Dominicans Don't Play
Encyclopedia
Dominicans Don't Play is a Dominican-American street gang started in Manhattan
, New York in the early 1990s. They are known for primarily using machetes and knives as weapons. DDP is located across New York City
, particularly in Brooklyn
, The Bronx
, New Jersey
, Florida
, Pennsylvania
, Michigan
, Spain
, Dominican Republic
and some parts of Puerto Rico
.
and MySpace
as well as schools. Members have to be at least in their teen years to become active members in the gang....
While having a number of drug related arrests.
Members have drawn the interest of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and some faced deportation
hearings. The DDP has also drawn the interest of the US Marshals.
Throughout the group's relatively short history as a gang they have been involved in numerous violent altercations in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Florida, and Spain.
at Pelham Prep High School
in the Bronx on March 11, 2005 resulted in the stabbing of two teenage boys.
boardwalk were arrested. one had a gun and 11 had machetes.
's Back Bay MBTA station
by a gang of teenagers as part of their jumping in process. The man subsequently quit the gang, and the DDP code orders that past members must be killed.
, New Jersey
. The boy was killed by a member of the Trinitarios.
station.
left one teen dead (Tasihawn Bellevue) and two others injured. Police Commissioner Kelly said it was a "planned confrontation": Some Washington Irving High School
female students were "insulted," so they enlisted their boyfriends at Science Skills High School to defend their honor. Taishawn Bellevue was killed during this altercation. Taishawn was an aspiring basketball player known as baby lebron as his myspace page is littered with Lebron James
wall papers.
Commissioner Kelly also suggested that the fight was gang-related, as some Washington Irving students are members of DDP - Dominicans Don't Play. Other students who were based at Science Skills students could been members of no gang . An official who spoke to the NY Times, someone whistled to start the fight and the girls' contingent from Science Skills had 15 people "with no plans for a confrontation and found themselves outnumbered." Police reviewed surveillance footage from a nearby store that captured the fight. The around 50 teens involved used belts, pieces of wood, and bats during the altercation. 16-year-old Francisco Baez is charged with murder, gang assault and criminal possession of a weapon. after two people picked him out of a line up. He later confessed to the crime as a result of being identified.
man after the North Hudson
Dominican Day Parade in August 2003. They have had an ongoing feud with other area gangs, including the sets affiliated with the United Blood Nation
and the Trinitarios, a group comprised also of Dominican youths. There was a recent arrest of three members of the DDP by the FBI.
On January 1, 2007 3 members of the gang DDP were arrested in New York City. They were wanted for multiple charges relating to a shooting incident at a restaurant in which the three subjects fired several rounds killing one person and critically injuring three. They were arrested in NY with a .38 caliber hand gun. Other incidents include a large brawl in Manhattan's Union Square.
There have been incidents of individuals who have been attacked with machetes after being asked if they were members of the DDP. Some attacks have been deadly.
Gang. The group has limited potential for nationwide expansion and is largely confined to areas with significant Dominican populations in particular Washington Heights, Chelsea, Florida, Atlanta, Boston and New Jersey. It is the fastest growing gang in the Bronx, and amongst the largest in New Jersey. They are considered to have the largest concentration of Dominicans of any neighborhood in the United States
,combined population of Dominicans residing in New York and New Jersey totals around 1.2 out of an overall US Dominican population of 2.3 million as of 2001.
The gang, has become the most prominent gang in Madrid.
On November 5, Spanish security forces arrested 40 DDP members, all of them between 16 and 29 years old. The security forces confiscated 5 guns, one grenade, one machete, ammo, 3 baseball bats, 400 grams of cocaine, and 200.000 euros in cash.
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York in the early 1990s. They are known for primarily using machetes and knives as weapons. DDP is located across New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, particularly in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, The Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
and some parts of Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
.
Recruiting
Recruiting efforts have been done via sites such as YouTubeYouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
and MySpace
MySpace
Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
as well as schools. Members have to be at least in their teen years to become active members in the gang....
Drug trafficking
The gang is said to have a large share of the cocaine market due to an association with the Colombian crime cartel.While having a number of drug related arrests.
Members have drawn the interest of the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and some faced deportation
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
hearings. The DDP has also drawn the interest of the US Marshals.
Throughout the group's relatively short history as a gang they have been involved in numerous violent altercations in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Florida, and Spain.
Bones
There is apparently an off shoot of the DDP gang known as "Bones". Which was discovered following an attempted murder of a rival gang member.Dominicans For Life
Another off shoot of the DDP gang is DFL, short for Dominicans For Life. DFL was discovered by the beads almost like DDP only missing the black and also the similar hand sign.Pelham and Christopher Columbus murder
A scuffle between DDP and the BloodsUnited Blood Nation
The United Blood Nation, simply called the East Coast Bloods is primarily a street gang formed in 1993 within the New York City jail system on Rikers Island's George Mochen Detention Center. GMDC was used to segregate problem inmates from the rest of the detention center. Prior to this time period,...
at Pelham Prep High School
Christopher Columbus High School (Bronx, New York)
Christopher Columbus High School is a public secondary school located in the Pelham Parkway, northeast section of the Bronx, New York. It is within walking distance from the Bronx Zoo and the New York Botanical Garden....
in the Bronx on March 11, 2005 resulted in the stabbing of two teenage boys.
Coney Island arrests
A contingent of 47 gang members who were allegedly planning to wreak havoc on the Coney IslandConey Island
Coney Island is a peninsula and beach on the Atlantic Ocean in southern Brooklyn, New York, United States. The site was formerly an outer barrier island, but became partially connected to the mainland by landfill....
boardwalk were arrested. one had a gun and 11 had machetes.
February 20, 2007 murder
On February 20, 2007 an 18-year old boy was stabbed 21 times in BostonBoston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
's Back Bay MBTA station
Back Bay (MBTA station)
Back Bay station, located at 145 Dartmouth Street, between Stuart Street and Columbus Avenue, is a train station in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston...
by a gang of teenagers as part of their jumping in process. The man subsequently quit the gang, and the DDP code orders that past members must be killed.
Murder of Jose "Ness" Rosario
15 year-old Jose Rosario, better known as "Ness", was killed outside of a deli in HackensackHackensack, New Jersey
Hackensack is a city in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States and the county seat of Bergen County. Although informally called Hackensack, it was officially named New Barbadoes Township until 1921. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 43,010....
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
. The boy was killed by a member of the Trinitarios.
Murder of Marviel Martinez
On April 13, 2005 fifteen year old Alex Ramirez, a member of the DDP off-shoot Bones, was charged with second-degree murder after witnesses said he slashed 16-year-old Marviel Martinez (rival gang member Trinitario) in the neck and then thrust the blade deep in the teen's back Tuesday morning at the Jerome Avenue IRT 183rd Street183rd Street (IRT Jerome Avenue Line)
183rd Street is a rehabilitated local station on the elevated IRT Jerome Avenue Line of the New York City Subway. Located at the intersection of 183rd Street and Jerome Avenue in the Bronx, it is served by the 4 train at all times....
station.
Murder of Mark Tyrell
A 16 year old, Mark Tyrell, was stabbed in march 2007 outside of Pizzaria in Union Square. Mark Tyrell has gotten into a fight with members of the DDP which forced him to get transferred to Chelsea.Union Square, December 2006 murder
A brutal fight amongst almost 50 teenagers in Union SquareUnion Square (New York City)
Union Square is a public square in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York.It is an important and historic intersection, located where Broadway and the former Bowery Road – now Fourth Avenue – came together in the early 19th century; its name celebrates neither the...
left one teen dead (Tasihawn Bellevue) and two others injured. Police Commissioner Kelly said it was a "planned confrontation": Some Washington Irving High School
Washington Irving High School (New York City)
Washington Irving High School is located at 40 Irving Place between East 16th and 17th Streets the lower part of the New York City borough of Manhattan...
female students were "insulted," so they enlisted their boyfriends at Science Skills High School to defend their honor. Taishawn Bellevue was killed during this altercation. Taishawn was an aspiring basketball player known as baby lebron as his myspace page is littered with Lebron James
LeBron James
LeBron Raymone James is an American professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association . Nicknamed "King James", he was a three-time "Mr. Basketball" of Ohio in high school, and was highly promoted in the national media as a future NBA superstar while a...
wall papers.
Commissioner Kelly also suggested that the fight was gang-related, as some Washington Irving students are members of DDP - Dominicans Don't Play. Other students who were based at Science Skills students could been members of no gang . An official who spoke to the NY Times, someone whistled to start the fight and the girls' contingent from Science Skills had 15 people "with no plans for a confrontation and found themselves outnumbered." Police reviewed surveillance footage from a nearby store that captured the fight. The around 50 teens involved used belts, pieces of wood, and bats during the altercation. 16-year-old Francisco Baez is charged with murder, gang assault and criminal possession of a weapon. after two people picked him out of a line up. He later confessed to the crime as a result of being identified.
Other incidents
In 2004 several people associated with DDP were arrested in connection with the fatal stabbing of a River Edge, New JerseyRiver Edge, New Jersey
River Edge is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough population was 11,340.The community was incorporated as the borough of Riverside by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on June 30, 1894, from portions of Midland Township, at the...
man after the North Hudson
North Hudson, New Jersey
North Hudson is the collective name of the municipalities of Weehawken , Union City , West New York , Guttenberg and North Bergen in Hudson County, New Jersey...
Dominican Day Parade in August 2003. They have had an ongoing feud with other area gangs, including the sets affiliated with the United Blood Nation
United Blood Nation
The United Blood Nation, simply called the East Coast Bloods is primarily a street gang formed in 1993 within the New York City jail system on Rikers Island's George Mochen Detention Center. GMDC was used to segregate problem inmates from the rest of the detention center. Prior to this time period,...
and the Trinitarios, a group comprised also of Dominican youths. There was a recent arrest of three members of the DDP by the FBI.
On January 1, 2007 3 members of the gang DDP were arrested in New York City. They were wanted for multiple charges relating to a shooting incident at a restaurant in which the three subjects fired several rounds killing one person and critically injuring three. They were arrested in NY with a .38 caliber hand gun. Other incidents include a large brawl in Manhattan's Union Square.
There have been incidents of individuals who have been attacked with machetes after being asked if they were members of the DDP. Some attacks have been deadly.
Potential for expansion
They are currently the second largest gang of Dominican descent behind the TrinitarioTrinitario
The Trinitarios/3ni are a violent New York-based multinational organization composed of Hispanics. Trinitario was established in 1989 within the New York state prison system and since spilled into the streets, with chapters in all five boroughs of New York City...
Gang. The group has limited potential for nationwide expansion and is largely confined to areas with significant Dominican populations in particular Washington Heights, Chelsea, Florida, Atlanta, Boston and New Jersey. It is the fastest growing gang in the Bronx, and amongst the largest in New Jersey. They are considered to have the largest concentration of Dominicans of any neighborhood in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
,combined population of Dominicans residing in New York and New Jersey totals around 1.2 out of an overall US Dominican population of 2.3 million as of 2001.
Spain
However, on March 7, 2006 Spanish Police in Madrid has noted a growing gang presence of the Latin Kings and DDP. Spanish police report 130 documented DDP members, making them the largest in Spain. DDP is the largest and most violent street gang in Spain.The gang, has become the most prominent gang in Madrid.
On November 5, Spanish security forces arrested 40 DDP members, all of them between 16 and 29 years old. The security forces confiscated 5 guns, one grenade, one machete, ammo, 3 baseball bats, 400 grams of cocaine, and 200.000 euros in cash.