A Gainesville man was arrested Monday and charged with stealing money in order to raise his ranking in the United Blood Nation, a gang more commonly known as the Bloods.
On Feb. 2, a woman reported her wallet stolen from her car while she was at Walgreens at 1615 NW 13th St.
According to the Gainesville Police Department arrest report, the woman told police her stolen credit card had been used to wire money through Western Union, a money transferring business.
After an investigation of Western Union Financial Services, officials found that $1,400 of the woman's money was wired to Pedro Hernandez, 24.
Hernandez and Xavier Parker, 24, were both arrested and charged with burglary, theft and fraudulent use of a credit card.
Hernandez told police that he and Parker stole the wallet that had $1,000 in cash and various credit cards.
According to the report, Hernandez said Parker told him he could wire the money into Hernandez's account and that they arranged to split the money.
Hernandez said that he is required to pay dues to the Bloods with the money he makes from criminal activity, which would raise his status within the gang, the report stated.
