BUSINESS LAW 101 / Gangs

Albert L. Kelley, Esq.

A few weeks ago I had the chance to attend the Key Largo Chamber of Commerce meeting.  The guest speaker was our own Sheriff Rick Ramsey.  One of the items he spoke about was graffiti.  He said that his office makes it a priority to cover up graffiti as soon as they see it.  It was an issue of association and perception.  When people see graffiti, it is often associated with gangs and gang violence.  We live in a tourist community and perception is very important.  If people perceive we have gangs, it will reduce tourism, leading to a decrease in income and ultimately could lead to the type of situation where gangs proliferate. It can be a vicious cycle once you start down the path.  By eliminating the graffiti, it reduces the perception and that in turn can reduce the likelihood that gangs will form or that gang violence will occur.  The Sheriff’s Office is trying to keep our community from that path.

The legislature is doing the same through the criminal laws.   There are a series of laws targeted solely to ending gangs and gang violence.  First, we need to know what a gang is, or to be more specific, a criminal gang. The statue defines a criminal gang as “a formal or informal ongoing organization, association, or group that has as one of its primary activities the commission of criminal or delinquent acts, and that consists of three or more persons who have a common name or common identifying signs, colors, or symbols”. The statutes gives ten traits, any two of which can be used to identify a gang member.  They include style of dress, hand signs, tattoos, informants and admissions. 

If a person is charged with a crime and the court finds that the crime was committed for the purpose of benefiting, promoting, or furthering the interests of a criminal gang, the penalty for that crime will be enhanced.  The enhancement increases the penalty one level, for example, a second-degree misdemeanor will be punished as a first-degree misdemeanor, or a first-degree misdemeanor will be punished as a third-degree felony.  Any profits, proceeds or equipment used by the gang is subject to being seized and forfeited.  If the gang members use electronic devices for communication in furtherance of gang activities, the penalty is a third-degree felony. 

In order to prevent the formation of criminal gangs, the statutes criminalize the recruitment of gang members.  A person who intentionally causes, encourages, solicits, or recruits another person to become a criminal gang member where a condition of membership or continued membership is the commission of any crime commits a felony of the third degree.  If the recruit is under 13 years of age, the crime is a second-degree felony. 

But the law is not just going after the members and recruits, the law is especially harsh for the gang leaders. Any person who knowingly initiates, organizes, plans, finances, directs, manages, or supervises criminal gang-related activity commits a felony of the first degree. 

If any person shows they have been harmed by clear and convincing evidence, coercion, intimidation, threats, or other harm to that person by a gang or gang member, they can sue for three times their actual damages, plus attorney fees and court costs.  The state can also sue for treble damages, however, the individual’s rights to recovery are superior to the state’s. A violation of a court order under this section is a first-degree misdemeanor.  

Al Kelley has worked as an attorney in Monroe County for the last 32 years. He is the author of five law books available through Absolutely Amazing E-Books and the host of “Basics Of The Law”, a legal YouTube channel. He serves as the Vice Chair of the 16th Judicial Circuit Professionalism Panel.  He also previously taught business law, personnel law, and labor law at St. Leo University. This article is offered as a public service and is not intended to provide specific legal advice. If you have any questions about legal issues, you should confer with a licensed Florida attorney.

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