The victims were mostly members of other Indo-American gangs. A handful of others are serving shorter sentences. Manjinder Singh Sohal, 25, identified by police as a key leader of Aim to Kill, was arrested last November after he fled to Canada. Seized items include illegal drugs such as opium and methamphetamine; weapons; photos; and business cards that say AIM, for All Indian Mob. Authorities say the gangs fight mostly among themselves, though there have been few incidents in recent months following the arrests and convictions.
Police also note how amateurishly the gangs behave, frequently mixing up colors or wearing two at a time. There are no firm explanations for why the gangs are predominantly Sikh.
But unlike other South Asian immigrants who have flocked to the United States since the s, Sikhs have lived in California as far back as the late s. Community leaders and cultural experts say Sikhs have had far more time to establish roots here, bring over extended family members, and become familiar with American cultural influences — good and bad. While the gangs are a relatively recent phenomenon in the Bay Area, other big cities — including London and Vancouver B.
Police in Yuba City also say an unknown number of high school-age Sikhs and other East Indians belong to gangs. The rest are from different regions in India. For the vast majority of Indo-American young people, cultural tensions may exist — but play out less dramatically. But all that money is no good if their kids are already into guns and drugs.
Authorities are further frustrated because some members of the community reject or downplay the idea that some of their young embrace a criminal lifestyle. The elders refuse to accept it.
Some parents whose children have gotten into trouble say their sons act independently and are not part of a gang. Other families accuse police and prosecutors of being biased against those of Indian descent. That mistrust led two families to hide their sons from police.
Experts say the behavior of some young men is tied to bravado and ego. Thrust into American culture, they mimic what they see. Many shed their turbans, in some cases trading them for baseball caps and bandannas.
What sets these Indo-American groups apart from other ethnic gangs, observers say, is that some have enough disposable income from their families and jobs for college educations, expensive cars, ski trips, even business cards. Yet not everyone is so fortunate: Several convicted gang members come from single-parent families and could be considered low-income by Silicon Valley standards.
And many Sikhs who have immigrated from Punjab have taken lower-paying jobs as farmers, gas-station attendants and taxi drivers. Singh, who comes a from a single-parent home, had helped support his mother and two siblings. Experts and community members say young Indo-American men face pressures common to many immigrant groups, including fitting in at school.
Saddam alias Ghauri, a sharp shooter who ran an extortion racket, showed his victims videos of his shootings to scare them. They also post things on their handles and gangster pages. When lead gangsters are arrested, other gang members go on the look [out] for youths to recruit who want to keep up guns and get into their business of crime.
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