them the next day.

  “Man, y’all were almost dead last night.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “I’m sayin’…I was standing next to Evil’s car when y’all showed up and somebody yelled out, ‘One Time!’ Evil was sitting in his car and had just finished loading thirty rounds in his AK ‘cause he was finna go out and put in some more work. When he heard ‘One Time,” he laid down across the seat holding his gun, ready to shoot. He actually said to me, ‘I’ll kill ‘em if they see me.’”

  Dopey described how he then walked over to their patrol car just as it stopped and put his hands on their hood, waiting for Evil to commence spraying bullets, but Evil never did. Tim, when he pulled up that night, had stopped just short of Evil’s parked car as he and Bob scanned the area.

  “When y’all left,” Dopey said, “Evil told us, ‘Man, if Blondie had took a few more steps, I was gonna unload on him.’”

  Murder and attempted murder cases were filed on Evil and all three jurisdictions - Compton, L.A.P.D., and L.A.S.D. - were on the lookout for him. L.A.S.D. spotted him first, driving his car in the 92 Bishop Bloods area. The chase was on. Evil was outnumbered. L.A.S.D. got him without further incident and took him into custody.

  Once in court, Evil chose to go “Pro Per” - acting as his own defense counsel. It didn’t go well. He ended up on death row at San Quentin. Years later, he admitted to even more murders.

  ***

  By the early nineties, thanks to gangsta rap, it seemed like everyone in the world knew about Compton. Also by this time, Tim and Bob were well-known gang experts. They worked closely with the D.A.’s Hardcore Gang Unit, members of which would often ride along with them to get a firsthand look at what it was like and to see how Tim and Bob were building a rapport with the gangs. The two men constantly had ride-alongs, as officers from different cities and states came to learn about Crips and Bloods. They also traveled around the country teaching about Crips and Bloods and how they dealt with gang activity.

  Tim and Bob constantly ran into local rappers in Compton who couldn’t seem to leave the gang life behind. No matter what level of success they achieved, these guys maintained gang ties, often integrating gangsters into their businesses. Arlandis Hinton (now Al Hassan Naqiyy), aka rapper B.G. Knocc Out, and his brother Andre Wicker, known by his rap name Dresta, were members of the Nutty Blocc Crips. The brothers gained fame collaborating with Eazy-E on his song “Real Muthaphukkin G’s” and were signed to Ruthless Records. Tim and Bob arrested B.G. Knocc Out for a drive-by shooting after they put together a line-up and he was picked out as the suspect.

  They also arrested Suge Knight, who was wanted on a warrant for assault with a deadly weapon. Tim and Bob went with their boss, Reggie, who lived in the same neighborhood as Suge in MOB Piru territory. While Suge hadn’t originally been a gang member, he had grown up in the neighborhood, was friends with several MOB Pirus, and continued to live there. He would later be viewed as their unofficial leader, fronting them money to carry out a wide assortment of tasks for his Death Row empire, including extortion, intimidation, and murder.

  Reggie, who knew Suge well, received a call saying he was at the McDonald house, just a couple houses over from where Reggie lived on McMillan Street. Every cop in Compton was familiar with this house. It was the home of the McDonald brothers, hardcore gang members Alton, aka Buntry, James, aka Mob James, and Timothy, aka Timmy Ru. It was also a known hangout for MOB Pirus. There had been many confrontations between police and the McDonald brothers over the years.

  Cedar Block Pirus in the early years.

  Reggie was so well-known and respected by gangs that, when he arrived with Tim and Bob, he walked right into the house without anyone saying a word, not even the McDonald brothers. They found Suge hiding in a closet.

  “Suge,” Reggie said, “get your big ass outta there and come here.”

  Suge crawled out.

  “C’mon, Reg,” he said as he was being handcuffed. “You know this is bullshit.”

  They took him to jail.

  They also investigated cases involving Jayceon Terrell Taylor, aka rap star The Game, who was a member of the Cedar Block Pirus. Tim and Bob had known his uncle, Samuel Taylor, aka Sam Loc, who was an OG in Cedar Block, and other family members.

  ***

  One night, Tim and Bob were in a spot called “Sherm Alley,” a place notorious for the sale of PCP. The alley was at Culver and Rosecrans, which was a known hangout for Tree Top Pirus. They were standing outside their unmarked car speaking with gang members when a van full of rival gang members from the Santana Blocc Crips passed by eastbound on Rosecrans. This was followed by the unmistakable rapid pop! pop! pop! of an AK-47 being fired in their direction. The Crips sprayed the alley with bullets, missing their targets, but filling the doors covering the garage bays with holes. Everyone in the alley broke out, screaming as they scattered.

  Bob ran to their unmarked car and jumped behind the wheel. Tim headed to Rosecrans on foot, shooting at the vehicle. The Crips in the van had no idea the cops were there until they saw Tim chasing them as they sped over the hill toward their neighborhood. A moment later, Bob turned the corner, scooped up Tim, and they raced over the hill just in time to see the van turn south on Rose Street. Tim put a call out over the radio, so backup was on the way.

  They turned onto Rose; the van had stopped at Elm Street. Several Crips were bailing out of the car. When backup arrived, a containment area was set up and, after an extensive yard-to-yard search, the suspects were taken into custody. A 9mm Uzi and an AK-47 were recovered from the van. None of the Tree Top Pirus who’d been shot at wanted to act as witnesses.

  “This is just another night in Compton,” they said.

  Many nights when Tim and Bob drove their unmarked car through the streets, they would see a gang member stick an assault rifle out of a car window and open fire on rivals. They would happen to show up right when it was going down and the chase would be on as they raced after the shooters and took them into custody. If they were off-duty when a shooting went down, their boss Reggie would call them in to handle it. Either way, the gangsters got used to seeing Tim and Bob’s faces at shooting scenes. That was why the gangsters talked to them. They knew Tim and Bob were aware of what was going on, who was responsible, and cared about what was happening in their world of endless violence, loss, and despair. Tim and Bob listened when most of the other cops would jack them up, scream at them, and throw them in jail for any charge they could drum up. That was the game between cops and gangbangers. The police made their lives miserable however they could. This method was employed for the sake of the citizens who lived in gang-infested neighborhoods who wanted the crime, violence, and those responsible for it, gone by any means necessary.

  For Tim and Bob to be most effective, they had to let the small stuff slide. They knew the code of the streets and didn’t disrespect gang members. They didn’t minimize gang activity and violence, but they were empathetic to their plight and recognized the conditions that might have brought about their behavior. Because of the compassion Tim and Bob showed, gang members talked to them about all manner of things.

  It was well-known that Tim and Bob had a network of informants, so it was difficult for gang members to lie to them. When their recon work in gang neighborhoods or an informant ind
icated that a specific group of gang members were responsible for a murder, they would write up multi-location search warrants. They would round up all the suspects in the morning. When the suspects saw each other being brought to the station, they knew Tim and Bob were onto them and knew all the details of what had happened and who was involved. Someone always cracked, wanting to talk before Tim and Bob were even finished with their operation. By the end of the day, several gang members would be on videotape, singing about everyone’s roles in the murder. This strategy - bringing in all the suspects so they saw one another - worked. Many gang murders that began with no leads often turned into convictions for all the suspects involved.

  ***

  Tim and Bob were so passionate and focused when it came to gang work, it sometimes got them into trouble with higher-ups. At one point, the narco unit had been dealing with what were known as “cluck houses.” These were places where drug users would gather. Cluck houses were low-level problems. There was never any real dope found at these spots. Tim and Bob referred to the warrants to raid them as “mail runs,” because mail was the only evidence they ever recovered.

  One day, Tim was in the middle of interviewing a criminal in the jail who was about to give up the goods on a murder. Sergeant Red Mason came looking for him.

  “I need you to go help the narco unit on a warrant.” It was a “mail run.” The sergeant noticed the resistance in Tim’s eyes.

  “Right now. But I’m working on a murder,” Tim protested.

  “I don’t care,” said the sergeant. “Get your ass down there. That’s a direct order!”

  Tim was pissed. He got up, slammed the jail door, and went down to the gang office. Sergeant Mason was close on his heels, furious that Tim dared to buck at his orders. Tim was cursing the whole way.