Two 18th st. Gang members, shoot at Rival Sur 13 gang members. GA

[Lucinda F. Boyd]

Suspected gang members arrested after clash

By Joe Johnson - [e-mail]

Published Saturday, March 06, 2010

Buzz up!

Athens-Clarke police arrested two purported gang members they say threatened rivals and fired a gun during a confrontation Thursday night in a Northern Clarke County neighborhood.

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PEREA

The area was plagued by a spate of gang graffiti last month, when more than a dozen homes were damaged, but police aren't sure if the vandalism is related to the recent clash.

Both men belong to the 18th Street gang, police said, and one of them was convicted two months ago of a gang-related crime and placed on probation.

Milton Jonathan Perea, 25, and Alberto Garcia Jr., 18, each were charged with violating the state Street Gang Terrorism Prevention Act after the threats Thursday night.

They were sitting in a parked pickup truck about 10:15 p.m. on Vineyard Drive, where two brothers who belong to the rival Sur 13 gang live, according to police.

When the brothers drove past on their way home, the truck cut it off, and Perea and Garcia shouted at the other men, made gang hand signs, and threw a can of beer at the car, police said.

The brothers drove around the truck, knocking off a sideview mirror. Garcia, the driver, fired at least two gunshots, police said.

Police don't know if he fired in the air or at the car, but nothing was hit.

The brothers went straight home and called 911, police said.

A patrol officer spotted the pickup truck on Atlanta Highway, stopped it and arrested Perea and Garcia.

Officers didn't find a gun when they searched the truck, police said, but they recovered a spent cartridge casing on Vineyard Drive, police said.

They noticed freshly painted 18th Street symbols on an electrical junction box in front of the brothers' home, according to police.

In addition to violating the street gang act, both men were charged with reckless conduct and simple assault, police said, and Garcia was charged with aggressive driving and underage possession of alcohol.

Police arrested Perea in October, after he spray-painted 18th Street and other gang symbols on several homes, cars and street signs at Kathwood Apartments, causing more than $1,500 in damage.

He pleaded guilty Jan. 15 to criminal trespass and violating the street gang act, and a judge placed him on five years of probation.

Originally published in the Athens Banner-Herald on Saturday, March 06, 2010