Gangs Not Going Away In Pendleton

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By Kyle Trompeter

Summary

A man was stabbed to death on the Bedford Bridge in Pendleton during this years Round Up. The stabbing was gang related.

Story Published: Dec 3, 2009 at 5:59 PM PST

PENDLETON - A man was stabbed to death on the Bedford Bridge in Pendleton during this years Round Up. The stabbing was gang related.

"Here on the reservation we've identified about 14 different gangs over the last ten years. It's not new but recently we did have the homicide and that has brought some emphasis out into the Pendleton area," said Public Safety Director Ray Denny.

Graffiti is definitely up. Police have counted up more than $10,000 in vandalism damage so far this year.

Along the parkway, teens pointed to the part of town as the spot where most of the drug dealing is done.

"Probably about 99 percent of drug affiliation done here is gangs," said teen Kayla Rankin.

Police say that might be a bit high.

"That's definitely exaggeration. The majority of kids... we have a lot of great kids in the county. We're talking about a small percentage of individuals," said Denny.

His stats show less than 10% of the area is affiliated with a gang.

In one quick visit, we spoke with about a dozen high school kids along the River Walk. Every one claims to know someone in a gang.

"You can be friends with anyone from any gang. You wont get in trouble. They'll be on your side," said teen Myaja Poffenberger.

"You got to be careful what you say around people. You can't start stuff. That's how a lot of the stuff here at the levy gets started by just being obnoxious and immature," said teen Heather Teem.

While the perception may be worse, there are still 43 known gang bangers in Pendleton. Police are working to keep those numbers from growing.