| Sons of Samoa | |
| Founding Location: | Long Beach, California, U.S. |
| Territory: | United States (Alaska, California, Missouri, Utah, Washington) |
| Ethnicity: | Predominantly of Samoan descent |
| Rivals: | P.V.C. (Park Village Crip)[1] |
| Criminal Activities: | Drug trafficking, robbery, burglary, extortion |
Sons of Samoa is a Crips-affiliated street gang based in Long Beach, California, United States. Its membership mainly consists of Samoan Americans with other Pacific Islander members.
The Sons of Samoa gang is a faction of the Crips gang based in west Long Beach, California.[2]
In 1985, the Sons of Samoa gang had about 200 members scattered throughout Long Beach, many of whom were Samoan immigrants or first-generation Samoans.[3]
In the late 1980s, it was the focus of a Long Beach Police Department sweep after gang members had attacked two police officers.[2] Around the same time, they were in a gang war with a gang from Garden Grove.[2]
In 2015, an investigation led to new charges and the arrest of a Sons of Samoa member for a murder in 1996.[4] [5]
Three SOS members were arrested on March 16, 2021, for the February 9 fatal shooting of a man during late hours on the street near a church in San Jose, California. The victim was not known to have had any connection with the suspects.[6]
In the 1980s, the Sons of Samoa were heavily involved with the sale and use of cocaine and PCP, as well as robbery, burglary, and extortion.[3] In the 1990s, the Suicidals subset of the Sons of Samoa sold drugs in alleyways.[4] [5] A 2011 report from the FBI listed Alaska, California, Missouri, Utah, and Washington as states where the Sons of Samoa operated.[7]