Big Rock (far left; deceased), Suge Knight, Alton "Buntry" McDonald (middle, in fedora; deceased), Roger "Neckbone" Williams (far right), and Travon Lane (bottom). All were members or affiliates of the Mob Piru Bloods.
Territory
East Compton South Lynwood
Ethnicity
Primarily African American
Activities
Drug trafficking[1] Robbery[1] Arms trafficking[1]
The Mob Piru (also known as MOB Piru, East Side Mob Piru, Insane Mob Gang or Mob Piru Bloods) are a "set" of the Piru gang alliance, which is itself part of the larger Bloods alliance.[2]Suge Knight, the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records, is an affiliate.[3][4]
History
Founding of the Bloods
In 1969, a gang called the Piru Street Boys was founded by Sylvester Scott and Vincent Owens. According to some sources, the Piru Street Boys were initially associated with the Crips,[5] but later had a falling out. However, other sources dispute any alliance, claiming that the Piru Street Boys were victimised by the Crips.[6] Nevertheless, by 1972, the Piru Street Boys formed an alliance with other smaller street gangs such as the Brims, Bishops and Denver Lanes, which also opposed the Crips.[7] This alliance became known as the Bloods, as the members of this alliance called each other "blood".[7]
Over time, more Blood "sets" would form, including the Mob Piru Bloods. According to Reggie Wright Jr., the Mob Piru and Lueders Park Piru were previously one gang, until they split apart.[8]
Death Row Records
Suge Knight, who would co-found Death Row Records, became affiliated with the Mob Piru set at some point[3] and hired many Mob Piru members in Death Row Records.[9] When Tupac Shakur joined Death Row Records in 1995, he also became affiliated with the Mob Piru.[10] Other notable Mob Pirus who were associated with Death Row Records include:
Jake "Big Jake" Robles, Suge Knight's bodyguard and friend who was shot dead in an Atlanta nightclub on September 23, 1995, by a Bad Boy Records affiliate while attending a Jermaine Dupri birthday event.[citation needed]
Trevon "Tre" Lane, who was attacked at Lakewood Shopping Mall by a group of Crips, including Orlando Anderson.[3] Several weeks later, on September 7, 1996, Trevon, and several Death Row members including Suge and Tupac beat Anderson at the MGM Grand.[citation needed] Several hours after this beating, Tupac was shot and died six days later.
Alton "Buntry" McDonald, who was close friends with Suge Knight. McDonald was shot dead on April 3, 2002.[12]
Aaron "Heron" Palmer, Suge Knight's bodyguard and friend, who was shot and killed in Compton on June 1, 1997.
Henry "Hendog" Smith, who designed the logo for Death Row Records.[13] Smith was shot dead on October 16, 2002.[14]
Feud with Lueders Park Piru
Although the two gangs were allies, a rivalry developed after a Lueders Park Piru member was murdered in April 2009, leading to a series of shootings between 2009 and 2013.[1] The two gangs attempted to end their rivalry, but were unsuccessful.[1]
Criminal activities
The Mob Piru engage in drug trafficking, arms dealing and robbery.[1] Suge Knight is alleged to have provided the Mob Piru with large quantities of assault rifles.[2]
Depictions in media
In the film All Eyez on Me (2017), Trevon Lane says "Piru, you already know what time it is", to Suge Knight and Tupac Shakur, after spotting Orlando Anderson in the MGM Grand.
In Unsolved (2018), several Mob Piru members including Trevon Lane, Wardell Fouse and Alton McDonald are portrayed.
^ ab"Pirus". April 6, 2010. Retrieved March 15, 2023.
^ abc"Life and death in South Central LA". The Observer. January 9, 2000. ISSN0029-7712. Retrieved March 30, 2023. Then came Marion 'Sugar Bear' Knight – a one-time gang banger with the North Side's MOB Piru.
^Philips, Chuck (July 31, 2003). "As Associates Fall, Is 'Suge' Knight Next?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 30, 2023. Knight began to flaunt his connection to an obscure street gang called the Mob Piru.
^Cawthorne, Nigel (2010). The World's Most Evil Gangsters. John Blake. ISBN9781784184339. Their origins lay in the Piru Street Boys, who once wore the blue bandana of the Crips gang and were known, for a short time, as the Piru Street Crips
^Flores, R.D. (October 1997). "Crips and Bloods". Office of Justice Programs. Retrieved March 28, 2023. Other gangs began to form to defend themselves against the Crips. Two of these gangs were the Brims and the Pirus.
^ ab"Bloods Street Gang Intelligence Report"(PDF). Commonwealth of Virginia Department of State Police. p. 4. The local sets of anti-Crips included the Piru Street Boys, the LA Brims, the Denver Lanes, the Inglewood Family, the Swans, and the Pueblo Bishops
^"3 associates of rap mogul arrested". Los Angeles Times. November 15, 2002. Retrieved April 1, 2023. In the early 1990s, Knight employed both Mob Pirus
^"Who killed Tupac Shakur? | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved March 15, 2023. Shakur was tied to the Mob Piru Bloods, a street gang that often battled with the Crips over territory and personal slights.
