Known Aliases: ETGC, 83GC, Eight Tray, ETG, Trays, 83 Gangster Crips
Origin: West 83rd Street corridor, South Los Angeles, California — circa 1972–1975. Formed in the vicinity of Manchester Avenue and Western Avenue within the broader West Side Crips expansion. Named for the 83rd Street grid designation.
Active Regions: Primary AOR: South Los Angeles (Manchester Square, Vermont Knolls, Florence-Graham corridor). Secondary AOR: Documented in Las Vegas (NV), Phoenix (AZ), Bakersfield (CA), Portland (OR), Denver (CO), and multiple California state prison facilities. Operational footprint has contracted relative to the 1980s–1990s peak but remains significant within core Los Angeles territory.
Known Alliances: Gangster Crips (3x, Trays), Trouble Gangster Crips, Hoover Criminals (historically)
Known Rivalries: Rollin 60s Neighborhood Crips — primary adversary since the 1979 NHC/GC schism, representing one of the deadliest sustained gang conflicts in American history. All Neighborhood Crip (NHC) aligned sets — blanket hostility. Rollin 40s NHC, Rollin 90s NHC, Rollin 100s NHC — active conflict zones. Blood-affiliated sets — generalized opposition. Hoover Criminals (realigned post-2000s) — intermittent conflict.
Primary Identifiers: Colors: Light blue (baby blue) and grey. Symbols: 'ETGC' monogram, '83,' 'Tray' designation, Gangster Crip ('GC') markers, pitchfork motifs (in some subsets, not universal). Numeric codes: 83, 8-3, 803 (telephone substitution). Tattoos: '83 Gangster' across chest/stomach, 'ETGC' on hands or neck, '8-Ball' imagery, neighborhood cross-streets. Apparel: Texas Rangers (T for Tray), Georgetown Hoyas (grey), Oakland Raiders (historical), Cincinnati Reds (historically co-opted). Hand signs: 'E' and 'T' finger formations, Crip 'C' with tray-specific variation. Graffiti: '83 GC,' 'ETG,' crossed-out 'NH' and '60s,' 'NHK' (Neighborhood Killer).
Executive Summary:
The Eight Tray Gangster Crips (ETGC) are classified as a historically significant Crip subset originating from the West 83rd Street corridor of South Los Angeles, established during the early-to-mid 1970s Crip expansion period. The organization is most critically recognized as the primary catalyst—and sustained combatant—in the 1979 Neighborhood Crip vs. Gangster Crip internal war, a factional split that fundamentally restructured the Crips alliance along two hostile 'car' designations. This internal conflict, particularly with the Rollin 60s Neighborhood Crips, has produced an estimated casualty count in the hundreds and remains operationally active across Los Angeles.
Core illicit enterprises encompass narcotics trafficking (cocaine base, PCP, methamphetamine, cannabis), firearms trafficking, armed robbery, auto theft, extortion, and retaliatory/territorial homicides. The ETGC maintains a decentralized street-level command structure with veteran shot-callers directing clique operations within geographically defined territories. Multiple LAPD 77th Street Division operations and FBI-led gang task force investigations have targeted ETGC leadership, resulting in significant RICO and conspiracy indictments. Despite attrition from incarceration and inter-gang violence, the ETGC retains territorial control within its core AOR and continues active recruitment within South Los Angeles schools and California Department of Corrections facilities.