Dominicans Don't Play (143) is a

Dominican-American Dominican Americans ( es, domínico-americanos, ) are Americans who trace their ancestry to the Dominican Republic. The word may refer to someone born in the United States of Dominican descent or to someone who has migrated to the United Stat ...

street gang A gang is a group or society of associates, friends or members of a family with a defined leadership and internal organization that identifies with or claims control over territory in a community and engages, either individually or collectivel ...

started in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

, New York in 1990. They are known for primarily using

machete Older machete from Latin America Gerber machete/saw combo Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas, Oaxaca">San_Agustín_de_las_Juntas.html" ;"title="Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San Agustín de las Juntas">Agustín Cruz Tinoco of San ...

s and knives as weapons. DDP is located across New York City, particularly in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

and the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

. They are also located in New Jersey, cities like Union City, North Bergen, Paterson, Passaic, Elizabeth, Jersey City and Perth Amboy. They are also located overseas in various countries.

Recruiting

Recruiting efforts have been pursued via websites such as

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

and Myspace as well as in schools. Members have to be at least in their teen years to become active members in the gang.

Drug trafficking

The gang holds a large share of the

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

market due to an association with the Colombian crime cartel, and as such, many members of the group have been arrested for drug-related crimes. Members have drawn the interest of the

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is a federal law enforcement agency under the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. ICE's stated mission is to protect the United States from the cross-border crime and illegal immigration tha ...

, and some have faced

deportation Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...

hearings. The DDP has also drawn the interest of the

U.S. Marshals The United States Marshals Service (USMS) is a federal law enforcement agency in the United States. The USMS is a bureau within the U.S. Department of Justice, operating under the direction of the Attorney General, but serves as the enforce ...

. 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, Germany, London, Belgium, Dominican Republic, and Spain.

Notable criminal acts

Pelham and murder

A scuffle between DDP and the

Bloods The Bloods are a primarily African-American street gang founded in Los Angeles, California. The gang is widely known for its rivalry with the Crips. It is identified by the red color worn by its members and by particular gang symbols, includin ...

at Pelham Prep High School in the Bronx on March 11, 2005 resulted in the stabbing of two teenage boys.

Coney Island arrest

A contingent of 47 gang members who were allegedly planning to wreak havoc on the

Coney Island Boardwalk The Riegelmann Boardwalk (also known as the Coney Island Boardwalk) is a boardwalk along the southern shore of the Coney Island peninsula in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, facing the Atlantic Ocean. Opened in 1923, the boardwalk runs bet ...

were arrested. One gun and 30 machetes were found and confiscated.

February 20, 2007 murder

On February 20, 2007 an 18-year-old boy was stabbed 21 times in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

'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.

Murder of Marviel Martinez

On April 13, 2005, 15-year-old Alex Ramirez, a member of the DDP offshoot 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 Street station.

Murder of Mark Tyrell

A 16-year-old, Mark Tyrell, was stabbed in March 2007 outside of the Pizzeria in

Union Square Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...

. Mark Tyrell had gotten into a fight with members of the DDP which forced him to be transferred to Chelsea.

December 2006 murder

A brutal fight among almost 50 teenagers in Union Square left one teen dead 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, an aspiring basketball player, was killed during this altercation. 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 could not have been members of a gang. According to an official who spoke to ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', 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. Around 50 teens involved used belts, pieces of wood, and bats during the altercation. 16-year-old Francisco Baez was 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 Jersey River Edge is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the borough’s population was 12,049, reflecting a 6.3% increase from the 11,340 enumera ...

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 The United Blood Nation, also known as the East Coast Bloods, is a street and prison gang active primarily in the New York metropolitan area. It is the east coast faction of the California-based Bloods street gang. 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

Trinitarios The Trinitarios is an Dominican American criminal organization founded by Dominicans in New York City, New York in 1993. History The Trinitarios were established in 1993 on Rikers Island, the New York City jail,Luis Ferré-Sadurní & Barbar ...

gang. The group has limited potential for nationwide expansion and is largely confined to areas with significant Dominican populations, in particular Washington Heights Florida, Atlanta, Boston and New Jersey. It is the fastest growing gang in the Bronx, and among 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.

In other countries

Spain

On March 7, 2006, Spanish police in

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

noted a growing gang presence of the 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 one of the most prominent gangs in Madrid. On November 5, 2009, 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. As of 2021, DDP is still active in Spain, where they have recently murdered an 18 year old rapper with Asperger and schizophrenia. El Ministerio de Interior vigila a 620 bandas juveniles en toda España, de las que 88 son de origen latino. Sólo en la Comunidad de Madrid, la Policía Nacional tiene fichados a 400 pandilleros en activo (2500 en el territorio nacional).

Gang rivalries

The

are DDP's biggest rival gang since the early 2000s, they were once united in the 1990s. They also are at peace with the Latin Kings, a Puerto Rican-based gang who has had previous problems with their rivals the Trinitarios. The gang also has an ongoing rivalry with anyone who is or has an association with their rivals the Trinitarios.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dominicans Don'T Play Organizations established in 1990 1990 establishments in New York City Hispanic-American gangs Latino street gangs Gangs in Massachusetts Gangs in New Jersey Gangs in New York City Gangs in Spain Dominican-American culture in New York (state)