Cary turning up heat on gangs

Cary police have moved swiftly to put the kibosh on gang crime in the village, sending a message that gang activity will not be tolerated.

Since 40 residents from the Arrowhead subdivision showed up at a village board public safety committee meeting last month to complain about gang graffiti on their houses, police have arrested three teenage gang members and one adult gang member, Acting Police Chief Ed Fetzer said.

Police also have stepped up patrols in and around the subdivision and plan to increase them even further once the mercury rises.

As a result, gang graffiti is down in the subdivision but has shown up on trees in other parts of town, Fetzer said.

"They know we're all over them in this area," he said. "To ensure it doesn't move to other parts of town, we're all over town."

Tuesday, more than 100 Cary residents attended a two-hour meeting at Ss. Peter & Paul Elementary School to find out what police are doing about the gangs and how they can help.

"Lighting is the key; that's the No. 1 thing," said officer Scott Naydenoff, head of the department's gang enforcement unit.

"99.9% of the time, if your house is lit up, they're not going to your house at night."

The village is matching a $3,000 grant it received from Crime Stoppers to furnish 54 homes in the subdivision with outdoor lights.

Fetzer said police have identified 50 gang members operating in Cary. Some live in the village, while others call Aurora, Carpentersville and Crystal Lake home, he said.

The gang members are mostly Latino, although there are some who are white, Sgt. Ed Synek said. And of those who are Latino, most were born in the United States, he said.

Some residents expressed frustration that the police department can't do more to deport illegal immigrants.

"Why can't we get rid of the bad elements?" resident Wendy Smith said.

Others, however, like resident John Wilbern said, "I don't care about illegal aliens, I care about illegal activity."