Drew Street Drug House Demolished
Creepily, some neighbors miss the gang’s terror, a Neighborhood Watch of sorts
Jose Gomez’s 24-year-old brother, Carlos “Stoney” Velasquez, and Guillermo “Pee Wee” Hernandez, 20, were arrested for the murder of Escalante, who was shot about five times in the head outside his family’s home near the 3400 block of Thorpe Avenue in Cypress Park on August 2.
Not everyone gathered at the February 4 press conference and demolition was in the mood to celebrate.
“They destroyed a group of memories,” said Bobby, a young Hispanic who didn’t want to give his full name. He justified the Leons’ criminal reign by insisting, “It is not like we grew up in a rich area. My mom is broke. The house was not a symbol for the gang. It was a way to make money. It is the way they grew up. ... It is the only way they knew how to live.”
Another neighbor, Michelle, who didn’t want to give her last name, said she and her daughter don’t feel safe now that the local thug enforcers are gone. “You don’t know who is out here now,” she said.
“If someone bothers you, you talk to someone in the neighborhood,” said Bobby, illuminating how deeply Drew Street had fallen into gangster hands. “If someone stole from you, it would be handled. It was like a neighborhood watch. We don’t call the cops. We beat up people.”
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