District Attorney General Neal Pinkston gives a statement about the 2009 murder of Franklin Augustus ҋookieӠBonner during a press conference at the Newell Towers Tuesday, June 12, 2018 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. This week the Hamilton County Grand Jury returned indictments of felony murder robbery and especially aggravated robbery against Mallory Aunte Vaughn in the 2009 homicide of Franklin Augustus ҋookieӠBonner.Attorneys continued to spar this week over "gang validation forms" as they wait for a judge's final order in a civil nuisance case that aims to keep 31 alleged gang members from associating in East Lake Courts.
In a brief filed Tuesday in Hamilton County Criminal Court, District Attorney General Neal Pinkston said he's proven the Grape Street Crips and Gangster Disciples are criminal street gangs and that 31 of these members are a public nuisance. And once a judge has proof of that, Pinkston wrote, "an order of [nuisance] abatement shall be entered as part of the judgement of the court."
For nearly two years, Pinkston has said he wants a judge to approve a "safety zone" that would prohibit the 31 men from drinking beer, owning graffiti equipment, alerting others to the presence of police, using guns or drugs and hanging out with each other. Pinkston said the zone would give police officers another tool to stop routine troublemakers in the East Lake housing project, and he said each man could be fined $50 or face up to 30 days in jail for violations.
Although Pinkston convinced a judge to approve a temporary zone in December 2016, the prosecutor still had to prove his case for a "permanent" version during a hearing in April. Hamilton County Criminal Court Judge Barry Steelman hasn't released his ruling yet. In the meantime, a defense attorney for some of the accused men and Pinkston have filed more arguments for him to consider.
For at least a year, defense attorney Chrissy Mincy has argued that nobody's been enforcing the temporary safety zone - so why is a permanent one necessary? Although Pinkston's shown gang violence is a serious problem in East Lake, Mincy said he didn't prove that each defendant's past criminal charges had anything to do with it. She's also gone after the "validation forms" Chattanooga police officers use to classify someone as a gang member, arguing that people remain validated on outdated information.
In addition to these arguments, Mincy and other defense attorneys have said the zone violates a person's First Amendment right to freedom of association by telling them who they can't hang out with.
"Nothing in this brief changes my argument that they haven't met their standard," she said Wednesday.
To validate someone as a gang member, officers use a points process. Tattoos, self-admittance, and associating with other gang members are all weighed differently, and a person only needs 10 points. Anything less means you're associated.
In his motion Tuesday, Pinkston said some pieces of the gang validation criteria, such as tattoos, aren't hearsay and speak for themselves. He says the forms can be admitted under a "business exception" evidence rule, which Mincy disagrees with.
"Several portions of the gang validation forms, like tattoos on an individual or self-admission of gang involvement, are not hearsay in any fashion," Pinkston wrote. "The gang members want all of Hamilton County to be on notice they belong to either the Grape Street Crips or the Gangster Disciples."
Pinkston added that crime rates since have fallen in East Lake Courts. He also disputed Mincy's argument about lack of enforcement, saying that people could be violating the safety zone - just outside of law enforcement's knowledge.
"This nuisance was recognized by the court in its temporary [order in 2016]," Pinkston wrote. "At the conclusion of this trial and all the evidence considered, the public nuisance still exists and such should be permanently enjoined."
Contact staff writer Zack Peterson at zpeterson@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6347. Follow him on Twitter @zackpeterson918.