17-year veteran of the New York Police Department has been suspended without pay after a kidnapping victim was found tied up in his garage. The New York Post reports Ondre Johnson, a detective with the Brooklyn north gang unit, was being questioned in connection with the incident and was forced to surrender his gun and badge. A source tells the Post the 25-year-old victim was snatched off the street on July 26. The victim's friends then got calls demanding $75,000 for the victim's release. The call was traced to Johnson's home, MyFoxNY.com reports. When authorities arrived Friday afternoon, Johnson answered the door and identified himself as a detective with the NYPD. Investigators then found the victim tied up in the garage. Four men have been charged in the apparent kidnapping scheme, MyFoxNY.com reports. 30-year-old Hakeem Clark, who lives in the same building as Johnson, was charged with kidnapping and weapons possession along with 27-year-old Jason Hutson and 27-year-old James Gayle. 24-year-old Alfredo Haughton was charged with kidnapping.
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Jamie “Iceman” Stevenson is back on the streets – less than halfway through his prison sentence for laundering £1million of drugs cash. Scotland’s most powerful mobster has been enjoying meals at expensive restaurants and socialising with pals after being allowed home for a week each month. Stevenson – who was also accused of shooting dead his best friend in an underworld hit – was put behind bars in September 2006 when he was arrested after a four-year surveillance operation by the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency. He was later sentenced to 12 years and nine months for money laundering. But, we can reveal, he is now allowed out of Castle Huntly open prison near Dundee – just five years and 10 months later. A source said: “He seems determined to show his face all around town to deliver the message that he’s back and, as far as he’s concerned, nothing has changed. “A lot of people are surprised that he’s being allowed out so early. Some are not too pleased about it for a number of reasons.” Stevenson, 47, has been spotted at Bothwell Bar & Brasserie, which is run by his friend Stewart Gilmore. He and his cronies have also dined at upmarket Italian restaurant Il Pavone in Glasgow’s Princes Square shopping centre. And Stevenson has joined friends at various other restaurants and hotels, including Glasgow’s Hilton Garden Inn. A Sunday Mail investigation can today reveal that the Parole Board for Scotland could recommend Stevenson’s total freedom as early as February next year. However, the final decision on his release will rest with Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill. Yesterday, Labour justice spokesman Lewis Macdonald said: “I’m surprised to hear this and that anyone in these circumstances should get out of jail before the halfway point of their sentence – far less so when the conviction is of someone involved in organised crime. “The only circumstances where that would be conceivable would be if someone completely changed their lifestyle. But even then that should not be before they’ve served half their sentence. “I’m sure the victims of these crimes – and with drugs there are direct and indirect victims – will also be surprised at this.” To prepare Stevenson for his release, prison bosses have allowed him to stay a full week each month at his modest flat in Burnside, near Glasgow. On Friday, we watched him leaving the property with his wife Caroline and driving off in a silver Audi. A prison service insider said: “The Parole Board expect the prison authorities to have allowed home visits to test suitability for release ahead of the first eligible parole date. In Stevenson’s case, that’s next February. “There are conditions attached which vary but usually include the obvious ones like not mixing with other criminals and staying only at the designated address. “For prisoners sentenced to more than 10 years, the Parole Board make their recommendations to the Justice Secretary, who then decides whether to release on licence. “Stevenson is trying to keep his nose clean to convince the Parole Board that he poses no threat to society. “But, given his high profile and significance, it’s inevitable that the authorities will be careful before making any final decision.” Stevenson headed a global smuggling gang with a multi-million-pound turnover when he was brought down by the SCDEA’s Operation Folklore, which seized £61million of drugs. He faced drug and money laundering charges along with eight other suspects, including his 53-year-old wife. But his lawyers struck a deal with the Crown Office to admit money laundering in exchange for his wife’s freedom and the drugs charges being dropped. Stevenson’s stepson Gerry Carbin Jr, 32, was also jailed – for five years and six months – but was freed in 2010. Stevenson was previously arrested for the murder of Tony McGovern, 35, who was gunned down in Glasgow’s Springburn in 2000. But prosecutors dropped the case through lack of evidence. A gangland source said: “He does not fear any kind of reprisal from Tony’s brothers, nor does he regard any other criminals in Scotland as a threat or even as rivals. He did not fear any other operation in Scotland before he was jailed. Why would he now?” Two years ago, the Sunday Mail exposed a backdoor deal when the Crown handed back Stevenson’s £300,000 watch collection, which had been seized under proceeds of crime of legislation. Last June, he was sent back to high-security Shotts jail in Lanarkshire from an open prison after a major SCDEA drugs probe, Operation Chilon. Detectives believed that the gang they investigated was controlled by Stevenson. Haulage firm boss Charles McAughey’s home was one of 11 targeted in raids. In 2009, we revealed that French police had found 684kg of pure cocaine worth £31million in a lorry owned by McAughey. Chilon resulted in the SCDEA seizing 242kg of cannabis worth £1.21million and the jailing of three men for a combined 15 years.
Police in Alice are investigating a shooting that occurred near Reynolds Street. According to investigators, it all started on South Nayer Street where police say Isaac Vela was standing on the side of the road waiting for a ride. A vehicle -- with four people inside passed by. One of the passengers, police say, shot Vela in the face. The vehicle fled the scene, but the driver only made it a few blocks before he lost control of the vehicle. It smashed into a nearby school. Three of the four people inside the car died. The other is in the hospital...where investigators will interview him tomorrow. Police say all of the men involved are known gang members.
Reece James, 21, a close friend of Tulisa Contostavlos has been shot dead in a reported gangland attack. The 21-year-old, who appeared with Tulisa in a video for rapper Nines, was shot in the head in a "pre-planned and targeted" hit, 100 miles from his home in London, reports the UK's Sun newspaper. Police found James' body in Boscombe, Bournemouth, at around 2.30am near where Somali drug gangs are said operate. A 22-year-old man was arrested. Reece was said to have been in the area with some friends for "a couple of months", though had filmed the video earlier this month with Tulisa and rapper Nines on the Church End Estate in Harlesden, North West London. The former N Dubz star caused controversy at the time, making a "C" symbol to the camera - the same sign that is used by Harlesden's notorious Church Road Soldiers gang. Tulisa claimed it was a reference to Camden, where she was born. Twitter tributes began flooding in last night, with one user writing, "RIP Reece James. Thoughts are with him and his family and friends". Local MP Tobias Ellwood described the killing as "a spill over from the drugs turf war in the capital", adding, "This was one London gang chasing down another, carrying out a professional hit and then going back".
Det Chief Supt Darren Shenton, head of GMP’s serious crime division, believes the local community holds the key to bringing killers to justice. There are 22 unsolved murders in Greater Manchester that are thought to be gang-related – and Mr Shenton said that all of them could be solved. These include high-profile cases, such as that of innocent schoolboy Jessie James, 15, who was shot as he cycled through a Moss Side park in September 2006 and hard-working Halton McCollin, 20, killed in a Stretford takeaway in January 2008. Guns and gangs in Manchester: Victims of a sad cycle of revenge... Mr Shenton said: "The key to all of the unsolved murders lies within the community. Every single one of those murders is capable of being solved if people stood up and did the right thing. "In a number of cases we believe we know the circumstances of how somebody has been murdered but have not been able to transfer that into evidence. "There are people within the community who hold the key to unlocking justice and providing families who have lost loved ones in the most tragic of ways with answers. "My appeal would be that if there are people out there who have information about any of the cases to contact us – they can bring the killers to justice. We will receive that information and treat it in confidence. We can protect witnesses at court using special measures and we have a host of ways of giving absolute protection." Despite some murders remaining unsolved, police have made big strides towards ridding the streets of gun crime. Almost six years have passed since anyone was shot dead in Moss Side, the neighbourhood historically most troubled by gangs, and there have been no gang-related murders in the city of Manchester for more than three years. Detectives credit their success to improved police responses and community efforts to steer young people away from trouble. Gun crime in Greater Manchester is down year-on-year since 2007 when there were 146 recorded shootings. It fell to just 39 last year – the biggest reduction made by any police force in Britain. Mr Shenton added: "Back in 2006-2007 we made a commitment to the communities of Manchester that we would commit resources to tackling gun and gang crime in the area, reflecting the concerns of the community, and we aimed for gun free streets. We have continued that activity, coupled with working with multi-agency partners and giving people the chance to get away from that lifestyle. We’ve made efforts to talk to parents to given them support to lead their children away from that gun crime and culture. "A number of families have been robbed of their young people and lives have been lost. As police, we’ve been to too many funerals not to be affected by it. Mr Shenton said that there had been a ‘sea change’ in community relations with police that had helped officers to solve murders like that of Giuseppe Gregory, who was gunned down outside the Robin Hood pub in Stretford in May 2009. Three men – Moses Mathias, Njabulo Ndlovu and Hiruy Zerihun – have since been jailed for life after being convicted of his murder. He said: "We have seen a sea change in the community understanding what we are doing. The example is Giuseppe Gregory and Jessie James. Within a very short time members of the community who recognised we were in a different era had provided information. "We absolutely know we will not solve everything in a couple of years but we are committed to working with the community to try to deliver our aim of gun free streets in Greater Manchester."
South Carolina-native David Andrea Jenkins (AKA "Dread") and his gang members used sophisticated codes--but ones not good enough to stump federal agents--to communicate while they committed murders, aggravated assaults, kidnappings, drug trafficking, illegal weapons sales, wire fraud and prostitution, according to a 100-page indictment reviewed by the Weekly.
By 1999, Jenkins had taken over the gang's South Carolina operations from James Powell (AKA "Munchie"), who'd come from New York and the Gangsta Killa Bloods (GKB), according to law enforcement.
Jenkins and his fellow hoodlums did not know the extent the FBI monitored their activities, including their telephone calls, and spoke freely about distributing crack cocaine, committing violence against rivals and discovering snitches.
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| Alleged Jenkins associate Degregory Reaves |
In South Carolina, federal agents arrested more than 20 other alleged gangsters with nicknames like Arsonist, Tater Head, Shotgun, Gucci, Red Boy, Big Mama Blood, Buck, Bnezzy, Fish, Kapone, Southside, Junior, Teazy, Metro, Rockaroni and Killer.
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| Alleged Jenkins associate Christian Michelle Spencer |
According to police records, Jenkins has been transferred out of the Santa Ana Jail, where he was originally housed by U.S. marshals.
United States Attorney David Nettles in South Carolina and FBI Agent David A. Thomas hailed the arrests as a major blow to the gang's activities.
The sign is used by members of notorious north-west London gang Crime Scene Boys, also known as the Church Road Soldiers, who have been linked to gun violence and drug dealing.
Tulisa visited the Church End estate in Harlesden, where the gang is based, to shoot a music video.
The promo was being filmed for a new song featuring rapper Nines.
He has pulled the “C” sign in videos of his own and he raps about drug money, guns and violence on his songs.
Tulisa even posed with Nines’ £35,000 gold chain for the cameras.
An eyewitness said: “She was strutting around throwing gang signs and hanging around outside the blocks of flats.
“She was swearing and trying to fit in with the other people who were around her from the estate.
“Making that C sign is what people do when they are a member of the Crime Scene Boys. It’s a real mistake.”
It is also the kind of thing her bosses at ITV, X Factor producers Syco and record label Universal will take seriously.
Tulisa claims she was using the C sign to represent her home borough of Camden and that people turned up to her shoot uninvited.
In a statement last night, she said: “I filmed a street video on Sunday night for a track on my album.
“The video was a collaboration with the rapper Nines. When we were filming on the street loads of other people turned up and joined in the shoot.
“When I was holding my hands in the C sign, this was as a tribute to Camden, my home town and where N-Dubz began.
“I am not aware that this sign has anything to with any street gang and I 100 per cent do not endorse any gang violence in any form.”
Two gang members were arrested on June 16th at the Savemart warehouse near the Mission Avenue Interchange by Merced police officers after fleeing from a shooting. 24-year-old Fernando Figueroa and a 17-year-old accomplice were arrested for the attempted murder of 27-year-old Caesar Villafan and participation in a criminal street gang. Two officers were patrolling the south Merced area when they heard several shots fired and saw a car subsequently speed out of an alleyway at the 300 block of 11th Street and Martin Luther King. The two officers were joined by Merced PD reinforcements as they pursued the suspects southbound on Highway 99. The suspects drove at speeds of up to 100 miles per hour and narrowly missed striking another motorist before crashing head on into a guard rail at the Mission Avenue Interchange. Afterwards, the two suspects fled the vehicle on foot before being arrested at the Savemart warehouse a quarter of a mile away. Shooting occurred in this neighborhood Upon searching the vehicle, officers found a loaded handgun that matched the same caliber of shell casings left at the scene of the shooting. Figueroa and the accomplice were both booked at Merced County Jail. In addition to attempted murder and participation in a criminal street gang, Figueroa was charged with felony evading. Villafan was transported to a Modesto hospital where he was treated for non-life threatening gunshot wounds. The Merced PD has not yet confirmed the motive for the attempted murder of Villafan and the investigation is still ongoing, according to Tom Trindad of the Merced PD.
Police say a 17-year-old was beaten unconscious and had to be taken to the hospital after he told a gang recruiter he didn't want to join a Louisville gang. Police say it happened on May 19. According to a criminal summons, 22-year-old Loney Duerson Holman, along with two juvenile accomplices, walked up to a 17-year-old and took his bike. The 17-year-old and a 15-year-old friend followed Holman and his accomplices to a location on Tazwell Drive, near Murphy Lane. When they arrived, police say Holman and his accomplices tried to get the two teenagers to join a gang. (WDRB News is withholding the name of that gang.) When the teenagers refused to join, police say they were attacked. According to the citation, the 17-year-old was hit in the head with a board. The attack left him unconscious. The 15-year-old ran away. The attackers chased him, but he managed to escape. Police say Holman and his accomplices went through the 17-year-old's pockets, taking a cell phone. They later fled the scene. When the 17-year-old regained consciousness, he was able to flag down a stranger for help. A neighbor took him to the hospital for treatment. Police say he suffered swelling and knots to the back of his head, a cut to his chin that required stitches, bruising to his chest and hands and a possible concussion. Police were called. Some time later, both of the teenagers were able to identify Holman as their attacker. Police say the two juvenile accomplices are known members of a gang that, "is comprised of over five members. The members of this gang have been convicted of more than two felony offenses for the purposes of furthering gang activity within a two-year period." Holman is charged with robbery and criminal gang recruitment. The status of Holman's accomplices is not known, due to the fact that they're juveniles.
