Robert Brooks Ballou, a 16-year-old high school student, was brutally beaten and kicked to death near a busy intersection in Los Angeles in March 1972, following a concert at the Hollywood Palladium. The murder was so vicious it made front-page news, a rarity in a city where violent crimes often go unnoticed.

While Los Angeles was already plagued by random violence, Ballou’s death stood out. It carried symbolic weight—not just as a tragedy, but as a turning point in the rise of the Crips.

The killers were reportedly members of the Crips, a newly emerging and feared Black street gang. By the early 1970s, the Crips had grown rapidly, with estimates ranging from 1,000 to 3,000 members. Their territorial spread included factions across South Central LA—East, West, Compton, Inglewood—and even subgroups like Criplettes and Baby Crips.

In response, police formed a special gang unit to track activity, compiling dossiers and posting photos of Crip leaders in patrol cars. Despite this, Crip members claimed police harassment without meaningful results. Curtis “Buddha” Morrow described routine stops and arrests as intimidation tactics.

Early gang identity markers included canes and gold earrings in the left ear. Later styles evolved into starched Levi’s, leather jackets, and wide-brimmed hats—fashion common among Black youth, which made identification harder.

Stanley “Tookie” Williams expressed the growing paranoia and escalation, saying, “Anyone who isn’t a Crip is an enemy.” Rival gangs began merging for protection. Though only skirmishes had occurred, the firepower and tension suggested the potential for large-scale violence.

A new Crip member named Buck summed up the chilling nihilism: “Shooting and killing people is my recreation. Got nothing else to do.”

This murder, known as the Hollywood Leather Jacket Murder, is widely considered the spark that ignited the infamous gang war between the Crips and Bloods. Members of the original Westside Crips were convicted for Ballou’s killing.

The Baddest In Los Angeles, 1972. Stanley “Tookie” Williams with his right hand, Curtis “Buddha” Morrow. Original Westside Crips.