Introduction

The Tiny Rascal Gang, also known as TRG, Tiny Raskal Gang or Rascals for short, is an Asian American (mainly ethnically Cambodian) gang based in Long Beach, California. The gang was founded by Cambodian refugees in 1981 as part of their cause to protect themselves from the larger, more numerous gangs in their neighborhoods. Initially, a mere cause which connected numerous youth crews and gangs across Long Beach, Santa Ana and shortly after nearby cities, they are now an established network and identity of individual "sets" or local gangs. Its members identify gray as their gang's color of distinction, a custom and practice that has waned somewhat in accordance to the police crackdowns specifically targeting gang members, but members have been seen to dress in all black with a gray rag representing their set.

The Tiny Rascals are considered to be the largest Asian street gang in the US. Cambodians comprise the majority of their members and are the foundation of the gang itself, although TRG opened its doors to let other races join to increase it’s numbers

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History

The United States began admitting its first Cambodian refugees in 1979, and until 1991, nearly 158,000 Cambodians were admitted; most of whom were resettled in the states of California, Massachusetts, Virginia, and New York. As with many refugee groups, lack of knowledge concerning the culture and society of the host nation in addition to their limited command of the English language resulted in a socio-cultural barrier. Upon suffering from various issues individually or in smaller scale, such as post-traumatic stress disorder and depression, their socio-economic disadvantage and environmental setbacks contributed to their adversity in North America. Cambodian-American communities were largely underprivileged and deeply affected by poverty, among other things.

In the mid-1980s, a fight occurred between a Latino student and a Cambodian student in Long Beach, an event which led to the formation of the Tiny Rascals. As a means of protection, other Cambodian youths began to form street gangs which later laid the foundation of TRG. While conforming to their various cultural influences and Western society, many Cambodian youths began to understand their positions in society, most of whom had instead recognized their disadvantage, resulting in their gang epidemic in the 1990s. Original gang hand-signs, graffiti, fashion, and other practices were originated and constantly changing in the 1980s and 90s. Shortly after their collectivization, TRG began committing several crimes which included extortion, murder, kidnapping, robbery, burglary, home invasion, drugs and weapons trafficking. Some of the Tiny Rascal members were originally members of the Asian Boyz, a rival gang, and transferred gangs due to friction between other fellow Tiny Rascal members.

Throughout the early 90s, The Tiny Rascals had a violent rivalry with the Long Beach-based East Side Longos MUIE who were predominantly Hispanic.

Two more recent rivalries which have been relevant over the past decade are with Insane Boyz and Rascals in Seattle, and Latin Kings in Holland, Michigan.

Whereas TRG and the Asian Boyz have bitter rivalries, peace and truces have been practiced between the two groups.

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Membership

Originally a Cambodian street gang, members of other ethnic and cultural groups are known to have been recruited. There are an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 members nationwide, based primarily on the West Coast, the Southwest and New England. In the 1990s, females were allowed to represent the gang and an all-female branch was formed as "LRG (Lady Rascal Gang)".^{[citation needed]} This faction or identity was later disbanded.

As with many other gangs, potential members must first be initiated in a "jump in" where they would have to fight other members of the gang or endure a beating for a specific amount of time. Newer recruits are allegedly required to commit a notable crime as a means to earn respect, whether it be murder, home invasion, drive-by shootings on rival gangs or enemies, or robbery. Respect and credibility within the gang revolved around a number of crimes individuals would commit either on behalf of or in favor of the gang. Their gang colors are grey and black. In contrast to their rivals, the Asian Boyz, their gangs are more ethnically exclusive and distinct, as most of their Cambodian members are known to be Khmer.

There is presence of TRG members/sets within the US army as well. However, none can be found in the airforce or navy. There are also some TRG sets found within various prisons in the USA including South Carolina. It is important to note that because of the low percentage of Asian Americans in some prisons, all Asian gang members clique up to represent an Asian set regardless of their hood's historical rivalries with each other.

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Activities

The Tiny Rascals are involved in a wide range of criminal activities which include extortion, robbery, burglary, auto theft, gang protection, and murder, which are some of the more publicized criminal activities. While young members of the gang are mostly involved in street crimes, some members have progressed towards serious organized criminal activities larger in scale. The older sets maintain a working relationship with similar sets of a fellow Southeast Asian gang called Asian Boyz. They have formed alliances with Chinese organizations such as the 14K, Wah Ching and Wo Hop To in California, and the New York City-based Ghost Shadows.

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, several Rascals violently retaliated to the ongoing harassment of East Side Longos within California, especially Long Beach, and in the Seattle, Washington area. This sparked a deadly war of which resulted in over a hundred casualties suffered among both gangs.

Cities such as Anchorage, Alaska and Portland, Oregon have had some recorded but less extravagant TRG presence, involved with gun and drug distribution. In smaller towns, in North Carolina, particularly Forest Oaks and Pleasant Garden, sets exist which include many non-Cambodian and non-Asian members. Car thefts and reports of gunfire originated from the gang.

California

During 1994, seven TRG members broke into a house in Tustin resulting in the victim being killed, while her baby was home. In 2016 some Tiny Rascal members also murdered a member of a graffiti crew in Tustin.

In August 1995, five TRG members aging between 16 and 23 invaded the house of a family in San Bernardino and shot five of them to death in a robbery. The victims were ages 10 to 44. The five perpetrators were sentenced to life imprisonment.

The Californian gang identifier laws have had an impact on Tiny Rascal Gang members as well. Basically, if police can identify you as a gang member you can be arrested. This was seen in Sacramento when a member of a set was arrested after police found out he was in the gang, later he would be charged with more. Sacramento also houses at least 100 members and drug dealing appears to be its main source of income. In 2006 one of the Sacramento sets killed a police officer, the member was 16 when he did it.

The gang rivalry between Asian Boyz and Tiny Rascal Gang had involved innocent people, including the accidental shooting of a pregnant woman in 2006 in Fresno. Another one occurred in 2019 (arresting seven TRG members) in a mass shooting at a pre-Halloween party in Long Beach that left three dead.

Massachusetts and Rhode Island

The gang also has a presence among the Cambodian-American community in Lowell, Massachusetts. According to police there, several hundred TRG members lived in the Lowell and Lynn area in the older days and still are definitely around causing havoc. The gang was connected to over five homicides and several assaults throughout Lowell and Lynn within 1998 and 2021.

In Providence, there are reports of a rivalry between the Surenos and TRG. There were reports of underage drinking by TRG members who had connections with the staff.

Maryland and Virginia

The TRG in Virginia have been connected to many crimes including property crimes, extortion, robberies, drug distribution, stabbings, assaults, shootings, and murder. Virginia, primarily in the Northern Virginia area adjacent to Washington, D.C., is home to approximately 5,000 to 8,000 Cambodians, many of whom live in Arlington, Fairfax County, Falls Church, and Richmond. There is also a community in Silver Spring, Maryland. Virginia now has what it says are the toughest gang laws in the nation, partly because of the violent actions of gangs such as the TRG. One of the first murders in the Virginia/Maryland area happened in 1996 at a South Arlington, Virginia apartment complex which left a teenage gang member dead.

In February 1998, a fatal drive-by shooting occurred near George C. Marshall High School, in which a non-gang member 17-year-old boy was killed by a .22 rifle while sitting in the driver's seat, and another teenage male in the car was not wounded. The gunman, an 18-year-old TRG member, was sentenced to life imprisonment in August 1998. Two others TRG members, including a driver, were found guilty of felony assault for their roles in the attack, and received sentences of 17 years and 4 years.

Violence was reported in the Richmond area in 2009, which was a shooting into a house with no injuries.

Sentencing in all aforementioned cases ranged from 5 to 25 years incarceration, deportation, and life imprisonment.

Ohio

Within Columbus there was a shooting on Christmas day 2015 from a Tiny Rascal Gang member. The member appeared Caucasian yet the victim has an Asian name, so it is unclear the racial make-up of the Columbus sets. It is also unclear if the murder was gang-related.

Utah

Tiny Rascal Gang has a presence within Salt Lake City with their main rivals being other Asian gangs such as Oriental Laotian Gang, Asian Deuce and Laos Boy Crips. They are also allies with Tiny Oriental Posse and Viet Family. Asian gangs in the area are considered to be very nomadic and not turf oriented. Utah's Asian gangs have been linked with violent crime and home invasions.

Texas

Amongst at least 500 gangs in the Fort Worth and Dallas Asian and Hispanic gangs remain the main ethnic gangs. Of Asian gangs in Texas the Tiny Rascal Gang and Asian Boyz remain the main national gangs. These gangs are known to facilitate a great deal of illegal activity, such as drug distribution, not only in their home turf (in metropolitan Dallas/Fort-Worth) but in suburban areas which are located at interstate points or major highways in the Dallas County and Tarrant County. Once they have run out of drug supplies they will return home to stock up. The product of this is that there are now some sets within the suburban areas.

Michigan

TRG can be found in Holland and are currently having a dispute with Latin Kings. This led to an attempted murder of a Filipino TRG member in 2016. There is also a sub-set of TRG called TRG Jnrs. Much like many Mid-Western gangs, the Tiny Rascal Gang has alliances with the Folk Nation. Possibly explaining the turf war between Latin Kings.

Pennsylvania

Tiny Rascal Gang is considered one of the largest Asian gangs in Philadelphia along with D-Block and Red Scorpions. In South Philadelphia TRG rivals with Red Scorpions, with shooting flaring up every few years. The two main sets of Philadelphia TRG include Sixth Street and Fifteenth Street. In 2005 Tiny Rascal gang got into a fued with D-Block which resulted in the murder of a female associate and a TRG member. The South Philadelphia sets are known to extort money and run prostitution rings. Something which is considered similar to Italian Organised Crime in Philadelphia. In 2000 an Asian Blood Gangmember was brutally robbed by four TRG members. All four members were convicted, as a result of the trial the Blood gang member was murdered shortly after

Tennesee & Kentucky

In La Vegne a Nashville set of TRG did an armed robbery. The youth were all charged. Their presence according to TBI in 1999 suggests they have sets in Rutherford County and Davidson County. In Bowling Green, Kentucky, the Asian Boyz and Tiny Rascal gang have presence. However the Cochran chapter of Tiny Rascal Gang have a main rivalry with the Asian Mafia. Also in Bowling Greens circa 1997 there was a shooting of an Asian couple by Laotian Tiny Rascal Gang members during a home invasion resulting in a death. The gang calls new members 'Baby Rascals' and older members 'The G's'

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Media depiction

Two documentaries, Rascal Love and Cambodian Son, have been about Tiny Rascal members. Gangland has also dedicated an episode to Tiny Rascal Gang sets in Fresno.