The Arizona Republic
Sept. 25, 2006 12:00 AM
Underground party crews have made a teenager’s search for action as easy as surfing the Internet or calling a hotline. It’s even easier for teenage girls, who often only need to show some skin or wear a thong to get into a party-crew-sponsored event.
Party crews have worked the Valley for the past five to 10 years promoting and hosting parties that target teens looking for liquor and a good time. Often run by young adults or older teens, the crews are highly organized and advertise aggressively. In one case, a crew had business cards, a party hotline, a Web page and held weekly planning meetings.
While party crews aren’t illegal, selling alcohol to minors and without a license are misdemeanor crimes.
But what may appear to be at worst a haven for underage drinking has spiraled into out-of-control parties marked with beatings, shootings and drug use. Police and prosecutors said they have seen party crews evolve into violent gangs in the past two years, with once-peaceful crews committing assaults and drive-by shootings in a bid for money, power and making a name.
“There’s a lot of people and the beer,” said a 19-year-old East Valley woman who spent the past two years in and out of the party-crew scene. “Mostly (you go) because there are boys and you have fun and everyone gets drunk with their friends.”
The girl, whose name is being withheld by The Republic because of possible retaliation, said the parties are well-known among teenagers who find them through word of mouth, telephone hotlines, fliers and on MySpace, a popular social networking Web site.
Once connected, teens get text messages on their cellphones giving the date, time and location, and for $5 or $10, they’re in. The parties are often held at homes, warehouses or vacant or abandoned houses, and she has seen kids as young as sixth-graders attend.
“It’s a habit,” she said. “You get addicted to it.”
Crews try to separate themselves from gangs to avoid attention from police and prosecutors, but many are documented gang members or associates. They’ve surfaced from Phoenix to Glendale to the East Valley, police said.
“Now that school is starting up again, there will be many more of those turning up and more of a demand for it,” said Phoenix Detective Herbert Jacobs, with the youth alcohol enforcement squad. “They are organized. They collect the money, have their own security. It’s not just a bunch of kids having a party.”
In the past year, two Phoenix party crews that evolved into gangs have been successfully prosecuted, and a Mesa case is in the system, said Kirsten Valenzuela, a Maricopa County deputy attorney with the gang unit. “We’re not prosecuting party crews. We are specifically targeting gangs,” she said. “They happen to start out as a party crew.”
The crews-turned-gangs are dealing drugs, have illegal weapons and exhibit features of gang members such as colors or clothing, tattoos and graffiti.
The young woman who has spent time in crews says the violence isn’t worth the risk.
“You have to be careful,” she said. “If you are hanging out with them, you are putting yourself as a target. It makes you look like you are a member of the group even if you are not.”
“There is a high potential for violence. People are getting shot. There’s drug use at a lot of these parties,” said Mesa police Officer Brent Smith, who heads up efforts to tackle them. “Kids getting together are not party crews. . . . Unfortunately this comes more with the territory.”
A photo on a Phoenix party-crew Web site shows armed “snipers” on the roof protecting a party. In Mesa, police found five guns and identified 12 to 15 gangs at a party.
Smith, a graveyard-beat officer, got tired responding to fights and shots-fired calls. When he realized they were related to party crews, he decided to take them on about a year ago. He has reached out to other officers and agencies and has reduced parties in the past few months. His work also led to the arrest of a crew leader.
“Most of the times they look like regular parties, you break it up and never realize it is a party crew hosting,” Tempe police Detective Mike Carleton said.
Crews have been victims or suspects in several crimes recently.
