Parents fought over which gang tot should "claim"

Posted on Apr 12, 2008 02:52 am
Diemusik
String bender
Member Since: Unknown

When I read that headline I thought it was going to be a joke of some sort. I really don't have the words for this kind of stupidity. The article is here origin.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_8879794

A heated dispute between two parents about what street gang their son should join resulted in one parent threatening to kill the other, Commerce City police say.

The center of the battle is a 4-year-old boy. The child was born to parents, who are not married, when they were about 15 years old, said Sgt. Joe Sandoval of the Commerce City Police Department.

On Saturday, the boy's father, Joseph Manzanares, allegedly went to the Hollywood Video at 5961 E. 64th Ave., where his ex-girlfriend and the mother of the boy works.

There, according to Sandoval, Manzanares, 19, began knocking over several displays in the video store, as well as knocking a computer off a counter.

Manzanares began to verbally threaten the woman, including saying he was going to "kill" her, said the police sergeant.

Manzanares then ran out of the store and was arrested a short time later at his residence.

The mother of the child told police that she and the boy's father have been involved in ongoing domestic disputes regarding their son.

The woman said she is a "Crip" gang member and that Manzanares is a "Baller" gang member, and "they have different ideas on how the baby should be raised," said Sandoval.

"Basically she said they cannot agree on which gang the baby would 'claim,' " Sandoval said.

Sandoval said the "Ballers" were formerly known as the "Westside Ballers." He said the father is Latino; the mother, African-American.

On Tuesday, Manzanares pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct, a Class 1 petty offense. A charge of harassment, a Class 3 misdemeanor, was dismissed.

Adams County Judge Simon Mole sentenced Manzanares to 12 months probation and imposed $835 in court costs and fees.

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