Local police turn a wary eye to controversial band's followers
Insane Clown Posse fans have been classified as a gang in Monroe County.
Four charged in Schuylkill county beating death
September 20, 2009
Police throughout the country are becoming increasingly familiar with the violent lyrics of rap metal duo Insane Clown Posse, which is booked to play at an Allentown club in December.
In Monroe County, where authorities have identified up to 1,000 fans, the district attorney's office has joined police in Arizona and Utah in listing band followers as a gang. And the Wisconsin Justice Department has labeled the band a security threat.
The controversy surrounding Insane Clown Posse, a Detroit duo, hit Schuylkill County last week when four band followers were charged with killing a friend and follower who may have broken an ICP code.
Police said Anthony Locascio, 21, of Hazleton, was lured into the woods and struck with metal baseball bats 60 to 80 times for ratting on a fellow follower of a hip-hop group that police would not identify. A source close to the investigation said all five were devoted fans of Insane Clown Posse.
Locascio's killing is eerily similar to lyrics in ''Imma Kill U,'' a recently released ICP song:
First, I smack your head with a bat
The bloody splat, crack with impact
While most fans simply listen to the music, which speaks of murder, rape and other violent acts, Monroe County Detective Emmanuel Varkanis said followers -- known as Juggalos and Juggalettes after an ICP song --have been arrested there for burglary, assault, and homicide.
The increased criminal activity led Monroe to be the first county in Pennsylvania to validate the Juggalos as a gang, putting them in the same category as the Bloods and Crips.
The band, whose two members wear black-and-white clownish makeup and go by the aliases Violent J and Shaggy 2 Dope, could not be reached for comment. A call and e-mail placed to one of its promoters was not returned.
Schuylkill County District Attorney James Goodman said until last week's arrests, the county had not seen a link between Juggalos and crime.
''I've heard of the group, but we've never had any problems with anyone associated with this group,'' Goodman said Friday.
The four charged there with homicide, conspiracy and aggravated assault are: Jeffrey A. Gombert, 19, and Curtis T. Foose, 25, both of Hazleton; Andrew A Tutko II, 19, of McAdoo, and Shane D. Roof, 20, formerly of Palmerton.
Two of the four, Gombert and Foose, and Locascio referred on their MySpace pages to ICP.
According to the arrest affidavit, the four men told state police they killed Locascio because he reported to Hazleton police that he and an accomplice vandalized a vehicle. The incident led to a feud between Locascio and his friends.
In Monroe, Varkanis has studied the Juggalos since they first appeared in the county two years ago. He said they are mostly white and range in age from 10 to 35. Juggalos have their own dress code and speak their own language, he said.
In March, two Monroe followers are alleged to have lured Michael S. Goucher, 21, of Stroudsburg into the woods and then stabbed him 45-50 times with knives and meat cleavers.
After police arrested Ian Seagraves, 17, and Sean Freemore, 18, they said they found postings on their MySpace pages expressing their devotion to ICP. Seagraves has a tattoo of the group's symbol, a man running with a hatchet, police said.
Seagraves and Freemore are scheduled for trial next year.
''They did it for the thrill,'' said Monroe County District Attorney E. David Christine. ''They wanted to kill to see how it would be like, so they decided to kill.''
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