OTTUMWA — Police charged two juveniles last week with gang recruitment, a first in Ottumwa.

Police reports show Juan Carlos Bethancourt, 15, and Jose Edwardo Pivaral, 13, both of Ottumwa, were arrested and charged with gang recruitment and theft.

“Those guys were the ones ... that were arrested for trying to recruit kids into gangs. They were committing thefts as part of a gang initiation,” Clark said.

Two gangs, the Latin Kings and the Two-Sixers, were involved according to Clark. The efforts reportedly targeted sixth-grade students in Ottumwa.

Clark worries that parents may underestimate the harm done by gang recruitment, even when it involves young students.

“The problem is these kids grow up in gangs and gang culture,” he said. Initial confrontations may not be overtly violent, but the risk is that children who become used to gang activities will ultimately use violent means to settle disputes.

Clark praised Officer Darren Batterson, the officer stationed at Evans Middle School, for spotting the gang activities.