18th Street Gang’s Most Dangerous Member Was Only 5’4 (20+ Bodies, BPS/Blood K*ller)

[0:00]Welcome to Hood War Stories. In this episode, I'll be discussing the life of Crook. William Vasquez was an extremely active member from 18th Street. The Alsace Clique to be exact. Crook was undoubtedly one of the heaviest hitters in the 2000s, but it didn't start out that way. He grew up modestly in Mid City, in the neighborhood south of Adams, just east of La Brea. Which in the 80s was a mostly Latino and black low-income community. He attended Uni High in West Los Angeles. Back then he was simply a tagger, involved in minor mischief such as theft and other petty crimes. But he got expelled from school is when he became a full-fledged 18-streeter. This marked the point where he turned it all the way up. Initially his main focus was going to BPS and the Rollin 20s. The year was 1999. And at that point the war between 18 and BPS and Rollin 20s was in full shootout mode. The conflict began in the mid-90s. There once was an 18th Street click on Ursula Avenue, which was smack dab in the middle of the jungles. They attempted to set up shop and sell drugs on that block, but BPS told them they didn't have permission. But the Ursula clique decided to sell drugs anyways, defying BPS's orders. BPS pressed them into a corner, prompting the Rancho Park clique to come in for backup. The Rancho clique came through with gunfire. BPS responded with authority, shooting up Ursula Avenue day and night. To the point the 18th clique had to evacuate. The Ursula clique fled to Rancho's turf, and Rancho responded on their behalf, allegedly firing at anyone black in and around the Js. Even black students at Dorsey were getting shot at. Eventually it was too much to withstand, and the Rancho clique got absorbed into the Alsace clique, located just a mile north. Now merged with members from the Rancho and Ursula clique, the Alsace Clique held growing resentment and hostility toward BPS, and Crook made sure to make BPS and the Rollin 20s his top target. He personally wanted to give them hell. Routinely driving through the jungles in his black Monte Carlo shooting with his semi-automatic. On one occasion, he allegedly shot a BPS member and his mother. The mother survived, but the BPS member would die from his injuries. He wanted everyone in the Js to feel it. He allegedly came back a week later and wounded another in the ankle as the target tried to scatter from the bullets. It turned into a cat and mouse chase, with Crook shooting into the jungles and consistently managing to evade BPS's reach. At just 5'5" Crook was very elusive and rapidly became the top shooter on his side. BPS grew so frustrated with him, they began writing Crook K on the walls, and BPS was actively hunting him down. They wanted him dead bad. The community south of Adams and west of La Brea turned into a war zone. In terms of activity, this neighborhood is overlooked in comparison to other pockets of the city. But from the 80s through the 2000s, it was riddled with gang violence. BPS would come through gunning and ship a handful of 18-streeters in the process. But Crook would continue to slip through the cracks and retaliate the way he knew best. He was a stone cold killer at this point. With bullets flying every which way. Paranoia set in, and he slept with his gun in his hand every night. As a close ally to BPS, the 20s automatically jumped into the beef with 18th Street. Open season back and forth shootings rained through West Adams and Mid City. During this time, Crook Tatted BK on his body, which stood for Blood Killer. He was actively looking for his next victim. On December 3rd, 2003, Mark was standing outside a residence on the Sal Avenue. Mark had lived in that neighborhood all of his life. And as a Rollin 20s gang member, he knew that his gang controlled the area. The location where Mark was standing was a known hangout. He noticed a male, whom Mark identified as Crook, jogging in his direction. A girl came up to Mark and asked for a dollar. As he went into his pocket to get some money, Mark's keys dropped to the ground. He went down to pick them up, when he noticed a black object close to his face. Mark threw his hands up and grabbed Crook's wrist. Crook was holding a gun. Mark and Crook struggled for control of the weapon. Crook was pulling the trigger. Mark was struck in the shoulder by a bullet. The men fell and the gun hit the ground. Mark dove under a nearby car. Crook retrieved the firearm and continued to fire while shouting F Slobbs. After five or six shots the gunfire ceased. Mark had seen Crook on prior occasions when Mark and fellow gang members drove through 18th Street territory during their weekly scouting trips, looking for 18th Street members to kill. And when Mark was at the shooting range, about two weeks later, Mark viewed a photographic lineup and identified Crook as the individual who shot him. Another witness came forward. She recalled that on that day she was walking home from the market. A red vehicle believed to be an Acura approached and stopped near her. The driver yelled, you know where any 20s are? She did not respond and continued walking. There were four Hispanic males in the car. One stood out in her mind. Later, while she was at home, she heard gunshots and then someone knocking on the front door. When she opened the door, Mark collapsed on her living room floor. That same evening in about a quarter mile away from where Mark was shot. Kevin Walton, who was a beloved member of the Rollin 20s, was standing on the 2600 block of Raymond Avenue. When suddenly Crook runs up and shoots at him six times. Kevin was found laying in the street and was hit three times. Two of the shots were fatal. He was 33 years old. Crook was a self-proclaimed blood and stone killer all day. But he didn't just stop there. Any of 18's enemies were fair game. On January 27th, 2002. There was a backyard party being held on View Street. According to her eyewitness account, Selena was at the backyard party where she ran into Alex Haro. Alex was from the Culver City boys and was at the party with another fellow gang member. The location of the party was adjacent to 18 territory, so technically they were out of bounds. Selena had finished dancing on Alex when she noticed some individuals entering the yard through a side gate. Suddenly, the guests began running toward the house and out of the yard. Selena realized the people were trying to get away from a man wearing a baseball hat, whom she identified as Crook. He was casually walking into the yard with a gun at his side. Crook and another male rushed forward and yelled, F Cop City. Crook, who appeared angry and aggressive, rapidly approached the guy who was wearing a hat with the letter C on it, and knocked the hat off his head. Alex came over to defend his friend and socked Crook, who then pulled out a gun and started unloading. Crook was inches away from Alex as he fired. Alex died as a result of the shooting. Some weeks after the shooting, Selena was working at an In-N-Out drive-through window when she saw Crook again. After completing the transaction with the driver, she left the window in a panic. Selena was very concerned because she had worked at that location for about a year and had not seen Crook there before. Approximately a week and a half later, she was at work when she saw Crook again. On this occasion, he walked into the restaurant. Selena took his order at the counter. After he gave her money, Selena left the counter and walked to the back of the restaurant. Crook sat at a table with another individual and ate. Selena waited until they left the restaurant before returning to the counter. Selena met with detectives months later and viewed a photographic lineup. She selected Crook's picture and said he was the person with the gun, whom she saw in the backyard at the party, and who twice came to her place of employment. She wanted to limit her involvement in the case because Crook had shown up twice at her job. Crook continued the decade leaving death and destruction in his wake. Numerous murders and attempted murders would follow. On the night of March 5th, 2005, Jonathan Hernandez and Hector Bernal were attending a party at the Moose Lodge in Santa Monica. Jonathan and Hector were both members of the Santa Monica 17th Click of the Santa Monica 13 Gang. This click is located in the historically low-income Pico neighborhood of Santa Monica. Crook then shows up to the party along with fellow 18 members Jose and Eric. An argument then broke out between the men and Jonathan while they were at the bar. One of the men physically assaulted Jonathan, causing him to drop down to one knee. Hector, who was at a nearby table, ran to his aid. Crook fired twice, causing him to fall to the floor. Crook then fired four shots at Jonathan, who was on his knee, causing him to collapse. After the initial shots were fired at Hector, one of the men fired in the direction of the DJ and his assistant. According to eyewitnesses, Crook and his group fired even more shots while both victims were already on the ground. Both Jonathan and Hector would die as a result. Over 30 shell casings were recovered at the scene. Crook's thirst to kill seemed never ending, as his body's piled up. On September 24th, 2005, Jesse and a friend were leaving a party near 21st Street in Mid City. When suddenly Crook ran up from behind and began shooting. Jesse was hit over 20 times and died as a result. After an 18-month hunt by the police, Crook was found hiding out on the 500 block of West Lake, located in 18th's infamous Columbia Psychos Clique. While locked up in the county jail, a major racial riot unfolded after BPS repeatedly tried to take out Crook. In the courtroom after being convicted of five murders, Crook grinned as one of the victim's mother called him a monster. Crook was also being investigated for 15 additional murders, but wound up only being convicted of five. He was sentenced to life in prison. I'd like to thank you guys for watching. Please like, comment, and subscribe.