If you can’t jail ‘em, sue ‘em. That’s what one elected official is doing in Houston to thwart gang activity in one crime-ridden neighborhood.

Harris County Attorney Vince Ryan filed a petition seeking a court order to bar members of the Crips and the Bloods gangs from entering or breaking the law in the community known as the East Aldine Safety Zone.

The injunction would apply to 37 Bloods and 17 Crips named in the court filing.

The East Aldine Safety Zone consists of 217 acres of north Harris County. It covers two schools, businesses, and commercial and residential housing, including the Haverstock Apartments, described as “the most dangerous apartment complex in Harris County,” according to a previous court case.

Ryan says it is important to keep gang members out of the area, given their history of criminal behavior, including gun violations, criminal trespassing, possession of illegal drugs, making threats and graffiti.

He also claims “this type of injunction is a proven way to remove dangerous criminals from a community.”

The litigation is not the first time Ryan has tried to push gangs out of a community. He won a similar injunction in 2013 against other Crips and Bloods who created problems in the Brays Oaks Safety Zone in southwest Houston.

-Noel Brinkerhoff

To Learn More:

County Attorney Seeks Court Order to Ban Crips, Bloods (YourHoustonNews)

Texas Prosecutors Sue Houston Gangbangers (by Cameron Langford, Courthouse News Service)

State of Texas v. The Bloods (Harris County District Court)