The brutal murder of an elderly central Arkansas woman has shed light on a new era of gang violence. On Tuesday, Sept. 4, for the first time, prosecutors linked Elvia Fragstein's murder to gang activity.
This came as a terrifying shock for those who always believed civilians were "untouchable." The connection is something we've been investigating since the day Fragstein's body was found back in July.
"Blood makes us kin and loyalty makes us family."
Those are the words that were written on the back of Tacori Mackrel's jumpsuit at Tuesday's court appearance. The 18-year-old is one of two teens charged in the beating and strangulation death of Elvia Fragstein, a woman they allegedly kidnapped from a shopping center in broad daylight.
It's that longing for loyalty and family that drives teens to commit such heinous crimes, according to those who say we're experiencing a new era of gang violence.
The connection came to light when a group was named in an affidavit making the case against Tacori Mackrel and Robert Smith III in the death of Elvia Fragstein,
"These suspects' affiliation or at least knowledge of a group with that name is part of how law enforcement was able to identify who they were and ultimately present them with the case file that led us to file charges,” Carol Crews, the Faulkner County Prosecutor trying the case, said.
According to the affidavit, the group is based out of Pine Bluff and are typically young black males. The suspects are both teens.
"A big thing I've noticed after being a prosecutor at the local level for seven years is that the gangs are targeting and recruiting young people,” said Cody Hiland, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas. "A lot of times with the juvenile laws, we try to make them less punitive and they've realized that, so they're recruiting younger people to go out and commit more of the serious crimes because they think they have less exposure."
In the Fragstein case, 18-year-old Mackrel could face the death penalty, while 16-year-old Smith could serve as few as 28 years for capital murder.
"What's going on today is totally different,” explained Leifel Jackson. He runs ROCAN, an afterschool program that mentors at-risk youth, but back in the 90s he was known as the "Original Gangster,” a title he earned. "I felt like I was one of the sole reasons that our community in Little Rock was just torn apart by gangs, drugs."
He said gone are the days of the OGs, those who abided by a code and held their members responsible for violating that code.
"One of us could come forth and say 'Don't worry, this won't happen over here. Because this is going to affect the kids, or elderly, or whatever.’ We don't have that anymore. There's no leadership in the gangs," he said.
When the leaders were locked up during the "Zero Tolerance" days, they left behind a generation of young men without father figures. While they may have once been on opposite sides of the law, Jackson and Hiland agree, that shines a light on the root of the problem
"A lot of them started to follow the rules, but then they felt like 'Hey, I don't have to follow these rules. I can start my own little clique.' And you see a whole lot of off-shoot gangs. With the off-shoot gangs, there were no rules,” Jackson said.
"They just want to belong, they want to belong to something, even if it's an illegal something,” Hiland said.
Now, gangs have a deadly combination of guns, no leadership and something to prove.
"They're doing stuff you have psychopaths do. Who kills old women?” asked Jackson. He said this crime is something unheard of in his day.
Hiland said the murder of innocents has become more common.
"They have our attention,” he said. “They have the attention of people that are very good at what they do, and there's a strategic approach to coming after them, and making sure they can no longer continue the violent behavior that has a negative impact on our community."
Both men say it comes back to the parents. These kids need to be shown that a better life exists beyond the walls of a prison.