Clark sentencing shows youth gang problem in city

April 12-- Apr. 12--Statements made at the Thursday sentencing of D'Vonne Clark, a Lockport teen convicted of fatally stabbing 16-year-old Elijah Wedington during a street fight last summer, paint a picture of a city where violent gang mentality is pervasive among young males.

Clark, 18, fatally stabbed Wedington during a fistfight between Clark's friend and the victim near Pine Street and Heritage Court, following an argument between two groups of teens.

Police Chief Steven Preisch previously described the teens as "somewhat rivals." Defense attorney Joseph Scalzo on Thursday described the events preceding the fight as a "real bad history."

In Niagara County Court, Judge Sara Sheldon read letters from two of Clark's supporters, whom she did not name, suggesting such rivalries between teenage cliques, or "gangs," are widespread throughout the city.

One supporter wrote that these days it's "hard to find anyone in these areas who aren't affiliated with gangs."

"The system has failed every one of these kids," wrote the supporter, calling the kids "lost souls."

Both supporters wrote that Clark tried to steer clear of the "gangs" but encountered threats and violence.

The author of the second letter that Sheldon read in court said Clark could not even play basketball outside his own home for fear of being jumped by teenage rivals.

"The gangs are completely out of control," the supporter wrote. "I completely understand why D'Vonne (Clark) had a knife (with him before the fight)."

Wedington's great-aunt, Tanisha Morrow, also suggested rivalries between local young people have gotten out of control.

"I'm tired of burying children. I'm tired of putting kids in jail," Morrow said.

"This violence has to stop," she said.

Sheldon said the same thing, and offered to speak to youth groups to explain the consequences of rivalries and fights.

"What can I do?" Sheldon said. "I'll do whatever I can."

Lockport police and youth advocates agreed youth violence and rivalries are an issue in the city, though some stopped short of describing it as gang activity.

"I can't say we have a hardcore gang problem (with) a lot of violent crime, but I'm not naive enough to say we have nothing going on," Police Chief Steven Preisch said.

Mark Sanders, a community policing aide and pastor at Refuge Temple of Christ, said while the city does have some organized crime, it's "not ... a huge problem."

"Some kids form little alliances with each other," Sanders said.

After the stabbing, Sanders met with some of the teens involved in the incident that ended in Wedington's death.

He said he believes more youth programs and mentorship could help steer young people away from violence.

"A lot of these kids don't have that type of structure they can follow," Sanders said.

"It's hard to believe life is different, unless you see life is different."

Youth programs like the police department's Gangs Resistance Education And Training program and Lockport New Beginnings' Young Men and Women of Character try to teach teens to avoid peer pressure and defuse rather than escalate altercations.

"I'm trying to get them to be bigger than that. (Tell them) 'Most of the kids you're having it out with today, you won't even remember in 10 or 15 years,'" said Flora Hawkins, who helps run the Young Men and Women of Character program.

But such programs have limitations.

Hawkins pointed out she only sees teens in the program for a few hours a week. And the worst-behaved teens and young adults, she said, probably aren't in youth programs at all. "When they walk away, you don't know," she said. "You just hope that they remember what they learned and use the tools that you gave them."

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