New police unit aids in drive-by arrest
By: Joseph Harvie
A new police anti-gang unit was instrumental in identifying and arresting a pair of alleged street gang members police say were responsible for a drive-by shooting in Southridge Woods on Friday.
When calls came into police reporting that the shooting had occurred in building 400 of the complex, the new Gang Intelligence Unit was able to identify possible suspects because it had compiled a list of alleged gang members living in the complex and had been tracking their behavior.
Police arrested Raqib Sharif-Burke, 20, and his brother Rashid Sharif-Burke, 18, and charged them with aggravated assault, making terroristic threats and possession of a weapon for an illegal purpose after they allegedly shot at a local man with gang ties after an argument about money.
Police would not say to which gang the brothers belonged.
"One thing we learned is that we try not to identify the gang they belong to, because it encourages more violence and sometimes they only do these things for recognition," said Detective James Ryan, spokesman for the department.
Detective Ryan said Monday that the gang unit was established about two weeks ago to keep tabs on the growing number of gang members moving from cities into the township. Before Friday, there had not been significant gang activity in South Brunswick, other than some graffiti.
"The chief set a direction that we’ll meet any issue head on whether it is traffic issues or any issue," Detective Ryan said. "We would be naive to say that there is no gang activity. We’re not going to put our heads in the sand. There is a gang presence in every community and we’re no different."
Detective Ryan said that the unit has been studying gang symbols and signs and is looking into graffiti or tagging that has been found on buildings, street signs and elsewhere in the township. He said the group also will identify and track gang members who live in the township. He said there has been no indication that there is a problem in township schools.
"They correlate reports on everything from tagging to mischief," Detective Ryan said. "Anything related to graffiti, they look at it and identify it immediately. Their job is to keep on top of it and coordinate with other agencies."
The unit is led by Patrol Officer Jeff Russo, who said that he has already identified 37 known gang affiliates living in the township belonging to six known gangs, which he would not identify. He said that he has been able to identify gang affiliates through arrests and graffiti tagging throughout the township.
"Nowadays, most graffiti is gang-related," Officer Russo said. "Now it’s a case of whether or not someone is obvious by writing the word ‘Bloods’ or ‘Crips’ or being much more discreet writing up street names. Like the incident this past week one of the guys involved, (Rashid Sharif-Burke) in the shooting has a street name ‘Sheedy,’ so if I see ‘Sheedy’ written on a wall somewhere I’ll know who to look for."
The department is seeking help from residents. Anyone with a concern or information can contact the police Detective Bureau at (732) 329-4000, ext. 7496, or dial the police main line at (732) 329-4646.

