New Breeds

Founded	Founded in 1969 by George Davis, Rodger Collins, and Julius Davis in or near Near West Side North Lawndale Near South Side Greater Grand Crossing Douglas
Affiliations	Give details
Colors	Black and Grey
Color usage	Black and grey 1981-present
Primary ethnicities	African American
Symbols	LLL
Status	Active

The history of the New Breeds is a complex one and is attached to an old breed or African American gangsters that has been widely understudied and widely unknown. It is a solid fact that African American syndicates have existed in Chicago since at least the days of John “Mushmouth” Johnson stemming back to the 1880s but the only well documented African American syndicates is the Policy Kings that were mostly south side based. African American street gangs began in 1919 during and following the south side race riots. Other than these entities, little has been known about black gangsters and black organized crime. This is likely due to law enforcement, the press and past mayors attempting to keep this out of the spotlight from the public eye. It is a fact that law enforcement and the government have not wanted any groups that exhibit any form of black power to obtain any public awareness in the old days. Black Panther groups all the way up to the El Rukns were given bad reputations by the government agencies and any positive actions by such groups were often suppressed or underreported. Although groups like the Black Panthers wanted their positive activities to be given the spotlight, African American syndicate gangsters seemed more than content to staying out of the spotlight. This was beneficial to business.

It appears African American syndicates were interwoven into New Breed history which is unique to any other Chicago street gang in history. A large part of New Breed history centers around George “Boonie Black” Davis. There is a lot I do not know about Bonnie Black and there is a lot even the streets don’t know about him. There is also secrecy surrounding much about Boonie Black; however, in all the research I have done over the years on the Breeds and Boonie it appears much of this missing information is because he was, as they say, part of the “old breed.” The old breed of African American gangsters is heavily undocumented as not only did the city of Chicago not want these guys to get the spotlight, but these guys also came up during a time when public interest in African American syndicates was little to none. People wanted to read about Al Capone and Italians, or they wanted to read about “hoodlum” street gangs running around the city robbing and killing. This is how old school black syndicates like Boonie Black were unknown until much later.

From what I heard before, Boonie black had some Italian blood in his family, but I’m not sure about that part, could just be rumor, but it makes sense if true. One thing for sure, Boonie did associate and work with Italian Gangsters and the Chicago Outfit prior to and during his time with the Breeds. I have struggled to find any old gang affiliation that Boonie would have had prior to the Breeds/Black Gangsters/Goons but I have found nothing. No stories, no facts, heck, not even rumors. I soon began to realize he was not part of any youth gangs of significance. I tried to research if he was linked to the original Egyptian Cobras, Clovers, Chaplains, or any of the other old school 1950s African American gangs because Boonie would have been the right age group, but nothing came up. Not only that, if Boonie was linked to any of those groups, those groups would either still exist today or have been interwoven into Breed history. Boonie was removed from these original 1950s west side African American gangs, and either was part of his own small group or completely independent while working directly for the Chicago Outfit possibly since a very young age. I had heard once before that Boonie assembled the “Black Gangsters” in the early 1960s. Although it is just one little rumor I heard it fits the story and makes total sense but I just have no backing or proof of any sort. I usually need to hear from multiple sources and legends to confirm but I believe it to be true and you can believe it or disbelieve it. I don’t know if these possible original Black Gangsters formed on the streets or in prison/jail but it would makes sense for them to have had correctional system influence that far back because the big street gangs were running things in the joint by the early 1970s but so many have said Boonie and the black Gangsters were above them and running them as they paid taxes to Boonie and the BGs. The Black Gangsters almost certainly needed to date further back than the late 60s for this type of system to be set up.

I don’t know if Boonie was born in Chicago or if he moved alongside African American migration from the southern states like other big time gang leaders like Larry Hoover or Jeff Fort. The only birthing info I have is that he was born on May 23, 1938, making him much older than Larry Hoover, Jeff Fort and even older than Pepilo Perry, the founder of the Vice Lords. Boonie outages all the other gang leaders and I have only heard about notorious older gang leaders from groups like the Latin Kings but among African American gangs Boonie is the oldest among them. By the time the late 1950s came around which was the birthing time of the Gangster Disciples, Black Disciples, Vice Lords, Mickey Cobras and Black P Stones, Boonie was already in his 20s in age and was older and more connected to organized crime than the younger gang leaders that were just starting out in the late 50s. It is said that Boonie was over Larry Hoover and perhaps was even a shot caller on the streets and in prison over Larry Hoover; however, Boonie certainly would let Larry Hoover take the spotlight, any organized gangster would do the same, the less attention the better for business. In the September 15, 2009, issue of As Is Magazine author Mark Brown stated in the article that Boonie was gangbanging for forty years. I have a problem with this because he would have started gangbanging at 31 years old, c’mon, no way did he suddenly awaken from a law-abiding life and start gangbanging. I cannot find the whole article to see if that was Boonie that made that claim or if it was the reporter. In either case the Breed’s history as an organization would have begun 40 years ago from 2009 but I highly doubt that is Boonie’s personal story. Before and up to the 2000s-decade Boonie was connected in a way to the Chicago Outfit and did murder for hire and had various other connections with the Italian mob with extortion and even drug trafficking. This further makes me believe a little more in the rumor that he had Italian blood in him or at least relatives with Italian blood which would have brought him closer to the mob. I have never learned about any African American Chicago gangster as connected to the mob as Boonie Black. Other leaders like Wayne “Jack Bobo” Edwards of the Black Souls and some the Black P Stones had connections but those seemed like only business connections but with Boonie it seems a little more of a personal connection but then again there is much about that I do not know. Davis was what is known as a “Goon” which tends to refer to someone that will inflict pain or kill for money.  Davis was large sized, so he was ideal for the job of cracking skulls for money. According to AS IS Magazine on their September 15, 2009, issue in an exclusive interview with Boonie Black himself he described himself as highly successful at collecting debts and not even one of them told him no.  He described that he had a look about him that made people give up the location of their stash.  He didn’t know why they looked at him and gave it up but many times that’s all it took.  When looking at pictures of him you can see it in his eyes as a man that doesn’t play around and will get what he needs at all costs.  In the magazine he described a method of torturing drug dealers by taking two butcher knives and putting them over a high flame on the stove until they were red hot.  He would then give them a chance to talk and if there was any hesitation, he would put the scalding knives on their neck.  Boonie was also a barn boss in Cook County jail.  Barn bosses were dominant over other inmates and were often the more violent alpha inmates that kept other inmates in line using deadly force if necessary.  Barn bosses many times even have more control over the jails than prison staff resulting in corrections officers having to work with barn bosses for mutual control of the jail.  Barn bosses had many henchmen under their control and had access to many homemade weapons.  The barn boss system was set up in 1968 to control the inmates in exchange for power bestowed upon by the correctional staff. Boonie was one that was chosen which is prior to when gang leaders of big gangs started coming to prison. The only main gang leader locked up by then was Eugene Hairston of the Black P Stones, so Boonie was a barn boss before the big players arrived. A strong connection to the Chicago Outfit combined with being elected a barn boss made Boonie of utmost power in the prison system. Barn Bosses could kill, mutilate, tax, move about the sections of prison and had the keys to all parts of the prison, the only key they lacked was a key outside of prison. This was deemed necessary by the prison staff because the prisons were out of control with violent inmates. Boonie was an alpha above those killers and psychopaths and would bring these killers to their knees. As you can see the power of Boonie and his henchmen (Black Gangsters) was growing before the 70s even got here and before the Goon Squads and Royal Family even started.

Another part of the story is with Thomas “Jeepers” Jefferson who was born in 1922 in Mississippi.  Jefferson and his family moved to the west side of Chicago when Jeepers was just a boy back in the 1920s.  By the time the Great Depression began Jeeper’s family was impoverished and could not afford much.  According to the September 15, 2014, Chicago Sun Times article about him he stole a pair of pants from an open-air market as a boy because his parents could not afford clothes for him.  A few years later he stole another pair of pants and soon became hooked on stealing fancy clothes.  He was caught on his second theft and was defended by the infamous black lawyer Clarence Darrow and Jefferson was impressed by the lawyer’s way of using the legal system to get a desired outcome. Jefferson graduated to armed robbery and ended up in prison in 1941 according to a September 16, 1976, Jet Magazine article.  After this he went on many robbery capers and stole lots of money doing five prison terms in the 1940s, 50s, 60s and 70s.  Jefferson boasted he never hurt anyone during his capers.  Jeepers became a genius when it came to studying the law and became more knowledgeable than many high priced, trained lawyers.  During his many stints in prison, he helped several inmates get released, get fair trials, and be treated correctly when facing the judicial system. In exchange inmates would help him out in certain ways.  Jeepers worked with members of just about every major gang in Chicago as Jeepers was not a gangbanger; however, he was especially embraced by Boonie Black as a close friend and was a member of the Black Gangsters/New Breeds.

Now we will go to the beginning of the Breed history. The Breed history on the streets begins in the year 1969 in the North Lawndale neighborhood at the intersection of 19^th to 16^th and Kedzie right near Douglas Park. The original gang was called the “Goon Squad” or “Goon Squad Gangsters.” It is possible the founder was named “Rabb.” This was a group of rather violent and crazy youths that were quick with the trigger. They had violent gang wars with the Vice Lords, especially Traveling Vice Lords, and were recognized by police as far back as 1969 and even made the newspaper a few times dating back to 1969. The Goons made the newspaper three times beginning in 1969, again in 1970 and finally in 1972. All three times the Goons were involved in violent crimes. Boonie was not part of this gang despite what many believe. He was a 31 year old man and in prison at the time and would not be the leader of teenagers shooting and stabbing rivals in the streets while making the newspaper. The Goons get lots of credit though because they were starting during a time when North Lawndale was untouchable for new gangs to form because the Vice Lords and Egyptian Cobras ruled that whole neighborhood with an iron fits. The Vice Lords alone ran it from Pulaski to Douglas Park but the Goons dared to challenge them. The Goons were perhaps more violent than the Vice Lords which would later get them noticed by the Black Gangsters once their leadership ended up in prison. Goons lived up to their name and would later work as murder for hire types just like the Black Gangsters and Boonie.

The next part of this story begins in the year 1972 in Statesville Maximum Security prison in Crest Hill Illinois.  An inmate by the name of Julius Davis joined in with a semi-religious group called the “Cosmos” which happened to be a group of Chicago gang members from the west side of Chicago.  I do not know what gang Julius Davis was a member of but he organized the men to create their own crime syndicate that would become the “Royal Family” (Chicago Tribune Page 10, October 7, 1979).  Members of this group were in street gangs like Black Gangster Disciples and Vice Lords and they were some of the most hardcore gang members of these gangs that set aside their rivalry to be a part of the Royal Family.  One of the prominent members was Maurice “King Baldy” Jackson .  The men that joined the Royal Family were scheduled to be released from prison in 1972 and they planned a coming together once released and going on a crime spree and letting nothing get in their way.  It is interesting to me how all these men just so happened to be released at the same time.  This leads me to believe the Royal Family consulted with Jeepers for their legal advice and perhaps Jeepers helped them to fight their legal battles and get released.  Additionally, Jeepers was well-known to be a colorful story teller who loved to share his criminal exploits of being the stick up man.  I theorize it is very possible he told these stick-up stories to the Royal Family and inspired them to begin this armed robbery spree they were about to embark upon when released.  Doing stick ups became the early past time of the Royal Family and they may have been helped along with advice from Jeepers himself while they were all locked up together.  Jeepers was in prison in the early 70s so it is very possible. One thing to clarify though, the violence that was committed along the way of the Royal Family’s robberies would have not been part of Jeeper’s advice. Jeepers was never a violent man in any way, shape, or form. Jeepers was said to be a good man and kind-hearted.

In April of 1972, the Royal Family members were released from prison including the 24-year-old leader Julius Davis. Davis made the first move for the Royal Family as he targeted the Talley-Ho Restaurant at 1513 Chicago Avenue in the suburb of Evanston.  Davis had worked there for only one week in June of 1972 until he was fired, now the following week on June 16, 1972, Davis, Teddie Candler and one other burst into the restaurant as it closed wildly wielding kitchen knives demanding money from patrons and the restaurant owner.  The three men tied up two patrons while they escorted the owner, Assistant Manager, and the Assistant Manager’s relative into the office to open the safe, when there was some refusal to open the safe the men reacted violently and stabbed the owner in the chest and three times in the back, then they stabbed the Assistant Manager twice in the back killing them both.  Candler and Davis did not wear masks or gloves and made off with $300, police very easily tracked down Candler and arrested him (Chicago Tribune Page 6, June 18, 1972).

Police went searching for Julius Davis because they had a positive identification from witnesses, this angered the rest of the Royal Family because Davis was reckless and did not use a mask or gloves, and the robbery was very sloppy.  The Royal Family then made the decision to eliminate their leader/founder and managed to hunt him down before police could find him.  On June 18, 1972 police found the burned body of Julius Davis as he had also been shot seven times and left at 3748 South Wabash (37^th Place and Wabash) in the Grand Boulevard neighborhood of Chicago (Chicago Tribune page 5, June 20, 1972).  Davis also suffered burns indicating he was tortured.  The investigating officer was the notorious John Burge who was later indicted on charges in 1993 of torturing and murdering suspects while forcing confessions.  Given that it was Burge at the scene who knows what all could have transpired with this murder.  Allegedly at the time police did not know that Davis was killed by his own gang, but later they would find out all about the Royal Family and the motive for the murder.  The rampage of the Royal Family had just begun.  As I stated earlier Jeepers committed so many armed robberies without hurting anyone and I would not be surprised if his beliefs in non-violent robbery were adopted by the Royal Family, perhaps at Jeeper’s wishes but Julius Davis and Teddie Candler did not follow those beliefs and that very likely was one of the reasons the men were removed. The biggest reason would have been no mask or gloves and being sloppy.

Now that Davis was eliminated, Roger “Cochise” Collins took over as the new leader of the Royal Family.  Cochise would gain much more respect and was considered the “Godfather” of the organization and presided over the “Council of War.”  Collins wanted his organization to function more like a syndicate with the distribution of drugs, murder for hire, robbery and intimidation and elimination of witnesses (Chicago Tribune Page 10, October 7, 1979).  Collins connected with the Chicago Outfit back in 1971 when he was in prison with Robert “Fat Man” Cruz and Royal Family member Murray Hooper.  Cruz was an excellent connection because he was the cousin of Harry Aleman who was the Chicago Outfits’ Chief Hitman and Cruz was also the nephew of Joseph “Joe Nagall” Ferriola the Chief Enforcer of the Chicago Outfit (Chicago Tribune page 5, September 6, 1981).  This connection would bring the Royal Family murder for hire contracts to kill for the Chicago Outfit and later would connect the Royal Family to the Outfit for narcotics trafficking.  Jeepers also claimed that while he was in prison in the 1930s Al Capone himself nicknamed him Jeepers because of how Jeepers looked but the timeline of his incarceration and age compared with Al Capone’s incarceration and locations didn’t match; however, it was said another wise guy was the actual one to give him that nickname and Jeepers perhaps did not want to reveal the real name or just wanted to add color to his story.

The Royal Family had no tolerance for witnesses and dealt with them in a brutal way.  The first example of this was in May of 1972 right before the Tally-Ho heist.  On May 17, 1972, three Royal Family members held up a tavern in the Auburn Gresham neighborhood at 505 West 79^th Street (79^th and Normal).  The next day the Royal Family felt that the bartender Joseph Murphy might be able to identify them so five members of the gang went into the tavern on May 19^th and lit up Murphy in a hail of gun fire as the bartender was brutally shot 10 times, Anthony Holmes, one of the members was charged with the murder (Chicago Tribune Page 1, August 24, 1974).

On June 14^th, 1972, right before the Tally-Ho hold up, Roger Collins and Richard Black robbed two customers and three employees at the Morseview Drug Store at 1448 W. Morse Avenue (Greenview and Morse) in the Rogers Park neighborhood. The men made off with $939 but police soon chased them down to Lake Shore Drive where they crashed their car during a high-speed chase.  Black and Collins were now in court for this case for months, then on September 13, 1972, a man visited witness Sidney Frankfort and said he was Collins and Blacks’ lawyer and tried to convince Frankfort not to testify and showed pictures of Frankfort and other employees. The incident was chilling but Frankfort still wanted to testify.  On October 29, 1972, men burst into the drug store and kidnapped Frankfort and his cashier Mrs. Ann Barton.  The two were stuffed into a truck and driven to 57^th and La Salle in the Washington Park neighborhood, then the two were shot and killed, then the car was set on fire (Chicago Tribune Page 1, August 24, 1974).

The Royal Family did not appreciate witnesses to their drug trafficking activities either.  The Royal Family had even established connections within the Chicago Police Department by 1972.  Maurice King Baldy Jackson had come across information that Harold Bush was informing police of the Royal Family’s drug trafficking operations.  Jackson and police officer Chester Thomas kidnapped Harold Bush from the intersection of 14^th and Western Ave and drove him to 130^th and Indiana onto a secluded dirt road in the Riverdale neighborhood. The men shot Bush in the neck and left him, but Bush survived and implicated the two.  Both Jackson and Thomas were arrested for attempted murder, and Officer Thomas was being implicated in an August 19, 1972 triple murder where a witness saw Thomas’ license plates pull away from the scene of the crime at 1646 S. Pulaski (18^th Place and Pulaski) in the North Lawndale neighborhood (Chicago Tribune page 8, October 18, 1972).

Maurice Jackson was implicated in another Royal Family murder in October of 1973 after police arrested Royal Family members Marvin Duncan and Fred Weaver and they found the wallet and identification of Darnell Carr who had just been bound, gagged and brutally beaten to death at 9147 S. Ashland Ave (92^nd and Ashland) in the Burnside neighborhood.  Weaver told police Maurice Jackson ordered this murder (Chicago Tribune Page 1, August 24, 1974).

The gang would continue their rampage. On July 5, 1973, Walter Wilbon, Leroy Williams, and Jeffery Bowen robbed Judy’s Lounge at 2852 East 87^th Street in the South Chicago neighborhood. When Officer Randall came to the scene the men shot him and they fled.  The Officer survived and all three Royal Family members were convicted (Chicago Tribune Page 1, August 24, 1974).

In 1974, Royal Family gang member John Myles went on a major armed robbery spree as he was arrested for 10 or more armed robberies, one that resulted in him shooting a store clerk in the back (Chicago Tribune page 10, October 26, 1974).

The Royal Family was robbing and killing across the country and had major drug operations on the south side, as they were implicated in as many as 30 murders across the country between 1972 and 1974.  Anyone that was a state’s witness would either be intimidated or killed.  One such incident was an undertaker that was present during one of the Royal Family’s armed robberies and wanted to cooperate as a witness.  The witness was in fear for his life and police offered protection by having police guards present at his funeral home.  One night, the Royal Family dug up one of the bodies from the nearby grave and threw it through the window of the funeral parlor office to intimidate the witness after midnight that night (Chicago Tribune Page 1, August 24, 1974).  This was a show of power and intimidation.

By the summer of 1974, police cracked down hard on the Royal Family and made 13 arrests of members of the gang.  The police had implicated that Roger Cochise Collins was the leader of the gang and the gang had drug operations in Chicago and Gary Indiana (Chicago Tribune Page 1, August 24, 1974).  Members of the gang were brought up on trial for various crimes but sentences that were handed down were extremely light as members only got a few years a piece; however, police were able to boast that they dissolved the gang’s operations as they stated in the August 24, 1974, Tribune article.  It could be possible that their connection with Jeepers may have helped them get the legal counsel they needed, thus, leading to light sentences.

In 1977 through 1979 many Royal Family members were being released from prison for their part in the 1972-1974 crime spree. Members of the gang went back to work by March of 1979 that started with the murder of Donald Curtis the owner of the Blinking Cat Lounge located at 87^th and Peoria in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood as they robbed the bar and gunned down the owner with semi-automatic weapons on March 31, 1979 (Chicago Tribune Page 10, October 7, 1979).

On May 7, 1979 the gang stormed Metropolitan Insurance Company in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood located at 9046 S. Ashland Ave (91^st and Ashland) where they robbed the place at gunpoint as they fired several bullets near witnesses to scare them, they made off with $19,000 (Chicago Tribune Page 10, October 7, 1979).

On August 7, 1979, also in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood, the gang hit Concord Gas Station located at 440 West 87^th Street (87^th and Eggleston). Police arrested the men and found a cache of weapons that included a shotgun and a semi-automatic carbine (Chicago Tribune Page 10, October 7, 1979).

On August 27, 1979, Roger Cochise Collins was released from prison and immediately went to work putting the Royal Family back together as he reunited with paroled gang members.  Once Cochise was out of prison, he was immediately given a murder for hire contract.  The ex-husband of Catherine Tines hired Collins, Maurice Powell, and the nephew of Collins to kill Catherine Tines because they were having a property dispute.  Maurice Powell was the ringleader of the robberies early in the year while Collins was still in prison.  Now Collins was back in charge and him and Powell now carried out this contract. Police were frustrated that the Royal Family was back at it again and were even more furious all these men received parole (Chicago Tribune Page 10, October 7, 1979).

By December of 1979, Roger Collins had set up a drug ring at 2240 S. State Street which is within the Harold Ickes projects located in the Near South Side neighborhood (Chicago Tribune September 6, 1981), this brought about gang wars with the Black Gangster Disciples that were trying to control the drug trade in these projects that became bloody by 1980.

On the night of November 12, 1980 the drug disputes with rival dealers in the Ickes projects escalated when Murray “Hoop” Hooper, Maurice “Pimp” Powell and Roger “Cochise” Collins kidnapped Frederick Lacey, R.C. Pettigrew and Roger Holliman as they rounded the men up at an apartment at 2240 State Street.  The three men were tied up and led to a vehicle then driven to the intersection of Roosevelt and Clark in the South Loop area and brought under the viaduct.  Frederick Lacey was shot execution style in the back of the head.  R.C. Pettigrew was shot in the face, in the chest and in the leg and was also shot four times in the back. Roger Holliman had been shot three times in the back and shot once in the back of the neck.  Police found the dead bodies the next day and the men were convicted of these murders (People vs. Collins, 1985).

Even though these Royal Family members were being sought for the November 12 triple murder, they still managed to kill Clorita Ladd on December 2, 1980, in a south side shootout with a gang only said to be “The Disciples” in the 1981 Chicago Tribune article (Chicago Tribune page 8, February 24, 1981).  The shootout was with the Black Gangster Disciples because only them and the El Rukns ran those buildings at the time.

The rampage of the Royal Family continued in 1980 and the leadership was being sought as authorities were especially after Roger Collins, Maurice Powell, and Murray Hooper, but the three men had fled to Phoenix Arizona after they committed these drug related murders.  The trio had flown to Arizona because they were handed down a contract from the Chicago Outfit to kill a print shop business owner named William Redmond.  The contract was passed down by Robert “Fat Man” Cruz that had connected with the Royal Family when he was the in jail with Roger Collins and Murray Hooper back in 1971. Now almost a decade later Cruz needed the Royal Family’s assistance is removing Redmond who was in the way of Cruz’s real estate interest.  Cruz had moved to Arizona to get involved in the real estate business which is why he had interest in this property that Redmond refused to give up.  Cruz now offered $10,000 to the Royal Family to kill Redmond.  On December 31, 1980, Murray Hooper, Roger Collins, and a former Chicago policeman Edward McCall burst into the home of Redmond. The men then tied up Redmond, his wife and his 70-year-old mother – in – law.  They were laid on the bed and shot in the back of the head execution style.  After they were killed Murray Hooper slit Redmond’s throat to show the Outfit that they were brutal killers and should be hired again.  The three men were arrested for these murders, Edward McCall was the first one to be taken down. McCall then hired his lawyer Michael Pritzker to get him out of the charges, when Pritzker failed to get McCall out of the charges completely, unknown gunman attempted to kill Pritzker right outside his home in Chicago. Pritzker knew the gunman but refused to divulge who shot him and dropped McCall as his client (Chicago Tribune page 5, September 6, 1981).

Murray Hooper ended up admitting to the killing and named his boss Roger Collins as involved in the murder, this led to the conviction of Roger “Cochise” Collins and now he was headed back to prison in 1981.

George “Boonie Black” Davis was also headed to prison in 1981.  On May 6, 1981 at the apartment of Linda Dates located at 1440 South Kedzie (15^th and Kedzie) in the North Lawndale neighborhood three men came to her door that she recognized according to court documents as members of the Black Gangster Disciples according to court documents, or at least that is the rumor she heard.  The men were George “Boonie Black” “Edward Black” Davis, “Moto” also referred to as “Johnny Gatt,” and “Smokey” also known as “Curtis Taylor” or “Lee.”  The men came to the apartment to allegedly buy $100 worth of cocaine from Lex Leaks who was known in the neighborhood to be a cocaine dealer according to court documents.  Apparently, an argument broke out between Johnny Gatt and Leaks about the weight of the cocaine that resulted in a shootout that left Leaks dead and his roommate wounded.  Shortly after the murder, police attempted to apprehend the men but all of them tried to flee and destroy evidence including George Davis after the Police came to his apartment at 3317 West Madison (Madison and Spaulding) in East Garfield Park.  When police came to arrest Davis, he ran into an abandoned apartment and locked himself in then fled down the stairwell with a shotgun in his hand after he dropped evidence which was another firearm.  According to court documents Davis surrendered eventually.  According to court documents George Davis had been released from prison within five years and had violated his parole (People vs Washington, 1984).

George “Boonie Black” Davis’ gang affiliations were not very known, as was shown in the court documents when he was convicted of armed robbery and attempted murder in 1981.

The Royal Family and Boonie Black were possibly higher up in the prison system than gang leaders like Larry hoover and Jeff Fort. It is possible leadership of the major gangs paid taxes to Boonie and the rest of the “Black Gangsters” syndicate. I am not positive on when the term “Black Gangsters” came to be but it was for sure used by the time all these men became incarcerated in 1981. Both Boonie and Cochise had strong connections with the Italian mafia and were incarcerated in Stateville and Menard correctional which was a big incarceration place of Italian mafia wise guys. The Black Gangsters were top tier because of this connection and were the alphas of the prison system. These guys never got caught for hundreds of possible homicides and, like the Royal Family, they did not like witnesses and often killed them. There was even situations where they would cut the heads off victims and put their heads in their laps to send a message.

When Boonie arrived in 1981, he found that Larry Hoover was having control over the Black Gangsters following the Black Gangster Disciple ways which Boonie felt was disrespect and attempted to have Larry killed. Larry Hoover was stabbed several times but was saved by fellow inmates. Larry then had Boonie stabbed 27 times but both men survived and became allies and friends afterward. This is also when the coming together of the Royal Family, Goon Squad Gangsters and Black Gangsters came together to create the B.G.N or “Black Gangster Nation.” Boonie would retain his control of the prison system as he always did but now he was in charge of the Black Gangsters as an organization. The ABLA public housing projects were designated to the Black Gangsters, and this was the beginning of the Black Gangsters/New Breeds direct history.

1981 was the time when Folks and People were becoming official on the streets and in prison. What angered Boonie the most when he arrived in 1981 was that his Black Gangsters were aligning with the Folks and incorporating with the Black Gangster Disciple nation, this is how Folks ends up interwoven within the BGN but this was not authorized or official with Boonie and never was. I am confused about how Black Gangster/New Breeds often claimed Folks at times. In the 1980s members of the streets very often claimed Folks but this was never official by the main leadership; therefore, the Breeds technically were never Folks or Peoples but instead under their own 7-point-star which was above the five or the six point star. Only the Goon Squad and the Royal Family would be part of the 7-point-Star and the BGN because they were the most mob connected bunch of organized killers and worthy of BGN acceptance. There was a war within the BGN on the west side in the 1980s and this was the early development of the New Breeds and this is perhaps how Folk concepts were brought in for a time as the group against the original BGN likely claimed Folks on the streets but once in prison there was no rebellion in the 80s.

According to the original literature of the Black Gangsters there were three main factions the BGs had in the city.  One of them was ran by George Davis who had the ABLA projects in the Robert Brooks Homes row houses, Grace Abbott Homes, and Loomis Courts. He also had the 16^th Street BGs who were in North Lawndale which represented the original Goon Squad birthing place by 16-19^th and Kedzie which would spread to 13th.  The rivalry with Traveling Vice Lords would continue in all territories ran by Boonie.  Vice Lords dominated the rest of the ABLA projects like in Jane Addams Homes and in extensions. Roger Collins ran the Harold Ickes projects and the 29^th Street project buildings in the Dearborn Homes projects at 29^th and Federal area possibly in the 2901 and 2931 buildings. This group was known as “Black Goon Squad Gangsters” as they were described as in 1984 newspapers as they went to war with El Rukns over drug turf. The third chapter was the Pocket Town chapter in the Greater Grand Crossing community at 71st to 75th, South Chicago Ave to Kimbark.  This deck was run by Samuel “King Ram” Lawrence.  These were the original decks of the Black Gangsters established in 1981 and these men were some of the original “Ls” of the “Tre L” or “Triple L” aspect of the organization. There were also Black Goon Squad Gangsters in the Ida B wells projects and Phillips High School in the 1980s, they followed the BGN.

After the Black Gangsters formed in 1981, they made a conquest of the suburb of Zion Illinois and in the south suburb of Harvey; however, their presence was not necessarily territorial but instead for business reasons.  The leadership of this new organization knew how to make money on the streets and aggressively pursued drug turf while violently wiping out competition.  I read about this Zion group in a newspaper I am having a hard time obtaining again for free. In this 1988 newspaper it talked about Royal Family members living in the Hebron projects with a big six point star in their window and they were involved in a violent crime. This is an example of BGN groups following Folks concepts on the streets.

The old ways of the 1970s Royal Family and Goon Squad were installed in young members living in The Village in the 1980s.  Many of these young men were already from some of the roughest and rawest breed of killers and naturally fit in with the Black Gangsters.  The way of this organization was to not let anything stop them, especially the Traveling Vice Lords that had heavily armed security in The Village and the crumbling high rises of the notorious Grace Abbott projects.

In the year 1992, a younger group of Black Gangsters broke away and called themselves “New Breeds Black Gangsters” or “Triple L Breeds.”  This group was headed by “Prince Spoonie” who was Boonie Black’s son. This group was not connected with People or Folk alliance. These young bloods were even more aggressive than the Boonie Black led Black Gangsters as they moved into new territory at 16^th and Kostner (New Life Breeds) in the North Lawndale neighborhood where they cliqued up with Black Souls.  The Breeds also opened up in West Garfield Park (New Life Breeds) and clicked up with the Black Souls in that community as they battled several Vice Lord factions.  In West Garfield Park the Breeds even flipped Gangster Disciples out of their original west side deck.  The Breeds stormed the Austin neighborhood in 1992 and the East Garfield Park neighborhood claiming the area known as “Fifth City.”  The Breeds even opened territory in the West Humboldt Park community as they battled with Conservative Vice Lords and Latin Kings in 1992.  The Breeds also spread deeper onto the south side as they opened in the West Englewood neighborhood, Roseland, South Shore and the suburbs of Rockford, Maywood, and Bellwood.  Breeds also opened a big section in the city of New Orleans in Louisiana.  George Davis was not presiding over the New Breeds, they had their own leader who was Spoonie.  Boonie was not happy with this arrangement entirely but not angered enough to war with his own son especially since it appears Spoonie was following a lot of the mentality of his father and was a protégé in a way.

In the year 1997 George Davis was let out of prison and when he returned to the streets the fear and respect young Breeds felt returned.  Davis now offered to combine forces making the “Black Gangster New Breeds” official. 

Breeds and Black Disciples became very close in relationship as they both were heavily at war with Gangster Disciples over drug turf.  Both Breeds and BDs established the “Treys Both Ways” concept, as three fingers could symbolize both gangs, the “LLL” for Breeds and the “III” for BDs.

The Breeds have grown to over 4,000 members over the years and are known to be very quick to use their guns, many bodies have come up during gang wars between Breeds and their adversaries and most of the time it is their enemy that ends up dead.  It is said that the Breeds wiped out a major chunk of the Traveling Vice Lord’s territory in The Village, regardless, if that happened or not the Breeds became the largest gang in the ABLA projects as they viciously battled Vice Lord factions in those projects until the majority of them were torn down.  When most of the Village was torn down the Vice Lords were out of ABLA, but the Breeds outlived everyone else and remain in these renovated buildings.

The Breeds were founded by black organized crime members that had heavy ties to the Italian Chicago Outfit.  Breeds were born out of men that were cold blooded killers that would very easily take a life without blinking.  Cochise first connected with the Italian Outfit in 1971 and later became a co-founder of this organization, Boonie Black was another co-founder that was a hardened gangster that had no fear and was known to be serious gangster, it was even rumored that he shook down the Italian Outfit at one point in time.  Boonie’s connection to the Outfit even outdates any part of Breed history and Cochise’s connections to the Outfit. Boonie dressed well and like an old-time gangster.  Boonie led an extortion operation and most of his customers scrambled to pay him as quickly as possible.

Boonie was tall with big wide eyes and had a handlebar mustache making him look ferocious, not only that, his record of violent crime proved he could be dangerous if crossed.

George Boonie Black Davis was considered “The Last Don” and the last of a dying breed, he was heavily honored and when he died in 2009 at the age of 71 almost every member of the New Breeds showed up to pay respect.

Please send in some 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s pics!

Known decks of the New Breeds/Black Gangsters past and present

Austin neighborhood Established 1992-present years

Decks of Austin

Harrison to 5^th Ave, Cicero to Keeler

Jackson & Lotus

Douglas neighborhood Established 1981-2000s

Decks of Douglas

29th & Federal

East Garfield Park neighborhood Established 1992-present years

Congress & Central Park Ave

5^th & Sacramento (shared with Black Souls and Gangster Disciples)

Lake & Washtenaw

Madison from California to Washtenaw

Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood Established 1981-present years

Decks of Greater Grand Crossing

71^st to 75^th, South Chicago Ave to Kimbark (CTG Pocket Town) Established 1981-present years

Near West Side neighborhood Established by 1981-present years

Roosevelt to 15^th, Ashland to Racine (ABLA housing projects, The Village, Robert Brooks row houses, Loomis Courts and Grace Abbott Homes) Established by 1981-present years

Filmore to Roosevelt, Ashland to Loomis (Circle Park Apartments)

Grenshaw to Blue Island, Ashland to Morgan (Death Valley, D-Block, Barbara Jean Wright Apartments)

Near South Side neighborhood Established 1979-2009

Decks of Near South Side

Harold Ickes projects (As Goon Squad Gangsters or Royal Family) Established 1979-2009

North Lawndale neighborhood Established by 1969 as Goon Squad Gangsters -present years

Decks of North Lawndale

Roosevelt to 14^th, Keeler to Independence (K-Town Breeds)

Douglas to 19^th, Sawyer to Albany

Filmore & Kilbourn

Lexington & Kostner

Springfield from 13^th to 14th

16^th from Kenneth to Kolin (Shared with Black Souls)

19^th & Kedzie Established 1969

Roosevelt & Kedvale

Roosevelt to 13^th, Sawyer to Spaulding

Oakland neighborhood 1980s

Decks of Oakland

Ida B wells projects

Roseland neighborhood Established 1992-2000s

Decks of Roseland

104^th from Eggleston to Wentworth

106^th & Wallace

South Shore neighborhood Established 1992-2000s

Decks of South Shore

75^th & Dorchester Established 1992-2000s

West Englewood neighborhood Established 1992-present years

Decks of West Englewood

67^th to 68^th, Wood to Wolcott (WNB) Established 1992-present years

West Garfield Park neighborhood Established 1992-present years

Decks of West Garfield Park

Carroll & Pulaski

Gladys to Harrison, Pulaski to Keeler (Shared with Gangster Disciples)

5^th Ave to Taylor, Karlov to Polk

West Humboldt Park neighborhood  Established 1992-present years

Decks of West Humboldt Park

Division to Thomas, Hamlin to Lawndale Established 1992-present years

 

Suburbs

Bellwood

Harvey

Maywood

Robbins

Rockford

Gary, IND