Culver City Boyz
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Culver City Boyz, is Mexican American street gang located in the Del Rey/Culver City border area of Los Angeles, California, their main territory being around the Mar Vista Gardens Housing Projects.
The gang also has small pockets in other parts of Culver City. The history of the gang dates back to sometime around the 1960s, and many consider them to be the largest and most active gang on the West side even though gentrification and the housing project's zero tolerance for crime have cut the gang's numbers. The gang has been known to fight wars with other gangs in the area and in Venice, and has been implicated in a series of violent capers across the Los Angeles West Side.
According to a Los Angeles City Beat article, by 2003, many Culver City Boyz left the housing projects due to strict rules that evict gang members and increased police presence. Many Los Angeles Westside gang members resettled in the city of Inglewood [1].
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[edit] Name
The Culver City Boyz seldom use this name and are more widely referred to now as Culver City 13. It is not uncommon for the gang members to still refer to each other as "City Boys", however the "z" at the end of the name has been completely dropped. Culver City gang graffiti also has dropped this name and the gang is generally tagged as "CXC13" "CEXCE13" or "Culver City 13".
[edit] Injunction
The Culver City gang was the target of a gang injunction in 1999, along with other Westside gangs including the rival Venice Shoreline Crips. The court hearing, which was filled with over 40 gang members, contended that the gang itself and 75 individuals specifically listed in the suit, were a threat to public safety. This injunction created a "safety zone" between Venice, Jefferson and Sepulveda boulevards and Centinela Avenue. Gang members in the area cannot associate, consume alcohol in public, carry weapons, spray paint or even pagers. The injunction also sets a 10 p.m. to sunrise curfew for all gang members in Mar Vista and the Oakwood area of Venice Beach, home to the rival Venice 13 gang. [2]
[edit] Rivals
The Culver City gang is known for having its share of rivals in the surrounding neighborhoods. Some of the Culver City rivals are Lennox 13 and the 18th St.; specifically the Smiley and Alsace set located around Hauser Blvd in Los Angeles and the 106th St. set located in Inglewood[3], the Graveyard Gangsta Crips trays, Santa Monica 17 street gangs, and the Santa Monica 13 gang located along the Pico area of Santa Monica [4], the Sotel 13 gang based in West Los Angeles, Helms 13 based in Culver City[5], the Inglewood 13 gang in nearby Inglewood [6], and the Venice 13 and Venice ShortLine Crips, both located in Oakwood[7].
[edit] Cliques
The Culver City gang has a series of cliques including Project Locos (PLS) and Diablos (DBS)[8], Little Locos (LLS), Kinston Locos (KLS), Slauson Locos (S'LS)[9], Winos (WNS), and most recent Project Boys (PJB)
[edit] Notoriety
The Culver City gang has gained notoriety for a fierce series of violent encounters with rival Latino gangs and African Americans. A battle with the Santa Monica 13 gang resulted in eight shootings, including four fatalities and six injuries, in one three-week span alone.[10]
Another feud with the Inglewood 13 left LAPD Officer Brian Brown, dead.[11]
The Culver City gang has also been notorious for being a viciously anti-African-American gang. One of the gang's first African-American wars was waged by the Culver City 13 gang against the Shorelines. Originally, the Shorelines and Culver Boys shared the Mar Vista Gardens Housing Project in Mar Vista. According to a law-enforcement officials, the war between the gangs occurred when the Culver gang claimed control of the projects and ran out the Shorelines. Many members of the Venice Shoreline Crips retreated back into the Oakwood projects for protection from their cousin gang.[12] After the Shorelines moved into the area a series of conflicts erupted and they began warring with the rival Venice 13. At one point the V13 and the Culver Boys set aside their own differences in early 1994, uniting against the Shoreline Crips, who began to take control of Oakwood's drug trade. [13] After various skirmishes with the three gangs fighting for control, the V13 and the Shorelines agreed to a cease-fire agreement in exchange for a new community center in the Oakwood area. [14] The Culver City gang was responsible for the 1993 Thanksgiving firebombings of African-American and Senegalese-American homes and cars. [15]
