The Fullerton Tokers Town (FTT) are a predominantly Mexican-American street gang based in the Orange County’s Maple neighborhood in Fullerton, California.
Founding and Early History
The Fullerton Tokers Town were founded in the town of Fullerton, California, at some point between the 1950s and the 1960s. Additional sources even report FTT’s activities throughout the 1940s. Mostly Hispanic in nature, this group arose as a natural response to a series of bad policies enacted by the government.
Poor housing conditions, the inability to access higher education and the lack of a solid alternative to crime fueled the process leading to this gang’s birth. In a period where racism was still rampant across most of the United States, Mexicans and other Latino people often needed protection both from the police and from white supremacist associations such as the KKK.
Groups of younger men would begin to form, as each individual took care of those around him and ensured that they could be safe while on the streets. As the years went on, members of the Fullerton Tokers Town would progressively engage in larger and more complicated criminal activities. Drugs, alcohol, and violence often characterized the gang.
Racial Equality, the 80s and the 90s
With racial equality laws finally being passed in the 70s, the Fullerton Tokers Town has technically lost the purpose for their existence. The gang though, which was still rather small, had already moved to more profitable illegal activities. They continued existing as a criminal enterprise, although only a part of the Fullerton police department considers them one.
Violence was being reserved to self-defense would soon find itself employed to commit robberies, assaults, thefts and pretty much anything else that could be turned into a profitable venture. According to some ex-members of the group, the Fullerton Tokers Town became heavily involved with the sale of drugs. The word Tokers in their name might have been chosen in connection to their habit of smoking large amounts of weed.
The 80s and the 90s still saw the majority of the poorest youth in Fullerton being offered no alternative to joining a gang. As such, these people often found themselves on the street and needed to turn into violent criminals in order to survive. Things would slightly change as the century drew to a close.
From the 2000s to Today
Both the local police department and several key individuals in the Orange County Judicial Branch invested a large amount of manpower and resources in the fight against the Fullerton Tokers Town. A safe zone within which gang members are not permitted to associate with each other or engage in other gang-related activities was established in 2011.
The gang, which today is estimated to have between 50 and 150 active members, is considered one of the most dangerous and largest in the area. Enacted precautions often include a heightened police presence, as well as multiple programs for at-risk kids. Although the group remains smaller and less organized than many other associations in the southern part of the United States; the local police department hopes that these programs will help younger generations steer away from crime.
General Info
Full Name: Fullerton Tokers Town;
Founded In: 1950s/1960s;
Current Location: Fullerton, California;
Allies: Mexican-Mafia;
Rivals: Fullerton Boyz, East Side Buena Park, CKA, Anaheim Gangs;
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