Gangs can be tied to 75% of crime in the Myrtle Beach area. Why is no one talking about it?

Going to a bar on New Year’s Eve was a way to celebrate the beginning of a new year. But Kron Fox, 19, and James Bellamy, 20, didn’t make it to 2024.

Around 11 p.m. on Dec. 31, a shooting at Drinking Class Sports Bar and Grill in Little River led to the deaths of the two young men. Court documents state that the shooting was “motivated by gang activity.”

Law enforcement and court officials confirmed the existence of gangs but not much more is known about who they are and where they come from.

But cases continue to happen in the Myrtle Beach area involving gangs and gang-related activity, many of those resulting in deaths. 15th Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson said drugs and gangs could be tied to 75% of criminal activity in Horry County.

“There are individuals who live in or visit Myrtle Beach who are involved in gangs,” Myrtle Beach Police Cpl. Chris Starling told The Sun News by email.

Myrtle Beach Police often deal with gang activity, including a shootout across Ocean Boulevard and the recent arrest by the FBI of 13 people in a Myrtle Beach neighborhood.

A Freedom of Information Act request asking for a list of known gangs in Conway was denied and Horry County Police declined interview requests on the subject.

The presence of gangs in Myrtle Beach is clear, but what else can be known and what do residents need to know about their safety?

What gangs are in Myrtle Beach?

There are divisions of Bloods, Crips, Gangster Disciples and Folk Nation in the Myrtle Beach area, but they are loosely tied to the national gangs, Richardson said. Often they take the gang name and act independently of the nationally-known gangs, he said. They also form their own subsets of gangs, such as the 15th Street Boys, Richardson said.

Bloods and Crips are rival gangs based in Los Angeles, while Gangster Disciples and Folk Nations are based in Chicago. All four are involved in various illegal activities, including drug dealing, theft and murder.

When Myrtle Beach Police officials were asked what they know about gangs, they said gangs are here and explained how the department tries to deal with them. Starling gave no information as to how many gangs are in the area, which ones are here and what their main criminal activity is.

The Sun News also asked Myrtle Beach Police and Horry County how many arrests in 2023 were related to gangs. Horry County spokesperson Mikayla Moskov said that is not something the county tracks, and Myrtle Beach Police had not fulfilled a FOIA request for the information at time of publication.

Cases involving gang activity

There have been at least two high-profile incidents since the end of 2023 involving confirmed gang activity: The New Year’s Eve shooting at the Little River bar Drinking Class and the 13 people arrested by the FBI for drug trafficking in Myrtle Beach.

The FBI arrests came after an investigation by multiple local, state and federal agencies, including the Myrtle Beach Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The investigation, which involved gang activity, mainly focused on happenings in the Booker T. Washington neighborhood of Myrtle Beach, according to Myrtle Beach Police Chief Amy Prock at a press conference.

Another high-profile case involved the shooting of 18-year-old Ja’Mir Johnson at a school bus stop in Conway. In February, Conway Police Chief Dale Long said the Conway Police Department was investigating whether the shooting of the Carolina High School senior was gang-related.

In March, police documents showed Johnson allegedly conspired with Justice Bright to rob and kill Ty’ree Graham. Graham was shot on Jan. 10 and died in the hospital the next day.

June Wood, Conway Police spokesperson, said in March that the department at this point had not connected the case to gangs or found evidence that Johnson was killed in retaliation for Graham’s death.

Gangs found in Conway are often not based in the area, Wood said. Sometimes gang members reside here but have ties outside the city, she said. Wood said this could apply to Horry County as a whole.

It’s also common for gang members to visit the Myrtle Beach area and bring their problems with them, Richardson said.

That’s what happened in 2020 when a shootout occurred on Ocean Boulevard. On May 17, 2020, two rival gangs from Chesterfield County ended up on opposite sides of the crowded Ocean Boulevard in Myrtle Beach and began shooting at each other, The Sun News reported.

Eight people were arrested for the shooting and seven plead guilty on the charges. One person was hurt.

“Violent crimes are retaliation for disrespect,” Richardson said. “You’ve got teens and (those in their) early 20s not using the best judgment. They get offended and they become retaliatory.”

Richardson said people typically join gangs for protection or to make money and the way most gangs make money is by selling drugs.

Wood said police tend to keep information about gangs to themselves as they don’t want those involved in gangs to be aware of how much information police departments have. This makes it hard to get answers from local law enforcement agencies about gang activity.

Another reason is information about gangs is difficult to verify, Wood said. Much of it is street talk and given the lack of organization within gangs, it’s difficult to fact check statements.