Aiming to end years of deadly violence, terror and intimidation linked to the Acorn drug gang of West Oakland, more than 200 Oakland police and other law enforcement officers raided more than 30 sites throughout the East Bay this morning, arresting suspected gang members.
Called "Operation Nutcracker", the raid ended a more than 2-month investigation. Before this morning, 17 suspected gang members were arrested on a variety of charges, including murder robbery and assault and another 24 were being sought today.
Heavily-armed officers raided homes in East and West Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Castro Valley, Hayward, San Leandro, Pinole, Hercules, Antioch, Concord and Vallejo and Fairfield, among other sites.
The raids started at 7 a.m. At a highrise in West Oakland, at 1055 8th St., police led suspects away in handcuffs as parents were dropping children off at a daycare across the street.
Police said not only was the gang responsible for scores of violent crime, it was also "responsible for terrorizing neighborhoods and the way of life for residents."
Oakland Assistant Chief Howard Jordan said "this is a culmination of an extensive complex investigation of violent criminals who had a stranglehold on this community of West Oakland."
"We are systematically and methodically dismantling this gang. We hope this makes it safer and more liveable for the residents," Holmgren said.
Police said the gang dealt drugs primarily in and around the Acorn Housing Project and used violence to expand and protect its turf.
Besides the housing project, the gang included in its turf an area bounded by 7th, 14th and Market streets and Mandela Parkway.
Lt. Ersie Joyner III said over the years dozens of homicides have been linked to the gang, which occasionally engaged in violent shootouts with rivals.
Some suspected members would also commit non-drug related crimes, particularly robberies. Two men charged in connection with recent takeover restaurant robberies in Oakland, including Milano on Grand Avenue and a pizza parlor on Leimert Blvd. are suspected Acorn members.
Gang members would not hesitate to use violence, not only to fend off rivals but to intimidate residents. Shooting and open drug dealing were common, police said.
Public information Roland Holmgren said the gang had a "torturous hold" on the area. "If you were against them, you paid," he said.
Besides Oakland police, also taking part in the raid were members of the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, the state Department of Justice, the FBI and police departments from Berkeley, Union City, Livermore and Fremont.
Among those arrested today was a suspected leader of the gang in Castro Valley, who has not been named. Police recovered at least one assault rifle during the raids, quantities of marijuana and cocaine and at an Antioch house, about $10,000 in cash.
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Called "Operation Nutcracker", the raid ended a more than 2-month investigation. Before this morning, 17 suspected gang members were arrested on a variety of charges, including murder robbery and assault and another 24 were being sought today.
Heavily-armed officers raided homes in East and West Oakland, Berkeley, Alameda, Castro Valley, Hayward, San Leandro, Pinole, Hercules, Antioch, Concord and Vallejo and Fairfield, among other sites.
The raids started at 7 a.m. At a highrise in West Oakland, at 1055 8th St., police led suspects away in handcuffs as parents were dropping children off at a daycare across the street.
Police said not only was the gang responsible for scores of violent crime, it was also "responsible for terrorizing neighborhoods and the way of life for residents."
Oakland Assistant Chief Howard Jordan said "this is a culmination of an extensive complex investigation of violent criminals who had a stranglehold on this community of West Oakland."
"We are systematically and methodically dismantling this gang. We hope this makes it safer and more liveable for the residents," Holmgren said.
Police said the gang dealt drugs primarily in and around the Acorn Housing Project and used violence to expand and protect its turf.
Besides the housing project, the gang included in its turf an area bounded by 7th, 14th and Market streets and Mandela Parkway.
Lt. Ersie Joyner III said over the years dozens of homicides have been linked to the gang, which occasionally engaged in violent shootouts with rivals.
Some suspected members would also commit non-drug related crimes, particularly robberies. Two men charged in connection with recent takeover restaurant robberies in Oakland, including Milano on Grand Avenue and a pizza parlor on Leimert Blvd. are suspected Acorn members.
Gang members would not hesitate to use violence, not only to fend off rivals but to intimidate residents. Shooting and open drug dealing were common, police said.
Public information Roland Holmgren said the gang had a "torturous hold" on the area. "If you were against them, you paid," he said.
Besides Oakland police, also taking part in the raid were members of the Alameda County Sheriff's Office, the state Department of Justice, the FBI and police departments from Berkeley, Union City, Livermore and Fremont.
Among those arrested today was a suspected leader of the gang in Castro Valley, who has not been named. Police recovered at least one assault rifle during the raids, quantities of marijuana and cocaine and at an Antioch house, about $10,000 in cash.
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police anit playin
