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  • Overpasses like this one are common areas for gang “tags” to pop up. Stephens County Sheriff Wayne McKinney said when “tags” are identified, they are photographed for evidence and intel, then painted over much like under this overpass. Kevin Kerr

    Gang tags
September 3, 2010

Gang activity not unheard of in Stephens County

Kevin Kerr The Duncan Banner

DUNCAN — Gang activity is often thought to exist in large cities primarily. Even in Oklahoma, cities like Tulsa, Oklahoma City and Lawton are known to have strong gang related activity. But many don’t know that because of its proximity to Lawton, Stephens County has seen gang activity.

Lt. Lawson Guthrie of the Stephens County Sheriff’s department used to work in the department of corrections in Lawton. He said in his time there, he gained a first hand education about the gang community.

“I worked with DOC and identified gang signs, their tattoos and identified many gang members that came through there,” Guthrie said. “We took photos of their tattoos and learned extensively about what to look for when identifying gang members and activity.”

Guthrie moved to Duncan and now works with the Stephens County Sheriff’s Department. Sheriff Wayne McKinney said Guthrie is the department’s expert when it comes to gang activity, which he openly acknowledged is present in Stephens County in his 2008 campaign.

McKinney and Guthrie said there are several gangs present in Stephens County; The Mexican Mafia, The Hoovers, PLM, The Peckerwoods, The Aryan Nation and some skinheads just to name a few. Guthrie said that while there are several gangs present in the area, none of them really seem to originate in Stephens County.

“Many of those are coming from Lawton and the PLM’s are mostly from Wichita Falls,” Guthrie said.

People may think that Stephens County would have a very low amount of gang activity, but Guthrie said much of the business associated with gangs takes place in rural areas. The county knows this because they have found gang tags, or graffiti, all throughout the county, even far outside of a town or city’s limits.

“They go out there and sell their guns or drugs or whatever because it’s quiet and there’s not many people out there,” Guthrie said.

One of the driving forces in gang activity is drug trafficking, and due to it’s geographic position, Guthrie and McKinney said Duncan is a major place for drug traffickers to travel through. They said Highway 7 and Highway 81 are busy trafficking highways as those transporting drugs tend to avoid using intestates.

“So if you have a guy going from Lawton to I-35 or farther east, it’s coming right through here,” Guthrie said.

As well as drugs, McKinney said burglaries are a major indicator of gang activity.

“They use the items sold from the burglaries to buy the drugs, then they sell the drugs for the gang,” McKinney said. “It’s a vicious circle.”

McKinney said the gang activity in Stephens County is mostly drug or burglary related, but that violent gang activity has been known to occur. Guthrie recalled a woman who was killed due to gang activity in a park not far from the courthouse.

Currently, Stephens County does not have a gang task force, but Sheriff Wayne McKinney said they do the best they possibly can with what they have.

“This is a big county, some 800 plus square miles that we have to cover,” McKinney said. “But I think we do a good job at keeping pressure on them.”

Guthrie said he doesn’t see the need for a task force to be assembled immediately, but that a smaller group could be put together first to gather intel before a full-blown task force is assembled.

Guthrie said Stephens County residents have no reason to be fearful of gang activity, but that they should be cautious and aware that it is happening. Things such as suspicious vehicles in an area or graffiti appearing are good indicators that there might be gang activity, as well as specific colors people wear and their tattoos.

“Should anyone see anything they think is gang activity, call us and we’ll come look into it,” Guthrie said. “Even if it isn’t gang related, we’ve gained intel on that, and it’s just more information for us.”

“We do what we have to to keep it down,” McKinney said. “We’d like to get rid of it for good if we could.”



— Kevin Kerr is a reporter for The Duncan Banner. He can be reached at 580-255-5354 Ext. 147 or by e-mail at kevin.kerr@duncanbanner.com.

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