Police: Spiros shooters members of gang

AUSTIN (KXAN) - Austin police say three members of the LG Allstarz hip hop group involved in the Spiros nightclub shooting are all members of the Crips street gang.

Two brothers, Brandon and LaBaaron Hutchison face multiple charges of aggravated assault for shooting into a crowd outside Spiros and wounding eight people. A third man, also a member of the hip hop group, faces drug charges. Wendon Candrick has been arrested on drug charges and is suspected of stabbing the concert promoter at Spiros Friday morning.

Police have seized evidence they said indicates all three men are Crips members. Photos on the LG Allstarz MySpace page shows all three men displaying gang signs and wearing blue bandanas.

"We see this more and more on MySpace and Facebook and that kind of thing where they're putting it out there for the world to see," said APD Gang Commander Sean Mannix. "It tells me they're proud of their affiliation with the gang."

Commander Mannix said the Hutchison brothers, upset with a concert promoter who would not allow them to perform at Spiros, returned and opened fire on the crowd early Friday morning. Eight people were wounded, but all are expected to recover.

"This particular event was done in a style which is reminiscent of the L.A. street gangs- the shoot 'em up- I've been disrespected," said Commander Mannix. "Eight people shot in one criminal episode is a dramatic number of people to be inflicted with gunshot wounds at one time."

Police have responded to Spiros 172 times since January of 2008. While they believe the club is a public nuisance, and are taking steps to shut it down, they do not believe the establishment promotes gang activity.

According to the TABC, Spiros has been cited more than 20 times since 2005 for various violations. APD, along with the TABC and Travis County attorney, is working to convince a judge to shut the club down permanently.

The Hutchison brothers remain in jail in Fayette County where they turned themselves in.