Lyon County Sheriff’s Sgt. Justin Williams, who oversees the Regional Gang Task Force, a unified, multi-jurisdictional unit responsible for investigating cases in Douglas and Lyon counties, recently gave a presentation to the Lyon County Commission on this year’s results of gang suppression cases in the local communities.
The RGTF was formed in 2009 to help Lyon and Douglas become more proactive and reduce gang activity in both jurisdictions by cooperating. Williams said RGTF officers, who also serve as task force officers for the U.S. Marshals and therefore work with federal partners to capture fugitive gang members, help on their time to educate the community. The task force consists of one LCSO deputy and one DCSO deputy, and the unit is overseen by a Douglas County supervisor.
Funding for the task force between 2009 until this year has been provided in part by the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program, but overall it continues to be depleted each year. Williams said this year, Lyon received $21,000 for its deputy position.
The RGTF assists with the investigation of gang crimes, intelligence gathering, gang suppression, outside agencies with their needs and gang diversion through community resource referrals or intervention referrals. Officers devote time and resources helping young people from going down the path of crime or gang behavior, Williams said.
Williams defined what it means to be a member of gang since it is not illegal to be a part of a gang in Nevada. A “criminal gang” refers to a combination of individuals who organize formally or informally in such a way and continue their operation in such a way the group maintains a common name or symbol, has particular conduct, status and customs or has common activities engaging in criminal activity punishable as a felony other than makes up a primary offense.
RGTF officers investigate primarily members of the Southern California street gangs Sureños who pay allegiance to the Mexican Mafia, the Northern California Hispanic street gang Norteños who pay allegiance to Nuestra Familia, white supremacist organizations, outlaw motorcycle groups and Black street gangs, he said.
“However, within our jurisdiction, we don’t have a predominantly large metropolitan African-American population, but we do see a large Caucasian and Hispanic members, parts of the historically Black prison gang.”
RTFG’s total jurisdiction is about 2,710 square miles, and according to the 2020 census, with a population of 108,528 residents as of that time, the task force tracks 23 gangs, 126 gang members and 15 gang associates and has maintained 264 gang files. Of this, Lyon County has 15 gangs, 75 gang members or 59.5% of the total, and eight gang members or 53.3% of the total.
Williams said in Lyon, between Jan. 1 and Sept. 30, 2022, officers have made 41 arrests, 38 traffic stops, 43 field interviews, 13 knock and talks going to a residence or by making an appointment and four human trafficking investigations. Of total arrests, 78% of these gang arrests have been made in Lyon, he said.
This work was done in collaboration with the sheriff’s offices’ other units, he said, such as special investigations unit, patrol and others, as well as district attorney’s offices, he said.
The RGTF has held intelligence meetings with several other local gang units and groups during major regional events such as Street Vibrations in Reno to coordinate on information about a group of Mongol bikers entering the area. It has assisted Dayton school resource officers to identify juveniles with Lima Street tagging on school property and it has conducted various investigations or traffic stops, four of 10 in the past month were on gang members.
Officers also testified in traffic court for citations that had been issued to Vagos Motorcycle Club member Eddie Garcia and Hells Angels Motorcycle Club member Kenneth Gray. Garcia and Gray were found guilty in their trials.