Members of the Dixie Homes Murda Gang (also known as the 47 Neighborhood Crips) will no longer be able to publicly congregate in an area just north of the Medical District thanks to a court-issued gang injunction.
Monday afternoon, representatives from West Tennessee’s Multi-Agency Gang Unit and other law enforcement agencies gathered in front of Byrd’s Grill (298 Decatur Street), an identified meeting location for the violent collective, for a press conference announcing the gang injunction.
The general boundaries of the newly created “Safety Zone” include I-240 on the east, Jackson Avenue on the north, North Danny Thomas on the west, and Poplar Avenue to the south.
The injunction prohibits the gang from associating in public, intimidating or assaulting witnesses to gang activity, possessing guns, and partaking in various other forms of illicit activity within the vicinity of the Safety Zone. If a member is caught violating the injunction’s terms, he or she can be arrested.
According to the Multi-Agency Gang Unit, there are several children’s health care and medical facilities, an elementary school, and a lodging facility for families with children who are receiving medical treatment in the immediate vicinity of the Safety Zone.
Residents in the Safety Zone have reported frequent shootings, fighting, drug sales, and gambling, while area hospitals have said patients and their families feel unsafe leaving at night because of loitering and harassment.
The first-ever gang injunction in Shelby County was issued in September 2013 against the Riverside Rollin’ 90’s Neighborhood Crips in South Memphis’ Riverside area.