The South Side Compton Crips (also known as the South Side Crips) are a "set" of the Crips gang alliance, based in Compton, California. This gang is known for the murder of Tupac Shakur.
History
Formation
During the 1970s, most of Compton and the territory east of Long Beach Boulevard was dominated by the Kelly Park Compton Crips and Neighbourhood Compton Crips. The only unclaimed territory was the area west of Long Beach Boulevard, which is where the South Side Compton Crips formed.[1]
During the crack epidemic, the South Side Compton Crips operated numerous drug houses throughout their territory.[1]
Shooting of Tupac Shakur
In 1996, a group of South Side Compton Crips led by Orlando Anderson attacked Trevon Lane, a Mob Piru Blood, at Lakewood Mall.[2] During the altercation, Anderson allegedly stole Lane's gold Death Row Records chain, which was a gift from Suge Knight.[3]
On September 7, 1996, Tupac Shakur, Suge Knight and several associates of Death Row Records, including Lane, went to Las Vegas to attend the Bruce Seldon vs. Mike Tyson boxing match. After the match, the Death Row entourage were walking in the lobby of the MGM Grand Hotel, where Lane spotted Anderson. After Lane whispered something in Shakur's right ear, Shakur allegedly went to Anderson and asked "You from the South?",[4] referring to the South Side Compton Crips. Then Shakur punched Anderson, knocking him to the ground and the rest of the Death Row entourage continued beating him.
After the fight, MGM security guards and Las Vegas police tried to persuade Anderson to file a complaint, but he declined.[5] Anderson caught a taxi to the Treasure Island Hotel, where several other South Side Compton Crips were staying. At the hotel, Anderson and the other Crips allegedly agreed to shoot Shakur after his scheduled performance at Club 662.[6]
Several hours after this fight, Shakur and Knight were on their way to Club 662, which was owned by Knight. While their vehicle was at a red light, a white Cadillac stopped next to them and an occupant of the Cadillac opened fire with a handgun.[7] Shakur was hit four times and taken to University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, where he died six days later.
Subsequent gang war and investigation
The South Side Compton Crips allegedly celebrated the murder of Shakur[8] and a gang war erupted between the Bloods and Crips in Compton. Starting from September 9, 12 shootings occurred, resulting in three fatalities.[9] In response to this violence, the police conducted raids of the houses of known gang members. Orlando Anderson was arrested and questioned by Compton police on October 2, but was released due to a lack of substantive evidence linking him to the murder.[10]
On 29 May 1998, Anderson and his friend Michael Dorrough confronted Michael Stone and Jerry Stone, two members of the Corner Pocket Crips, as Anderson believed Michael owed him money. A gunfight erupted, resulting in the deaths of Anderson, Michael and Jerry, and the injury of Dorrough.[11]
In 2009, a police investigation led by detective Greg Kading established that the occupants of the white Cadillac were members of the South Side Crips and that the shooter was Orlando Anderson. During the interview, Anderson's uncle, Duane Davis stated:[12]
"[Orlando Anderson] leaned over and rolled down the window and popped him".
Furthermore, based on statements provided by Davis, Kading also alleges that Sean Combs offered the South Side Compton Crips $500,000 to kill Shakur and another $500,000 to kill Knight. However, Combs denies these allegations.[13]
On September 14, 2003, two members of the South Side Compton Crips opened fire on an SUV containing Yetunde Price and her boyfriend, fatally wounding Price. Price was the oldest half-sister of and personal assistant to the leading tennis players Venus and Serena Williams. The two gang members believed they were protecting a drug house from a rival gang, the Lime Hood Piru.[14]
^"Life and death in South Central LA". The Observer. 2000-01-09. ISSN0029-7712. Retrieved 2023-03-29. One of the Pirus, Trevon 'Tray' Lane, was wearing a gold necklace from which dangled a Death Row emblem - a personal gift from Suge Knight. One of the Crips snatched it.
^"Life and death in South Central LA". The Observer. 2000-01-09. ISSN0029-7712. Retrieved 2023-03-29. It began with a question: 'You from the South? ' It was a chance meeting in the crowded lobby of the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas.
^"Paper links Shakur slaying to L.A. gang wars". Chicago Tribune. 6 September 2002. Retrieved 2023-03-29. MGM security guards and Las Vegas police tried to persuade him to file a complaint, but he declined.
^"Paper links Shakur slaying to L.A. gang wars". Chicago Tribune. 6 September 2002. Retrieved 2023-03-29. According to people who were present, the Crips decided to shoot Shakur after his scheduled performance later that night at Club 662, a local club just opened by Death Row.
^Phillips, Chuck (September 6, 2002). "Paper links Shakur slaying to L.A. gang wars". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2023-03-29. Two days after Shakur was shot, gang warfare erupted in Compton, Calif., as the Bloods sought revenge on the Crips. A rash of drive-by shootings left three people dead and 12 injured.
^Brown, Jake (2002). Suge Knight: The Rise, Fall and Rise of Death Row Records. Colossus Books. p. 69. ISBN9780970222473.
^"Life and death in South Central LA". The Observer. 2000-01-09. ISSN0029-7712. Retrieved 2023-03-29. According to the police, Orlando spotted Michael Stone at a car wash across the intersection and confronted him about money that Orlando believed Michael owed him. Michael was accompanied by his nephew, Jerry Stone. Tempers rose, and a gunfight erupted. All four were hit; Orlando and the Stones were all fatally injured.
