Sergeant Douglas Rice oversees the Austin Police Department Gang Unit. His detectives, who work the streets, made a disturbing discovery. The average age of an Austin gang member is just 11-years-old.
Lawrence Martinez raps about a major part of his past. It’s a time when the 29-year-old was living the life of a gang banger on the streets of South Austin.
“The reality of doing things of that nature are death, being paralyzed or prison,” said Martinez.
Martinez managed to escape that fate but many Austinities aren’t so lucky.
“I decided when I got out of prison I was going to do something different,” said Louie Mejia.
Mejia got into a gang as a teenager. By the time he was 18, Mejia was running a gang of 80 members.
“Society should be a little bit worried,” said Sergeant Douglas Rice.
Rice oversees the Austin Police Department Gang Unit. His detectives, who work the streets, made a disturbing discovery. The average age of an Austin gang member is just 11-years-old.
Rice tells KEYE TV gangs can be found in five areas of the city — the northeast, north central, central east, south central and south east.
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