Judge grants injunction against Charlotte gang

CHARLOTTE -- A Mecklenburg County judge ruled in favor of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, granting a preliminary injunction against the gang the department calls the Hidden Valley Kings.

The department said they're seeing a resurgence of the gang in the northeast Charlotte neighborhood and an injunction is a new way to stop it.

This is the first time a North Carolina police department has filed a civil lawsuit against gang members. The Judge granted the injunction based on a decision by the California Supreme Court.

Suspected gang members who were in court Thursday morning deny the allegations against them, saying there is no proof they are a part of the Hidden Valley Kings.

CMPD disagrees, saying through hand signs, tattoos and sometimes through self-admission, police were able to identify nearly two dozen members.

The judge made changes to the original injunction. Some restrictions include hanging out with anyone they know to be a gang member, unlawful possession of a controlled substance, or threatening someone they know to be a witness in a criminal case.

CMPD said their biggest concern is older members working with, and to recruit, younger members using crimes to do so.

"In this particular case, robberies and break-ins to establish initiation into the gang," said Mark Newbold, CMPD attorney. "That's the part that troubles us most."

"I'm the leader of Icy Money, a record label, but I've never been a part of the Hidden Valley Kings," said Wendel McCain Jr., defendant. "I've stayed there 24 years and never actually joined."

The police department said the injunction is just the first step. Next, police will notify named suspects in the lawsuit and inform officers who patrol the area about the terms of the injunction, so they can enforce it.