Cops, feds cracking down on SW Philly gang

A joint task force of police and federal officials are making a renewed effort to clear a Southwest Philly neighborhood of a group of violent punks "hell-bent on violence," according to Lt. John Walker of Southwest Detectives.

The "Greenway Gorillaz" are a gang of about 20 who have run rampant on the streets since 2012. They've been operating within an area of about 12 square blocks: between Springfield and Woodland Avenues and 52nd and 55th streets in Kingsessing, Walker said.

"People are afraid to come out of their homes," Walker said. "We're not going to tolerate that."

In recent months, authorities have apprehended a majority of the gang's members. With them secure, police investigators are teaming up with the agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives to determine the full breadth of the Gorillaz' criminal activity.

"We need the public to help us identify all the crimes they've participated in," Walker said. "It's an opportunity for people to come forward and help us put this together."

Name a crime; the gang has committed it in that nexus: murder, shootings, robbery.

They've even taken over houses, converted them into stash spots for drugs, Walker said. In one instance, they shot a homeowner's dog when the man wouldn't comply with their demands.

Investigators have linked the group to five homicides this year alone. Only one has been solved: Thomas Holman, 26, who was allegedly killed by Tyree Peel, 27, on Aug. 15, Walker said.

In 2012, two of the gang's members Ronald Ockimey, 27, and Leon Owens, 35, opened fire on a convenience store at 53rd and Greenway, the heart of their area of influence.

The duo was looking to take out members of a rival gang, but the only casualty was Markel Wright, a 22-year-old Peirce College student who took a stray bullet to the neck after buying chips from the store.

Ockimey and Owens were convicted in the slaying two years later.

"It's a quality-of-life issue," Walker said. "We need people to come forward with information that can help us take these bad seeds out of this community."

Tipsters with information about gang-related crimes should call 800-283-4867.