Pasadena Denver Lane Bloods

Full Name: Pasadena Denver Lane Bloods (PDLB)
Also Known As: Pasadena Denver Lanes, Devil Lanes
Founded: Late-1970s/Early 1980s
Location: Pasadena, Los Angeles County, California
Territory: Fair Oaks Avenue corridor, Robinson Park, West Pasadena
Ethnicity: Predominantly African-American
Parent Gang: LA Denver Lane Bloods
Subsets: Altadena Denver Lanes (ADL), Parke Nine Gangster Bloods (Spin-Off)
Symbols: PDL, D, Pasadena, City Pasadena, 626, Red Rose
Estimated Membership: Several hundred members
Expansion Areas: San Gabriel Valley, Antelope Valley, East Coast
Notable Members: Jerry Smallwood, Big Preach, Big Hit, Infant Pasa

The Pasadena Denver Lane Bloods (PDLB), commonly known as the Pasadena Denver Lanes (PDL) or Pasadena Devil Lanes, are an African-American street gang based primarily on the West Side of Pasadena, California. The gang emerged during the 1970s as a Pasadena-based subset of the Denver Lane Bloods from South Central Los Angeles and is widely regarded as one of the oldest and largest gangs in the San Gabriel Valley.

For more than five decades, the Pasadena Denver Lanes have remained active throughout Pasadena while expanding into neighboring communities such as Altadena, Lancaster, Palmdale, Monrovia, Arcadia, Temple City, and Baltimore, Maryland. Law enforcement agencies have historically estimated the gang’s membership in the several hundreds, making it one of the largest Blood sets in the San Gabriel Valley.

Early History

The Pasadena Denver Lanes emerged during the 1970s as the Bloods alliance expanded beyond South Los Angeles. While maintaining ties to the original Denver Lane Bloods, the Pasadena chapter developed its own identity and became one of the dominant African-American gangs in the San Gabriel Valley.

During the 1980s, the crack cocaine era transformed the gang’s activities throughout Pasadena. One of the most notable figures associated with the neighborhood during this period was Elrader “Ray Ray” Browning Jr., a major narcotics trafficker whose organization distributed cocaine and heroin throughout Pasadena and other parts of California. Browning became one of the most influential figures in Pasadena’s drug trade before his federal conviction in 1988.

Throughout the 1990s and 2000s, the gang expanded beyond Pasadena. Members established chapters in Altadena and later developed ties in the Antelope Valley and on the East Coast, particularly in Baltimore, Maryland. Despite gang injunctions, federal investigations, and demographic changes within Pasadena, the gang remained active throughout the region.

Territory

The Pasadena Denver Lanes neighborhood is centered along the Fair Oaks Avenue corridor on Pasadena’s west side. Their territory generally runs from Mountain View Street toward Orange Grove Boulevard, with Robinson Park serving as one of the neighborhood’s best-known gathering spots.

The heart of the neighborhood is Kings Villages, formerly known as the Kings Manor Apartments. The housing complex has long been one of the most active gathering areas associated with the Pasadena Denver Lanes. Kings Villages is also home to the Project Gangster Bloods (PGB), a smaller Blood set that shares the housing complex and maintains a close alliance with the Pasadena Denver Lanes.

The neighborhood is traditionally divided into two sections known as the Top End and the Low End. The Top End refers to the northernmost portion of Pasadena Denver Lane territory, centered around Fair Oaks Avenue and Mountain View Street and extending into west Altadena. The Low End refers to the southern portion of the neighborhood, located below Woodbury Road and concentrated throughout northwest Pasadena.

Robinson Park, Hammond Street, Summit Street, and the Kings Villages apartment complex have long been considered major gathering areas within the Low End. As the Pasadena Denver Lanes expanded outside California, some of these neighborhood designations followed. Federal court records later identified a Baltimore-based faction operating under the name Low End Lanes, a reference to the original Low End section of the Pasadena neighborhood.

Members have historically claimed streets such as Pepper Street, Howard Street, and Summit Street while also maintaining a presence around apartment complexes near Washington Boulevard. The neighborhood has also hosted gatherings commonly referred to as “Yardnics,” where members, associates, and residents come together.

Beyond Pasadena, members established the Altadena Denver Lanes (ADL) in neighboring Altadena. Additional chapters and affiliates have been documented in Lancaster, Palmdale, Monrovia, Arcadia, Temple City, and Baltimore, Maryland. The Pasadena Denver Lanes also produced a subset known as the Parke Nine Gangster Bloods (P9), a group that gained notoriety following the 1993 Halloween murders.

Structure & Cliques

The Pasadena Denver Lanes are divided into several neighborhood cliques throughout Pasadena and Altadena. Among the best-known cliques are the Project Gangster Bloods (754), Summit Street (559), and the Tip Top Bloods (882). The Project Gangster Bloods are based in Kings Villages, formerly known as the Kings Manor Apartments, one of the most active gathering areas associated with the Pasadena Denver Lanes.

Summit Street members are concentrated around the Summit Street corridor, while the Tip Top Bloods derive their name from the Tip Top area of Pasadena. Although each clique maintains its own neighborhood identity, all fall under the Pasadena Denver Lane umbrella. Members commonly identify with “PDL,” “Pasadena,” “City Pasadena,” the “626” area code, the letter “D,” and red rose imagery associated with Pasadena’s nickname as the Rose City.

The gang has also maintained ties with affiliated groups outside California, including factions in Baltimore known as the Low End Lanes, Devil Lanes, and East Side Pasadena Denver Lanes.

Music and Cultural Influence

The Pasadena Denver Lanes have maintained a connection to Southern California’s rap scene through several artists and producers associated with the neighborhood.

One of the most recognizable figures connected to the gang is Big Hit, a rapper and longtime Pasadena Denver Lanes affiliate whose music often reflects his experiences growing up in Pasadena and his involvement in street life. After spending years incarcerated, Big Hit returned to music and gained renewed attention through collaborations with his son, Hit-Boy.

Hit-Boy, born Chauncey Hollis Jr., is a Grammy Award-winning producer, rapper, and songwriter raised in Pasadena. He has produced music for artists including Jay-Z, Kanye West, Nas, Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar, Travis Scott, and Nipsey Hussle. Although primarily known for his work in the music industry, Hit-Boy has frequently referenced Pasadena and his family ties to the Denver Lane neighborhood.

The success of Damu Ridas, Big Hit, and Hit-Boy brought national attention to a neighborhood that was previously known primarily through gang investigations and local street history. Their music has introduced the Pasadena Denver Lanes name to audiences far beyond the San Gabriel Valley.

Criminal Activity

The Pasadena Denver Lanes have historically been involved in narcotics trafficking, firearms offenses, robberies, burglaries, assaults, and gang-related violence.

During the 1980s and 1990s, crack cocaine sales became a major source of income for members. In later years, law enforcement investigations linked members to heroin trafficking, cocaine distribution, illegal firearms possession, identity theft, credit card fraud, and other organized criminal activity.

Federal investigations have linked members to drug trafficking, retaliatory shootings, witness intimidation, and acts of violence directed at rival gangs.

Documented Incidents

The Parke Nine Halloween Murders (1993)

On Halloween night in 1993, members of the Parke Nine Gangster Bloods (P9), a subset associated with the Pasadena Denver Lanes, were implicated in a series of murders that shocked the Pasadena area. The victims were abducted and killed during a violent crime spree that generated extensive media coverage and became one of the most notorious gang-related cases in the city’s history.

The investigation resulted in multiple arrests and lengthy prison sentences for those involved. The case drew significant attention to the Parke Nine Gangster Bloods and intensified law enforcement efforts targeting gang violence throughout Pasadena during the 1990s.

The Kenneth Jones Murder (2008)

In June 2008, Kenneth Jones, a Pasadena Denver Lanes leader operating in Baltimore, Maryland, was kidnapped at gunpoint in downtown Baltimore and forced into the trunk of a vehicle.

His body was later discovered on Bonner Road with multiple gunshot wounds to the head. Prosecutors ultimately secured the conviction of Dajuan Marshall, a leader of the Baltimore-based Bounty Hunter Bloods, for Jones’ murder.

The killing triggered retaliatory shootings and intensified tensions between rival Blood factions operating in Baltimore.

The Baltimore Racketeering Case (2008–2010)

Between 2008 and 2010, federal investigators uncovered a racketeering enterprise linking Pasadena Denver Lane members in California to affiliated factions operating in Baltimore.

According to prosecutors, gang leaders coordinated narcotics trafficking operations, collected dues, and authorized acts of violence across state lines. The investigation resulted in multiple federal convictions and life sentences for several high-ranking members and associates.

The Dejon Ray King Case and Federal Drug Investigation (2009–2010)

In July 2009, Pasadena Denver Lane member Dejon Ray King shot and wounded a Los Angeles County Sheriff’s deputy during an encounter in Palmdale. King was later convicted of the attempted murder of a peace officer and sentenced to thirty-eight years to life in prison.

The shooting triggered a major federal and local investigation into Denver Lane activity throughout Lancaster and Palmdale. In August 2010, authorities announced indictments against twenty-three individuals connected to a crack cocaine distribution conspiracy operating throughout the Antelope Valley.

The case became one of the largest federal investigations involving Pasadena Denver Lane members outside of Pasadena.

The Andre Scott Prison Smuggling Case (2013)

On November 28, 2013, former correctional officer Andre Scott was arrested for smuggling narcotics into a Lancaster prison. Investigators discovered marijuana, heroin, cell phones, and inmate contact information during searches connected to the case. Authorities also cited social media photographs and other evidence linking Scott to the Pasadena Denver Lanes.

The Lancaster Retaliation Shootings (2024)

On June 25, 2024, federal prosecutors alleged that members of the Pasadena Denver Lane Bloods carried out three retaliatory shootings in Lancaster following the death of a fellow gang member. Authorities alleged that Vionnie Richardson shot a rival Hoover Crips member, striking the victim multiple times. The victim survived.

Richardson later met with other Denver Lanes members at Joshua Memorial Park and Mortuary, where he met with other gang members at the gravesite of the deceased member. After that meeting, prosecutors alleged the group carried out two additional shootings that resulted in two deaths.

Federal prosecutors later tied the attacks to a racketeering case targeting Pasadena Denver Lane Bloods members operating in the Antelope Valley.

Allies & Rivals

The Pasadena Denver Lanes share many of the same allies and rivals as the Los Angeles Denver Lane Bloods, from which the Pasadena set originated. Longtime allies include the Crenshaw Mafia Gang, often referred to as the “Mafia Lanes,” and the Athens Park Bloods, also known as the “Athens Lanes.”

The Pasadena Denver Lanes’ primary rivals are the Squiggly Lane Bloods, Altadena Blocc Crips, Pasadena Raymond Avenue Crips, and Du Roc Crips. The feud with the Squiggly Lane Bloods is especially bitter because the gang originated from a split within the Pasadena Denver Lanes during the early 1990s.

Other rivals include Varrio Pasadena Rifa, Villa Boys Pasadena, and North Side Pasadena.

• 1993 Halloween Murders
• 71 residences Of the PDL Get Raided
• Local corrections officer ordered to trial in Lancaster prison drug smuggling case