Yep. I will purchasing a gun this year. http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/crime/east-dayton-businesses-report-sur-13-tagging-180484.html http://www.daytondailynews.com/news/crime/180485.html East Dayton businesses report ‘Sur 13’ tagging A police detective says it means a gang, possibly Hispanic, is announcing its presence in the neighborhood. By Lucas Sullivan, Staff Writer Updated 12:43 AM Saturday, June 27, 2009 A nationally known Hispanic gang with ties to southern California and Mexico is trying to claim turf in an East Dayton neighborhood, area law enforcement officers said. Detectives with the Miami Valley Safe Streets Task Force were in the area near Watervliet Avenue and Smithville Road on Thursday, June 25, after numerous business owners reported their buildings had been tagged — signed — with “Sur 13” done with black spray paint. The tag is in reference to the Sureños 13 gang, also known as Sur 13 or Sur Trece’, which has been identified by the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office as an area gang. Dayton police said more than six businesses in that area were tagged sometime early Thursday. “Tagging of specific areas and crossing out of other names or symbols on walls means they are announcing their presence,” Dayton Detective Chad Knight said. David Bertke, owner of Rich’s Pawn Shop, in the 700 block of Watervliet, said detectives told him Thursday that Sur 13 is a subgroup of the Mexican Mafia and is prone to violence. Lt. Chris Williams, commander of the Second Police District, would not confirm Bertke’s statement. “It does worry me about what the police said (Thursday),” Bertke said about the possible gang connection. “I hope they patrol the area a little more. That’s all they can do, I guess.” Employees at the Beer Depot, directly across from the pawn shop, said they noticed young kids hanging out about 11:30 p.m. Wednesday. None of the businesses tagged had outside video surveillance. Knight said it’s not the first time he’s seen a “Sur 13” tag in the city, but the abundance and concentration found Thursday was unusual. Bertke said, “We’ve been here since 1987 and this is the first time we’ve seen something like this. But we aren’t going anywhere.” The spray-painted moniker of the nationally well-known Hispanic gang Sureños compounds an already busy year for detectives who are assigned to investigate gangs. Detectives with the Safe Streets Task Force, which includes Dayton police, the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI, have focused mainly on gang activity and numerous gang-related shootings in West Dayton. But the tagging of numerous East Dayton businesses on Thursday, June 25, has caught the attention and the concern of Safe Streets detectives. “We pay attention to active and violent gangs, that’s all I can say,” Dayton Detective Chad Knight said. The gang, also known as Sur 13 or Sur Trece’, is rooted in California and is a subgroup of Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, one of the largest and most violent street gangs in the country, according to the FBI. MS-13 members have been identified by the Montgomery Sheriff’s Office and the Safe Streets Task Force. There have been bubbling feuds in the area between MS-13 and Surenos, but nothing significant, Knight said. “A lot of the incidents go unreported because these gangs prey on (Hispanic) victims that are living (in the U.S.) illegally,” Knight said. The FBI maintains that Hispanic gang members often join Sureños (which, translated, means southerner) or arch rival Norteños (northerner) when they enter prison systems. Both MS-13 and Sur 13 have had a deadly decades-long feud with the Norteños gang, which is rooted in northern California. Knight said rival tags referencing Norteños have been found on buildings in the city, but its nearest faction is in Columbus
