Official Release of Public Information from Leon County Sheriff's Office:

Last Week the Leon County Sheriff’s Office made several robbery arrests. An investigation by the Criminal Intelligence Unit has identified four documented gang members among those arrested by the Leon County Sheriff’s Office. Savon Green DOB: 07/23/1993 and Zenario Sapp DOB: 09/20/1990 were arrested after robbing the Express Lane located at 5648 Blountstown Hwy on Tuesday September 2, 2008.

During the armed robbery Green and Sapp threatened the clerk with a handgun and stole cash. Deputies caught Green and Sapp a short distance from the store and they are documented “North Side” gang members.

On Wednesday September 4, 2008, Travoris Bunion DOB: 09/14/1990 and Marcus Butler DOB: 06/29/1989 were arrested after helping a strong arm robbery suspect escape from citizens who came to the aid of the victim. In this case a 30yoa woman was attacked in the Publix parking lot located at 5810 North Monroe Street, and her purse stolen by Takelia Anderson. Two concerned citizens tackled Anderson as she fled, but Bunion and Butler attacked the assisting citizens and helped Anderson escape. Bunion and Butler are documented “North Side” gang members.

The Leon County Sheriff’s Office is committed to reducing gang related violence in our community, through proactive gang policing techniques. These include advanced gang training for Uniform Patrol Deputies and School Resource Deputies; gang tattoo identification and photographing of inmates booked into the Leon County Jail; board membership in the Florida Gang Investigators Association; aggressive criminal intelligence gathering of gang activity and information sharing with other law enforcement agencies.

Sheriff Larry Campbell said “These gang member arrests should make it clear that there is a direct correlation between gang membership and violent crimes in Tallahassee. We take the threat of gang violence very seriously and we will work with the State Attorney’s Office to provide the required information to successfully prosecute gang members.”

State Attorney Willie Meggs said today that "in working with the Sheriff's Office and other 2nd Circuit Law Enforcement Agencies, the State Attorneys Office is committed to the premise that gangs will not be tolerated and the SAO will seek severe sanctions against documented Gang members that seek to terrorize our community."

Florida Statute 874 establishes the guidelines used to classify a person as a gang member. This statute also describes the legal definition of gang as a formal or informal ongoing organization, association, or group that has as one of its primary activities the commission of criminal or delinquent acts and that consists of three or more persons who have a common name or common identifying signs colors or symbols.

A criminal gang member is a person who meets two or more of the following criteria:

• Admits to criminal gang membership.
• Is identified as a criminal gang member by a parent or guardian.
• Is identified as a criminal gang member by a documented reliable informant.
• Adopts the style of dress of a criminal gang.
• Adopts the use of a hand sign identified as used by a criminal gang.
• Has a tattoo identified as used by a criminal gang.
• Associates with one or more known criminal gang members.
• Is identified as a criminal gang member by an informant of previously untested reliability and such identification is corroborated by independent information.
• Is identified as a criminal gang member by physical evidence.
• Has been observed in the company of one or more known criminal gang members four or more times.
• Has authored any communication indicating responsibility for the commission of any crime by the criminal gang.

Sheriff Larry Campbell asks anybody that may have information about gang members or gang activity to please contact the Leon County Sheriff’s Office Criminal Intelligence Unit at (850) 922-6536 or Crime Stoppers at (850) 574-TIPS (8477). Remember, Crime Stoppers does not want your name, just your information. You could be eligible for a reward of up to $1000.