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Gang worries bring visit from attorney general

Alberto Gonzales, the nation's top law officer, listens to residents' fears and talks to students in Tampa.

By ABBIE VANSICKLE and JEFFREY S. SOLOCHEK
Published April 27, 2006

TAMPA - U.S. Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales came to Tampa to congratulate local law enforcement on receiving a $2.5-million grant to solve gang-related problems and to speak with students and community leaders about gangs.

Gonzales' tightly scripted, one-day trip began in Town 'N Country at the scene of a gang-linked double homicide in February. There, he listened to residents' fears about their neighborhood.

"We've heard their cries," he later told reporters. "We understand their concerns."

He then stopped at Leto High School, which has a reputation for gang activity despite having no reported incidents in the past two years. Gonzales spoke with a class of juniors taking American history, before meeting with community and law enforcement leaders downtown. After the meeting, he toured the Rich House in Sulphur Springs, a former drug user hangout that's now a youth center.

Though Gonzales came to the city to raise awareness of the gang problem and the solutions available, the public heard little from him.

His only public comments came in a brief news conference outside the Rich House. There, he described the grant's purpose.

Leaders have "a responsibility to create an environment where kids believe their dreams can come true," he said.

The grant money will be used to beef up law enforcement, to provide education and to help reintegrate former gang members into society. Five other cities, including Los Angeles and Dallas, also received antigang grants.

Sheriff David Gee, who took Gonzales on a tour of gang "hot spots" in Town 'N Country, said area law enforcement sought the grant because it wants to stop gangs before they become a major problem.

"The message I tried to emphasize to him is, we're not a gang city like South LA Ramparts, but we're an emerging one," Gee said outside Leto High School. "This is a city we can save."

Those who spoke with Gonzales said they were impressed by his interest in solving the city's gang problem.

"I think it was productive because that is not the normal behavior of bureaucrats, to come and ask people who have hands-on experience," said Wali Shabazz, southern regional director for the National Trust for the Development of African-American Men.

Shabazz participated in a round table discussion with Gonzales, Gee, police Chief Stephen Hogue, superintendent MaryEllen Elia and State Attorney Mark Ober, among others.

The discussion focused mainly on how law enforcement, schools and civic groups could collaborate to stop gang activity from getting a stronger toehold here, Elia said.

"Luckily, in this community, we have a pretty good working relationship with all of those entities," Elia said. Gonzales gave general guidelines, but really sought local opinion, she added.

"He was there more to listen," Elia said. "He didn't tell us what to do."

Leto High principal Daniel Bonilla said it would be disingenuous to say that any school has no gang activity. But he said Leto has worked hard to maintain discipline and good behavior, so when students come in the door, "they leave their problems outside."

Bonilla was pleased with the visit because Gonzales got the opportunity to see teens in a different light. He also liked that Gonzales spent time talking about national affairs, and took questions from the students.

"I'm glad he came," Bonilla said.

Abbie VanSickle can be reached at 226-3373 or vansickle@sptimes.com

[Last modified April 27, 2006, 02:19:43]