Founded
1986
Long Beach, California, United States[1]
1986–present
Active primarily in Orange County and the Inland Empire, with a smaller presence in San Diego and Los Angeles counties[2]
400–500[3]
Drug trafficking, murder, assault, auto theft, burglary and property crime[3]
History[edit]
The Public Enemy No. 1 gang emerged from the hardcore punk scene in Long Beach, California during the 1980s.[1][8] By the 1990s, however, PEN1's base of operations was in Orange County where the gang began recruiting white suburban adolescents and became involved in methamphetamine trafficking, prostitution and identity theft.[1][8] The gang also formed ties with the Aryan Brotherhood and the Nazi Lowriders in the prison system.[1][7]
One of the gang's founders; Donald "Popeye" Mazza, became a made member of the Aryan Brotherhood.[9] Another founding member, Devlin "Gazoo" Stringfellow, was stabbed to death by two other inmates at California State Prison, Sacramento on January 10, 2018.[10][11] In June 2022, Donald "Popeye" Mazza has pleaded guilty to racketeering and conspiracy charges in federal court.[12][13]
Symbology and identification[edit]
The gang uses the numeric symbol "737" to indicate association with the gang. The numbers correspond to the letters P, D, and S on a telephone keypad. The initials stand for PENI Death Squad, another name for the group.[14]
Members often mark themselves with tattoos of different acronyms for the gang. Designs commonly include the words "PENI", "PDS" or the numbers "737", and sometimes in the form of runes, such as "ᛈᛖᚾᛁ" (PENI) or "ᛈᛞᛋ" (PDS), from Germanic runic alphabets.