Frightening but true: The Bloods are here for real

The Bloods gang are operating in Washington, D.C.,

Like a scene in a crime show, here’s what played out on the night of June 9 in the far east corner of D.C.:

A group of five young people — three men and two women — are walking along Minnesota Avenue near the Metro station. A Metro cop car is parked by the station. Suddenly one of the women breaks toward the cop car and screams at the officer.

“They’re trying to kill me.” She’s hysterical, face bruised, clothes a mess.

The cop gets out of the car and orders the four people to stop. He calls for backup. Metropolitan Police Department scout cars immediately roll up, cops pour out and cuff the four suspects.

A detective arrives and takes the hysterical woman aside. She tells him the four had threatened to kill her and forced her to have sex with a few men so they could get money to pay for Metro tickets. He takes her to the hospital and back to the scene. He confirms her story. She had been a gang member but wants out. He puts her in a witness protection program.

It gets worse, much worse.

The Examiner reported a few weeks ago that the Bloods, a storied and brutal gang based in Los Angeles, had established “sets,” or crews, here in Washington. Based on sources, I described the kidnapping of a woman who was sexually tortured for trying to leave the gang. Now the gruesome details of that kidnapping are described in the plain prose of affidavits and indictments unsealed Friday.

As she is an alleged rape victim, The Examiner will not name the woman. She was three months pregnant with the child of the gang leader — Albert Price, known as “Hellmary” or “Original Gangster” — when she tried to leave the gang. Price snatched her walking along East Capital Street on June 8, called for a carload of gang members and forced her to a vacant apartment building. Led by Marisa Gibson, or “Angel of Death,” they beat the pregnant woman, according to police documents. Next day they forced her to prostitute herself for Metro fare.

What’s frightening, beyond the details of kidnapping and torture, is that the Bloods are here for real. This set was known as “662 Boss Piru,” or “Legion of Doom.” It has been operating in D.C. “since at least 2004,” the indictment says.

These Bloods are way more violent and ruthless than D.C.’s homegrown crews. If “Original Gangster” Price is willing to beat and prostitute the woman carrying his child, there are no limits to their retribution.

The documents describe a number of incidents that raise questions of police conduct. On two occasions, cops had opportunities to intervene, arrest the thugs and rescue the woman. They let the gang members walk. Price, the leader, was under house arrest yet still was able to run the gang.

Details of 662 Boss Piru will unfold in federal court tomorrow, but details about whether the MPD is prepared to deal with Bloods are hard to come by. My fear, confirmed by sources and memos, is the cops are not ready for a gang menace that is already here.

E-mail Harry Jaffe at hjaffe@washingtonian.com.