BOWLING GREEN, Va. -- Gangbangers have shot bullets and spilled blood on the outskirts of quiet Bowling Green in Caroline County. Wednesday was day one of a two-day, malicious wounding trial involving the MOB-30 gang and their rivals, the YG (Young Guard) 4.
It’s kind of hard to believe this is happening in a town that hasn’t seen much conflict since those Yankees took it over during the Civil War. You may have heard John Wilkes Booth had sympathizers in the town and was caught nearby after he assassinated Lincoln.
This is a cozy, friendly 'berg that, for most of the last century, had a small, two-story jail built in 1900 with six or so cells – so small that when the court order came to integrate, the sheriff politely replied that they didn’t have room to segregate, thank you very much.
The most famous inmates in that historic jail were Richard and Mildred Loving. Their illegal love led to a Supreme Court decision overturning laws prohibiting interracial marriages.
And few years earlier, a young (19) and skinny Wilt Chamberlain spent one night in a cell there after he was busted for reckless driving by Ottie J. Moore, a young state trooper who was assigned to the area and was eventually elected sheriff, serving from 1964 to 1991.
Residents and authorities will tell you the gang activity involves young people from other parts of the county feuding – Ladysmith, Dawn, Sparta. It’s the kind of beefing that has gone on for years, only now they’ve formed gangs and are using guns instead of fists, Percy Craddock told me. He grew up in the area.
This kind of violence far from represents the Mayberry-like town of Bowling Green, I heard from several folks during my visit Wednesday.
“We die down around nine o’clock at night,” said Mary Hatch. “It’s full of old souls who have been here for years.”
It’s the kind of town where people wave on the streets and share a hug in the grocery, she said.
The trial continues Thursday. So will the small-town friendliness, I suspect. Check out the video and see what it’s like.
