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To fully understand the facts surrounding the shooting, it is necessary to know something of the gang culture in Portland.
Gangs arrived in Portland in 1986. They are loosely organized and may, or may not, have a leader.
All gang members know the most important members of rival gangs. Gangs are divided into sets, with many Crips sets and many Bloods sets.
Sets take their name from the neighborhood or from areas in Los Angeles or Compton, California.
Gang members are those who have been “mixed in,” that is, ritually assaulted by other members of the set.
Gangrelated persons are those who associate with gang members, but have not been initiated.
Defendant does not claim to belong to a set of the Bloods, but most of his associates are Bloods. McCallister belongs to a set of the Bloods known as the Woodlawn Park Bloods.
Association with a gang is often simply a geographic factor, and a person may wear the color of the neighborhood for self-protection or to make life easier. The police identify as gangs any group of people who are always involved in criminal activity. However, not all gang youth engage in crime, and a gang-related youth may be mistaken for a gang member. Although a few hundred persons are initiated gang members, not all of them sell drugs or will shoot someone.
Respect is essential in the gang culture. Respect is gained by doing something seen by the others as showing loyalty or being “down for the set.” Respect may be gained by violent acts. “Dissing” someone, that is, showing disrespect, is the major insult. If a gang member is shown disrespect, the member must retaliate or lose respect.
Disrespect may result from someone shooting at a car, or it might involve a perceived slight, such as a hard look or waving the other gang’s color. Those who are at the apex of a gang, such as those willing to sell drugs, also might be a target for another gang.
Attacking those at the top results in better standing.
Gang members generally do not go to the police when they are threatened by another gang, both because the gang mystique requires that each set handle its own problems and also because going to the police would put one’s family at risk.
State v. Taylor. 892 P.2d 697 (1995). 133 Or. App. 503. Court of Appeals of Oregon. Argued and submitted November 28, 1994. Decided March 22, 1995. Reconsideration Allowed May 24, 1995
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