Armenian Power

Armenian Power, also known as AP, is an Armenian-American gang located in Los Angeles.

History
The collapse of the Soviet Union prompted a massive wave of Armenians|Armenian immigration into Los Angeles County, California in the early 1990s, primarily in the communities of East Los Angeles, North Hollywood, Pasadena, and Glendale, California|Glendale. Faced with pressure from Hispanic gang members in the area, young Armenians in East Hollywood grouped together to form Armenian Power.&lt;ref name=&quot;APa1&quot;&gt;Violent Gang Is a Stain on a Proud Ethnic Community&lt;/ref&gt; Armenian-American street gangs are not large in terms of numbers but are violent and influential enough to allegedly be involved in Mexican Mafia peace talks between Latino gangs.

Armen Petrosyan originally the leader of Armenian Power, Petrosyan was also known as Silent. &lt;ref name=ap&gt;Gang Violence Claimed Man Who Tried to Change; Crime: The conviction of his killer closes the final chapter in the story of a former Armenian Power leader who was slain in inter-ethnic strife. - Los Angeles Times&lt;/ref&gt; &quot;This is your classic case of gang warfare and retaliation. There was no other reason to kill Mr. [David Petrosyan],&quot; said Deputy Dist. Atty. Darrell Mavis.&lt;ref name=ap&gt;Gang Violence Claimed Man Who Tried to Change; Crime: The conviction of his killer closes the final chapter in the story of a former Armenian Power leader who was slain in inter-ethnic strife. - Los Angeles Times&lt;/ref&gt; Argueta had claimed that he did not shoot Petrosyan. Jurors later watched a videotaped interrogation in which Argueta said that he &quot;gave a mission&quot; to &quot;Sappo,&quot; a new member of White Fence, to carry out the killing.&lt;ref name=ap&gt;Gang Violence Claimed Man Who Tried to Change; Crime: The conviction of his killer closes the final chapter in the story of a former Armenian Power leader who was slain in inter-ethnic strife. - Los Angeles Times&lt;/ref&gt;

When 15- year- old Armen Petrosyan arrived in east Hollywood from Armenia in 1989, he was thrust into an urban environment where large, long- established street gangs-- in this case, Mexican American and Salvadoran-- often preyed on a smaller group of new immigrants. Outnumbered, Petrosyan and two friends formed a defense alliance that grew into the Armenian Power street gang.&lt;ref&gt;Gang Violence Claimed Man Who Tried to Change - Los Angeles Times&lt;/ref&gt;

In popular culture
F/X's crime drama The Shield has featured several plots involving LA's Armenian gangsters. In the program's Second Season, the elite Strike Team led by Detective Vic Mackey commits the Money Train Heist, stealing millions of dollars from an Armenian money laundering ring. As a result, hitman Margos Dezerian is ordered to find and murder the culprits. After committing a string of grisly murders and severing his victims' feet to indulge a fetish, Margos is ambushed and murdered by Detective Mackey, who rigs the crime scene to look like self defense.

In Season 6, disgraced Strike Team Detective Shane Vendrell begins moonlighting as an enforcer for Diro Kesakhian (Franka Potente), the young and ruthless Godmother of an Armenian Crime Family. After learning from Shane that a trio of Black gangsters has been robbing her stable of Russians|Russian hookers, Diro arranges for the three men to be castrated. However, when Diro learns of the Strike Team's involvement in the Money Train Heist, Shane is horrified when she puts out contracts on the surviving Team members and their families. Shane transfers loyalty to her rival and forces her to flee to Germany. Before catching her flight, she tells him, &quot;Your sentiment will destroy you.&quot;

On the show, &quot;Armenian Power&quot; is referred to as &quot;Armenian Might&quot;.

Also, James Ellroy's novel White Jazz revolves around the Kafesjian, an Armenian drug-dealing family.

In the Showtime television drama, Weeds (TV series)|Weeds, An Armenian gang of marijuana growers exacts revenge by killing the DEA agent who busts their ringleader.