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Chamberlain Varrio Tortilla Flats XIII


Modesty

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The neighborhood of Chamberlain Hills has been home to violent street gangs since the early ’40s. Originally a middle-class white neighborhood, with the influx of African Americans and Hispanics to the area the demographics of the area quickly changed. A good dozen amount of gangs sprung up in the area claiming their territories with graffiti and fighting in parking lots, alleyways, and in the streets of Chamberlain. One such gang that sprung up during the ’50s was Los Lobos or simply the Wolves. It was started by a group of males who simply meant to protect their homes and the people that lived in the area. The Wolves were predominantly Hispanic although they allowed non-Hispanics to join their ranks. This allowed the gang to control its area and able to stand toe to toe with much larger gangs out of the area such as the Forum Boys, an African American gang that would eventually become a crip clique.

A veteran to the gang warfare Gerald “Pops” Jackson recalls the violence from the neighborhood:

“You had all kinds of fighting going on in Chamberlain Hills or uh C-Hills as people from the area liked to call it you know hehe. Things got outta hand I remember being with my wife one day on Carson Avenue where everyone would go and hang out, get a bite to eat you know whatever. Boys from my side of town were hanging out where normally the brown boys, the uh Wolves hung out it was a lot over by one of their streets. We were all smoking and drinking this was around the evening so you know we shouldn’t have been there but haha we were there. Suddenly, and when I mean suddenly it was SUDDEN a bunch of them brown boys and gals too were rushing us with bats, bottles, one of the girls she had like uh uh uh what you call them thangs that be on the cars. An exhaust pipe yeah yeah she had a dang ole pipe and clocked me upside my head with it. I’m thinking “shit I gots to get the fuck outta here or she might kill me” nobody died but people were hurt and some kid who had nothing to do with neither of us got injured. It was crazy back then y’all, was crazy”.
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During the 70’s the gangs of Chamberlain Hills had become increasingly more violent and Los Lobos had stepped up its game with the purchase of illegal firearms. The war with its rivals grew more dangerous as murders started to be committed with both sides feeling the loss. One of the first murders documented in this escalated war was when Gerald Jackson's friend Anthony Robinson who they called “Lil baddy” was killed by Los Lobos member Jorge “Buckshot” Zelaya. The story goes that Zelaya had been harassed by Jackson days before the shooting. Jackson had not only disrespected Zelaya's girlfriend but he had also disrespected Zelaya's gang, Los Lobos.

Gerald Jackson’s comments on respect:

“Nah see here, you cannot go around doing that. Disrespect in this world, especially when we talking bout these young niggas out here nowadays they will kill ya for just talking bad about they gang you can’t do that. It’s a deathwish. A certain deathwish as we found out with ole Lil Baddy's case”.

Zelaya was arrested and charged with murder nights later by the local police of the Chamberlain Hills area. Police found it surprising that Zelaya had admitted to his crime with little to no remorse. Los Lobos at that moment of the murder were partly shocked because no one from the gang had committed such an act of violence. The gang was proud in turn for what Zelaya had done and was quick to follow its example. A former gang member, who wishes to have his identity concealed, told the crew about the time after Zelaya had shot the rival.

“People were armed to the teeth man, hiding guns all over the neighborhood in shacks, in people’s yard. I remember as a kid I had found a twenty-two caliber handgun just lying under in a bush. Los Lobos stepped up the violence and Chamberlain Hills started becoming a very dangerous place. Every gang started arming themselves and if you were in the wrong part of the neighborhood you wouldn't make it home. There was no going home if you got caught by rivals without getting jumped, beat down, humiliated, or shot and killed”.
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Chamberlain Hills had become a living nightmare for residents and with the coming of the crack epidemic, the violence only worsens as gangs battled for drug turf and their reputation. Los Lobos had survived decades of gang warfare with little police disturbances but during the late ’80s and early ’90s started facing trouble. Rivals of the gang had cliqued up together and started forming larger and more deadly gangs that numbered Los Lobos 3 to 1. It was at this time that Los Lobos aligned itself with the growing Crooked Vigilantes gang that had been blooming out of this time period. The gang started to claim and show its loyalty to the number 13 and for this, they received assistance in the war against their rivals from other Sureno gangs that flew under the banner.

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MODERN TIMES:
Today the gang refers to itself as the Chamberlain Varrio Tortilla Flats (CVTF). The gang is small in numbers but what it lacks in numbers it makes for in criminal activity & violence where Los Lobos had always established its reputation from. Like many Sureno gang, CVTF has members of not just Mexican origin. They have a range of different Central American nationalities and even Caucasians have been noted to be able to join the gang’s ranks.

Edited by Modesty
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