INDIANAPOLIS - Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry filed multiple charges Wednesday against alleged members of two south side Indianapolis gangs.

The Problem Child Gang and the Fountain Square Boyz were named in the probable cause affidavit.

Prosecutors said the investigation into the Problem Child Gang began in April 2012 after a string of batteries, robberies, gun crimes, narcotics sales and graffiti.

According to the probable cause affidavit, a condition of membership required gang members to commit felonies, acts that would be considered felonies if committed by an adult, and/or the act of battery.

Five of the eight alleged gang members are 17 years old or younger; however, they are charged as adults, authorities said.  

“We have made it clear that our goal is to dismantle criminal gangs in Marion County,” Curry said. “The crimes that are generally associated with gang activity undermine the safety and stability of our neighborhoods, ultimately threatening the quality of life in our entire community.”

The charges filed against eight of the alleged Problem Child Gang members include felonies and misdemeanors, and include six counts of criminal gang activity. 

For only the second time in office history, the prosecutor has filed racketeering charges against an Indianapolis street gang, calling the Problem Child Gang an organized criminal entity.  

By filing racketeering charges, prosecutors have an advantage by putting the entire gang on trial in the same courtroom.

"We're going to use every tool that we have to prosecute these cases. And our goal is simple -- we're going to dismantle these gangs," Curry said.

The investigation into the Fountain Square Boyz stemmed from a July 4 incident in Fountain Square where six alleged gang members were involved in a fight with other neighborhood teens. 

According to the probable cause affidavit, the alleged FSB members jumped the neighborhood teens because they believed they were Problem Child Gang members, with whom the FSB has had an ongoing feud.

The FSB is a known criminal gang on the city’s south side, and they are alleged to have committed batteries and intimidation of members of the community, prosecutors said.

"They were literally terrorizing Fountain Square and were brazen in what they were doing," Curry said.

The six alleged FSB gang members are charged with felony counts of aggravated battery and one count of criminal gang activity.

“Our office is committed to fighting gangs to the fullest extent,” Curry said.

The prosecutor's mission has been boosted by citizens, who refuse to turn a blind eye toward bad behavior, working with police.

"I think we should get them all, take them off the street. This is our neighborhood. We've got to take it back," said Fountain Square activist Rachel Cooper.