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Motorcycle gangs, who are considered by Finnish police to constitute organised crime groups, have significantly expanded their operations in the past decade. The gangs have spread so extensively throughout Finland that police fear that violent conflict might break out among them. Motorcycle gangs have set up clubhouses especially in the Helsinki region and in the south of Finland, but activities have branched out to other parts of the country as well. “Organised crime groups use the same methods as players in normal business. If there is a market somewhere, a section is set up there to secure their operations”, says Jussi Oksanen of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI). Police say that the three most infamous organisations, the Hell’s Angels, the Bandidos, and Cannonball have more than 40 subsections around Finland. Police calculate that there are a total of 80 organised crime groups in Finland, including the subsections. However, most of the groups using different names are not motorcycle gangs. There are nearly 1,200 members in the various groups. The newest, called the United Brotherhood, was formed out of three others, and has more than 50 members. In recent years the gangs have avoided clashes, lest their main criminal activities suffer. Most recently Finland experienced a bloody gang war in the 1990s. “There have been various clashes suggesting a resurgence of tension. In Germany and Denmark, the Hell’s Angels and the Bandidos have been on war footing. These are international criminal organisations, so the trend in other countries is reflected here as well.” Leaders of the Finnish section of the Hell’s Angels are currently under suspicion in an extensive drug smuggling and dealing case. This does not come as a surprise to Jussi Oksanen, who says that police have been collecting surveillance material on the organisation’s activities for a long time. “The Helsinki drug police, along with the West Uusimaa Police can now demonstrate that the members themselves are involved in criminal activities”, Oksanen says. According to Oksanen, actual members of the motorcycle gangs have previously been careful not to get their hands dirty. “They have let the others do the jobs where there is a risk of getting caught.” Police say that surveillance activities have revealed that the Hell’s Angels have used smaller gangs as partners. Traditionally the gang has been very careful of its image, and has avoided committing crimes that could bring bad publicity. Police say that the Hell’s Angels differ from the Bandidos, and the purely Finnish Cannonball in that it has not set up many new subsections, nor has it taken actual supporter gangs into its organisations. For instance, Bandidos has several subsections on various levels, which are seen as stepping stones by members who want to advance within the organisation. The Hell’s Angels have had about a third of the number of members as the Bandidos, which has undergone considerable expansion recently. “However, now for the first time a new group, the 1% Bad Machine 81 Finland has entered the Hell’s Angels’ official organisation. Why the group made the move right now remains unclear”, Oksanen says. He notes that one possibility is that the Hell’s Angels are flexing their muscles for possible clashes to come.
The drugs squad of the Helsinki Police and the West Uusimaa Police have uncovered an exceptionally large drug smuggling and growing operation, in which the main suspects are members of the Hell’s Angels motorcycle club. Police managed to confiscate several kilos of amphetamine and cocaine as well as a number of unlicensed weapons and about EUR 200,000 in cash. Police also found the biggest cannabis growing operation ever discovered in Finland. Detective inspector Jari Pynnönen describes the case as one of the biggest in Finnish history. What makes it exceptional is that the police were able to trace the drug trafficking organisation to the very highest levels. “Six members of the Hell’s Angels organisation have been detained or arrested during the investigation. Included are people from the top leadership of the organisation all the way to the presidential level”, Pynnönen says. A total of 10 people have been held in connection with the case. The investigation began already in the late summer of 2009. Pynnönen says that the smuggling, transport, and growing of illegal drugs has continued for years. Millions of euros are believed to have been involved in the business. The street value of the drugs that were confiscated was estimated at EUR 800,000. The drugs have been smuggled from Central Europe in hiding places built in various vehicles. Smuggling has been done largely by couriers hired abroad, who have not had significant criminal records, or any direct connection with the Hell’s Angels. The drugs were brought to Helsinki, from where they were distributed throughout the greater Helsinki region, and possibly to other parts of Southern Finland. Pynnönen says that helping in the distribution have been a supporter club with close ties to the Hell’s Angels, as well as so-called “hangaround members”. Pyynönen sees the bust as a major blow to the illegal drug business in Finland for a while, but he also expects the gap to be filled up as new players enter the field. “In this respect it is important that plenty of cash and many illegal weapons were confiscated. This always slows the reorganisation of the activities.”
streets of north inner city Dublin are among the most heavily policed areas of the country because of the bitter feud that has claimed five lives. But the gang war -- sparked when paedophile gangster Christy Griffin was charged with raping his girlfriend's daughter -- is not the only feud which has blighted the area. Another north inner city war has been raging since 2006, resulting in two murders. Like the Christy Griffin feud, the separate Summerhill feud is deeply entrenched, motivated by astonishing levels of hatred and revenge. The last murder linked to either feud was in June, when Michael Taylor (53) was shot six times in the head and chest with a handgun as he stood outside a caravan in a park in scenic Donabate, north Co Dublin. Taylor was not known to gardai for involvement in organised crime but was involved in feud-related incidents over five years. The first murder linked to the Summerhill feud happened in 2007, but full details of it can't be disclosed here for legal reasons. Taylor was closely associated with a man who was questioned about that murder on the northside. The feud began when two criminals in their 20s from the north inner city were involved in a bitter row over a woman in late 2006. Family members on both sides then got involved. Cars and motorbikes belonging to one side were damaged in a vandalism incident which directly led to an associate of Michael Taylor being stabbed three times while he walked in the north inner city with a small child. He received only minor injuries -- but less than a week later the suspected knifeman was shot dead in revenge. A month later a hand grenade was thrown at the home of a family associated with Michael Taylor in Summerhill. Miraculously, none of the 10 occupants was injured in the attack, which came a night after the two rival groups clashed in the Mater Hospital as one family visited a relative. In that incident, a woman was stabbed in the hand while a man suffered head wounds. Abused In another, one of the main protagonists was found with a knuckle-duster in his back pocket after being searched by gardai. He claimed he had the weapon for his own protection. Then, in December 2007, a female associate of the first murder victim was caught with a loaded pistol as she drove through the north inner city. The woman, in her 30s, was given a three-year suspended sentence after Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard she got the gun after her associate was shot dead and there were serious threats against her life. There can be no doubt about the vicious nature of the 'Summerhill feud'. But it is the gang war that started after mob boss Christy Griffin was arrested and charged with raping a young girl that has made most of the headlines. Griffin was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in April 2007. At that stage, once-loyal comrades had turned on each other. Two tense trials followed during which gardai were forced to set up an armed checkpoint outside the victim's family home. This brave woman, who gave crucial evidence, had been regularly sexually abused by Griffin from the age of eight to 16. While this reign of sexual terror was going on, Griffin became one of Ireland's most prolific armed robbers, a senior member of a gang of over 30 men and women who made a fortune robbing from cargo containers in Dublin's docklands and from drug dealing. Everything changed when Griffin (42) was charged with the sex offences in 2004. In a further blow for the gangster, his brother 'Collie' was shot dead in a botched post office robbery in Lusk, Co Dublin. When the jury failed to reach a verdict at his first trial at the Central Criminal Court, in May 2006, there were violent scenes outside the Four Courts when associates of Griffin clashed with family friends of the rape victim in front of frightened onlookers. Throughout that summer, tensions mounted in the north city, and it wouldn't be long before the dispute erupted into all-out war. Gerard 'Batt' Byrne (26), a key ally of the rape victim's family, became the first fatality when he was gunned down in Dublin's IFSC on December 13, 2006. A fortnight later, small-time crook Stephen Ledden (28) was coldly executed in a revenge attack as he slept on a couch. By this time, Griffin had moved from his north inner city base to Swords, where he survived separate grenade and gun attacks. These were followed by revenge attacks on the rival faction. Handing him a life sentence,for his litany of crimes, Judge Paul Carney, who was placed under armed garda protection for the trial, delivered a scathing judgment, describing Griffin's previous record as "horrendous". But the life sentence did not end the feuding. With both sides having links to other crime gangs across the country, including all of Dublin's crime syndicates and Limerick's deadly McCarthy/Dundon crew, the factions had the firepower and muscle to continue the violence. Paranoid The Griffin-backed mobsters were determined to avenge the death of Stephen Ledden, killed in a case of mistaken identity. They got their chance in July 2010, when Ledden's killer, Stephen 'Madser' Byrne (32) was gunned down in broad daylight at the junction of Sheriff Street and St Laurence's Place East. Byrne, from Mariner's Port, Sheriff Street, knew his life was in grave danger after he'd shot Ledden dead, instead of targeting another man. After his murder, Madser's dad Noel explained the paranoid life his son had been leading. "He couldn't go outside the door. Anytime he wanted to go out he asked me to go with him. He phoned me on the night be died and I said no. I said I wasn't able to go out because I was not well and that we would go out some other night. So he went out on his own and this is what happened. He was a prisoner in his own home," he recalled. "I knew he was going to get one man, or one man was going to get him. I knew it was going to happen. The police had told him there was a contract on his head and he knew who was going to do it." By the time of his murder, 'Madser' had built up 30 criminal convictions, including a 12-year sentence for a string of armed robberies. Byrne was one of three first cousins murdered in the bloody feud. 'Batt' Byrne was shot dead in 2006 and Aiden Byrne (32) was shot dead in February 2010. Separately, Madser's brother, David (26), died in July 2009, after being hit over the head with a sock filled with batteries in Mountjoy prison. His body was then desecrated by criminals who broke into an inner city funeral home and wrote 'Rats' across his forehead. The murder of Stephen 'Madser' Byrne was the last killing linked to the Christy Griffin feud. Sources believe that a reason for this is massive garda raids in November 2010 that targeted members of the faction opposed to the rapist Griffin's mob. Only a month before the raids, Gary O'Reilly (34), a nephew of Griffin, was lucky to escape with his life when he was shot in the arm and leg in an attack at his home in Swords.Within an hour of the O'Reilly attack, a man from the opposing faction was given a severe hiding by a gang of men in the north inner city after dropping his children at school. Weeks later, in an unprecedented show of force, on the morning of November 8 last, over 300 gardai met at Garda Headquarters, Phoenix Park and in Wexford and Cork stations from 4am before raiding over 30 locations in a co-ordinated pre-dawn operation. They searched 33 addresses in Dublin, Cavan, Wexford, Cork and Kildare. Some 13 people, including all of the key targets, were arrested -- nine of them in Dublin, and two in both Cork and Wexford. Detectives seized a small quantity of cocaine and confiscated mobile phones, computers and bulletproof vests. Records linked to property investments were also taken from the offices of solicitors and accountants by members of the Criminal Assets Bureau. The last major shooting incident linked to the feud happened on January 25 when shots were fired at the home of slain hitman Stephen 'Madser' Byrne. The garda response to this incident was prompt and less than 24 hours later. "Gardai have well and truly got to the grips with the situation," said a source.
Police yesterday made a major discovery of 15 high-powered firearms and more than 10,000 rounds of assorted ammunition—the largest since the state of emergency was declared two weeks ago. Officers, in search of marijuana, discovered a cache of arms buried two miles in the Rincon Forest, Las Cuevas. The guns, wrapped in plastic and newspapers, were greased. Detectives said the firearms belonged to a notorious gang leader. Officers of the North Eastern Division said they received a tip-off and headed to the forested area around 4 am. The exercise was headed by Supt John Daniel and included Sgts Stephen Dorridge, Daryl LaPierre, Cpls Dale Emmanuel, Andrew Stannisclaus and PC Goyton Ramcharan. Detectives said the firearms belonged to a “notorious” gang leader. They claimed that since the state of emergency was declared, several gang members had fled to the north coast. Investigators said the firearms would be sent for ballistic testing. No one was detained, but investigators said an arrest was imminent. They said officers of the Crime Investigations Unit would continue inquiries and also conduct forensic analysis on the seized firearms. At yesterday’s post-Cabinet news conference, National Security Minister John Sandy commended the lawmen on the seizure. Meanwhile, Customs and Excise Division seized five disassembled rifles at the TTPost facility in Piarco. A release said a package from the United States arrived for trans-shipment to Thailand on Tuesday. Upon X-ray, the package contained what appeared to be firearm components. The package was declared as “used motorcycle parts.” It was handed over to the Preventive Branch of Customs and Excise where an examination was done in the presence of army and police personnel. “Investigations are ongoing in conjunction with officers of the Organised Crime, Narcotics and Firearms Bureau in Thailand and the United States,” the release said. Meanwhile, a 50-year-old retired soldier was up to late yesterday under interrogation after a recently-issued radical design army kit was found at his home in Lopinot Village. Police said the suspect left the army in 1985. That exercise was led by Northern Division officers and included Supt Samuel Bullen, Insp Ramnarie Seecharan and acting Sgt Ganga Singhons. The guns, ammunition and other items found yesterday were: Two self-loading rifles; four pump-action shotguns; one 1.25 rifle, three 303 rifles; one mini Uzi; one Uzi; one Tec 9; one flare gun; a nine-millimetre submachine gun; 10,000 rounds of assorted ammunition; two bulletproof vests; a gun telescope; one kilogramme of marijuana; and One ski mask.
Dad-of-four Mr Duggan, 29, was shot dead near Tottenham Hale Tube station on August 4, sparking protests and then riots which spread across England. His brother Shaun Hall said Mr Duggan “was wrongfully taken from us.” Mr Hall, 42, said he was “not confident at all” the investigation by the Independent Police Complaints Commission will solve the case. Little evidence has been offered by members of the community, he said. “What we need is for people to come forward and tell it like they saw it, basically. We need them to come and say what they saw. “If they’ve got video footage on their phone we need to see that – we need to put this picture together. “I think I speak for the whole family when I say that’s not happening, it hasn’t been happening and it has to change,” Mr Hall told BBC. Mr Hall has also told the Guardian that police were responsible for the three nights of rioting which followed his brother’s death. “If they hadn’t shot and killed Mark there would have been no riots. “The police were clearly operating a shoot-to-kill policy that day. They are supposed to disable not kill suspects.” Mother Pam Duggan, 53, said she has questions about the police force’s version of events about her son’s death. “I just want the police to admit that they killed my son. Why didn’t the police shoot him in the foot instead of in the chest?” Meanwhile, the Met Police has refuted claims by the Times today (Thursday). The national newspaper claims the officer who shot dead Mr Duggan is poised to return to firearms duties. This has been denied by the Met. “The Times report and subsequent media reporting following the story that the MPS are ready to reinstate the officer are wrong,” a spokesman said.
gangsters in this city seem to fear no one, especially not the police. They steal and kill in broad daylight, and some of their actions are designed to instill terror. One day in late August, two vehicles pulled in front of the Suspiros Pastry Shop along busy Constitution Avenue, one of the city's most heavily traveled roads. An elderly unarmed guard at the shop, driven by curiosity, then fear, watched through a window as armed men got out of the vehicles, leading an apparent hostage who had a steel chain around his neck like a noose. The gangsters led their victim to a pedestrian overpass, pulling him up the stairs by the chain. At the top, the guard related, one gangster took out a large ice pick. "He plunged the ice pick in the man's chest," the guard said, asking that his name not be used for fear that gangsters might come after him, too. As the victim fought for his life, the assailants tied the chain to a bridge railing and tossed the man over, where he dangled, bleeding but still alive, above traffic on a service road. The gangsters hung a banner, then descended to street level, where they fired their AK-47 assault weapons a few times in the air. "Then they fired into the man's hanging body," the witness said. Terrified motorists passing along Constitution Avenue and witnessing the scene kept on driving. Time of attack: 11:50 a.m. on Aug. 23. "This is the third guy they've hung from a bridge in Monterrey," said Tatiana Clouthier, a former mayoral candidate and civic activist. Police arrived too slowly to confront the gunmen or make arrests. The proximity of police to many crime scenes, including the Aug. 25 firebombing of a casino that left 52 people dead, has only reinforced suspicions among Monterrey residents that police are colluding with gangsters. A state police officer is in jail, accused of serving as a lookout for the gangsters who carried out the casino firebombing, and prosecutors say they believe other police were involved. Criminal infiltration of police in Nuevo Leon state is not new. In 2009, the state's top public security official told U.S. diplomats that he believed 50 percent of state and municipal police had been bought off by drug cartels. The U.S. account of the conversation is among the 251,287 diplomatic cables made public by WikiLeaks. The concern about police, Clouthier said, is that "they either are in collusion or they are incompetent. Whichever possibility is tragic."
Police are on high alert after receiving intelligence about possible retaliation for the August execution in Kelowna of Red Scorpion gangster Jonathan Bacon and the wounding of others with gang associations. Supt. Tom McCluskie, who heads the Gang Task Force, said Wednesday that tensions between rival gangs have increased exponentially since the Aug. 14 slaying of Bacon and shooting of full-patch Hells Angel Larry Amero and Independent Soldier James Riach. The niece of the Haney Hells Angel president was paralyzed in the attack by masked gunmen. McCluskie said it is "no longer a question of if retaliation will occur, but when." He said law enforcement agencies in the Okanagan and across the Lower Mainland are working together to head off further violence. A special meeting to discuss the tensions was held Tuesday between the Gang Task Force, which is part of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit, Surrey RCMP and municipal officers from Vancouver, Abbotsford and Delta. A dedicated team of 65 officers will be working around the clock to prevent more violence, McCluskie said. "We simply said this is the situation, and this is the help we are looking for, and everybody is willing to pitch in," he said. McCluskie said the unease exists between the Hells Angels and their associated gangs, including the Independent Soldiers, and the United Nations on the other side, as well as the Duhre brothers of Abbotsford and allies of the late Gurmit Singh Dhak, who was gunned down at Metrotown mall last October. "As these groups all try to determine who's responsible for the shooting in Kelowna, all these conspiracies and theories are born, and as a result, tension is building," McCluskie said. "What happened in Kelowna can clearly happen again at any time in any place. A lot of these guys are opportunist. They have got people out hunting all the time - looking for rival gang members. And given the tension right now, that is something we want to get in front of . There are people obviously angry and looking for revenge." McCluskie said his officers have issued several "duties to warn" in recent weeks, where police are obliged to tell a gangster or associate about threats that might exist to harm them. None of those who survived the August shooting are cooperating with police, McCluskie said. No one has yet been arrested for the daytime ambush outside a posh lakeside hotel. "Our primary objective is, and always has been, the safety of the general public. The wanton and callous disregard for the safety of innocent bystanders was clearly demonstrated during the Kelowna incident and we as the police, must do everything we can to prevent further acts of violence and retaliation," McCluskie said. "We are not slowing down and these gang members have to know that the streets of B.C. are not theirs and our officers will make that message very, very clear to them."
An alleged Gators street gang member who insisted he sold crack, not guns, to evade tough justice received a precedent-setting 13-year prison sentence Thursday. Justice Jane Kelly delivered the high-water-mark sentence of nine years for gun possession convictions against Lyvon Lambert, 20, plus four years for other offences, including 1.5 years for violating a previous firearm prohibition. The nine-year sentence for gun possession is only one year below the maximum. Lambert had nine weapons, crack cocaine, two pit bull dogs and a four-foot alligator – police say it is the club mascot – in his tiny two-bedroom Eglinton Ave. W. apartment when Toronto Police searched it in January 2009. Kelly convicted Lambert of 40 charges, including possession of three fully-loaded handguns, two sawed-off shotguns, two other long rifles, ammunition packaged for sale and 27 grams of crack for the purpose of trafficking. “The seizure of seven illegal guns in one place is unusual and represents a significant seizure,” said Kelly. In compiling what the judge called an “unenviable record,” Lambert had previously robbed an undercover cop of $700 (posing as a crack customer), whom he suspected he was a police officer. Lambert thought “the courts will not punish him severely for trafficking (cocaine) and that it is therefore ‘worth it’ on a cost-benefit analysis,” stated Kelly. “His belief was that ... it was well worth the risk to enage in selling crack as a career,” said the judge. “Mr. Lambert needs to be disabused of this notion. Only a stiff and exemplary deterrent sentence will do so.” Kelly said Lambert implored another man to sell crack “as an easy source of money. “He purportedly went on a crack-selling fund-raising tour to pay for canteen sundries and his lawyer’s retainer,” said Kelly. Lambert denied being a member of the Gators gang, which in early 2009 was involved in a deadly turf war with the rival Five Point Generalz gang in the west end. Lambert was active in both the ammunition and drug selling business in 2009, a year after Parliament tripled the mandatory minimum sentence for possession of prohibited firearms from one to three years and subsequent offences from one to five years. “Parliament could not be clearer: Do not possess loaded prohibited firearms. Indeed, according to Mr. Lambert’s testimony, he received this message,” said Kelly. “He just did not heed it.”
gang member recruited in a murder-for-hire conspiracy was sentenced to death Thursday for killing a man who was set to inherit a family-run business in Rancho Dominguez, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office. Armando Macias, 35, of Lancaster was found guilty by a jury in April of one felony count of special circumstances murder with an allegation of murder for financial gain in the slaying of 44-year-old David Montemayor, the prosecutor's office said. Macias, who is the fifth defendant to be sentenced in connection with Montemayor’s murder since 2006, was also found guilty of kidnapping to commit robbery, possession of a firearm by a felon, street terrorism, attempted murder and two counts of conspiracy to commit murder, officials said. Macias, who has a prior strike conviction for voluntary manslaughter in 1993, also was slapped with several sentencing enhancements in connection with Montemayor’s murder. Prosecutors allege that in 2002, Montemayor’s sister Deborah Perna, 54, of Anaheim and her co-worker Edelmira Corona, 34, of Pico Rivera solicited the help of 44-year-old gang member Anthony Navarro of Canyon Country to kill Montemayor. Perna was jealous that her father intended to pass control of the family company to her brother, who she believed was stealing from the business, prosecutors said. Navarro recruited gang members Gerardo Lopez, 26, of Pacoima, Alberto Martinez, 33, of Castaic, and Macias in a kidnap-and-murder-for-hire scheme, prosecutors said. On Oct. 2, 2002, the men kidnapped Montemayor, a father of three, at the family business in Rancho Dominguez and headed to the victim’s home in Buena Park, where they were told he kept thousands of dollars in cash, prosecutors said. On the way, Montemayor, who only had one arm, managed to escape the car. But Macias shot him in the head as he fled, prosecutors said. Lopez also fired at Montemayor before the gang members raced off in their car, triggering a police car chase, authorities said. Police eventually stopped the vehicle and arrested Macias, Lopez and Martinez. Both Navarro and Martinez have been earlier sentenced to death for their role in Montemayor’s murder. Lopez, the other gang member, and Perna, the victim’s sister, were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole, according to information from the district attorney's office. Corona, the co-worker, has pleaded guilty to manslaughter and is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 18. She faces a maximum of 22 years in prison, officials said.
Six members of the Texas Syndicate prison gang — including its Rio Grande Valley leader — were sentenced to serve time in federal prison for several charges including racketeering, kidnapping and drug charges. Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa on Monday sentenced 40-year-old Jose Ismael Salas, the gang’s regional head, to 20 years in prison for drug and racketeering offenses, court records show. Salas originally pleaded guilty April 2, 2009, to two separate charges of possession with intent to distribute 6 kilograms of cocaine on Aug. 12, 2004, and a similar charge for 39 kilograms of marijuana on March 28, 2003. The charge alleged that the intent of the possession of the drugs was to further the goals of the criminal organization. Among the five other Texas Syndicate members who were sentenced was Fidel Valle, 45, who received a sentence of 10 years and six months in prison. Valle was described as the drug supplier for the organization. He entered a guilty plea July 28, 2009, to the charge of possession with intent to distribute 6 kilograms of cocaine. Court records show that Aug. 12, 2004, after speaking with Salas, Valle tried to sell the cocaine to other Texas Syndicate members but was stopped by authorities during a traffic stop. Also sentenced was Romeo Rosales, 41, who received 12 years and seven months in prison for the kidnapping of Amancio Pinales, who was abducted and eventually gunned down in Mexico on Aug. 12, 2004. Noel De Los Santos, 33, was sentenced to 20 years in prison in the March 20, 2003, murder of fellow gang member Crisantos Moran. According to information released by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Moran had been ordered to kill a rival gang member from Peñitas, but after arriving there with De Los Santos and another member named Jose Armando Garcia, he failed to carry out the killing and was slain instead. Earlier this year, Garcia was given a life sentence. Two other Syndicate members were sentenced for a separate murder connected to the organization. Cristobal Hernandez, 31, and Arturo Rodriguez were sentenced to 10 and 20 years, respectively, for the murder of Marcelino Rodriguez in June 2007. The two men had aided a third man known as Raul Galindo, who shot Rodriguez in the back of the head. The two men then set the vehicle containing his body on fire. Rodriguez had been named in a sealed court document that had been provided to them by an employee at a law firm that was defending Rodriguez. The Texas Syndicate had sanctioned the death of Rodriguez.
These troubling deaths are just a portion of Winnipeg’s climbing homicide cases this year. As of Thursday, Winnipeg has 29 homicides recorded, well above last year’s total of 22. Winnipeg’s deadliest year on record was 2004 when there was 34. “The numbers are a lot higher than we would like to see,” said Const. Jason Michalyshen, Winnipeg police spokesman. “It’s concerning to us, and it should be concerning to everyone.” The latest victim is Joseph Lalonde, 48, who was brutally beaten with a baseball bat. Two 15-year-old boys were charged with second-degree murder. A total of 10 youths have been charged in connection to the 2011 deaths. Michalyshen said it’s been a challenging year. “Our resources have been very busy making sure no stone is unturned, making sure that these investigations are investigated thoroughly, and arrests are made,” he said. Three cases are unsolved — Cara Lynn Hiebert, 31, was found dead in her home on Redwood Avenue on July 19; Baljinder Singh Sidhu, 27, was stabbed to death during a brawl on Osborne Street on Aug. 5; and 24-year-old April Hornbrook was found dead outside a building on Main Street on Aug. 27. Many violent crimes continue to occur in Winnipeg’s North End, a concerning stat for Coun. Harvey Smith (Daniel McIntyre). “The communities have to be working together and you don’t really have enough of that in the North End,” Smith said. “You have to have recreational activities, and ... I tend to think we should get more support for Citizens on Patrol.” Edmonton has the most homicides in Canada, with 34. Calgary has just three. “We’re very fortunate right now, but that could change before the end of the year,” said Calgary police Insp. Cliff O’Brien, who works in that city’s major crimes unit. O’Brien said there’s “no magical answer” for why the numbers are so low, but gave credit to the good work of officers and medical staff. Calgary police has a gang suppression team, who monitor entertainment districts, targeting known gang or organized crime members. “We have legislation here where we can kick people out if we can prove they’re associated with a gang,” he said. “That has helped us a lot.” O’Brien admits there’s a certain “element of luck.” “We’ve had those high rates before and I know that we will have those high rates again.”
According to the Sección de Estadísticas del Departamento de Planificación del Poder Judicial (Statistics Section of the Planning Department of the Judiciary) the number of murders presumed by hired killers in 2010, went from 13 victims in 2009 to 40 in 2010, placing the La Carpio, Leon XIII, Los Cuadros y Guararí de Heredia as the places of highest incidence. Judicial authorities presume that organized crime groups, use this method to assert their interests in various criminal activities, as they are listed in order of importance: drug trafficking, gang revenge, robbery of drug traffickers (known as tumbonazos) and executions tied to the sale of illegal drugs. However, statistics show a slight increase in intentional homicides during the past year, compared to 2009, from 525 to 527 victims. The study found that the rate of homicide victims per 100.000 inhabitants remained virtually unchanged from 2009, settling at 11.5%. The existence of homicides associated with what is known as "error or omission," or those who were not the target and suffered mistaken identity or omission by the murderer, almost doubled in 2010 over 2009, for a total of 16 deaths. Also, the number of foreigners killed in the country increased by 7.6%, bringing the figure to 112 individuals, Nicaraguan and followed by Colombian nationals being the target. The use of firearms to commit homicide, again saw increases during 2010, bringing the total number to 319, which is equal numbers in 2008 and the highest throughout history. Good news for women as statistics indicate that the number of femicides dropped in 2010, from 15 victims in 2009 to 10 last year. However, the major cause of femicides continues to be attacks by cohabitants (60%) and spouses (40%). Contract or hired killing (sicario in Spanish) is a form of murder, in which one party hires another party to kill a target individual or group of people. It involves an illegal agreement between two parties in which one party agrees to kill the target in exchange for consideration, monetary, or otherwise. The hiring party may be a single person, a group of people, a company, or any other kind of organization. The hired party may also be one person, such as a hitman, or a group of people, or an organization. In most countries, including Costa Rica, a contract to kill a person is void, meaning that it is not legally enforceable. Any contract to commit an indictable offense is not enforceable. Furthermore, both the actual killer and the person who paid the killer can be found guilty of murder. Contract killing provides the hiring party with the advantage of not having to be directly involved in the killing. This makes it more difficult to connect that party with the murder. Throughout history and in many different parts of the world, contract killing has been associated with organized crime and also vendettas. For example, in recent United States history, the gang Murder, Inc., which committed hundreds of murders in the 1920s to the 1940s on behalf of the National Crime Syndicate, is a well-known example of a contract killer.
Cameron Park man accused of stabbing and killing a woman with an ice pick will spend the rest of his life in jail. After two and a half hours of deliberation, a Cameron County jury sentenced Ernesto Berlanga to life in prison for the August 2005 murder of Patricia Salas. The two had been fighting when he stabbed her in the neck and then fled the scene. Prosecutors previously identified Berlanga as a member of the Vallucos prison gang. Berlaga was already serving a 25-year sentence for gouging the eye of a fellow inmate at the Carrizales-Rucker Detention Center back in 2006.
The police have released images of 28 suspects they want to question about serious street disorder that “wreaked havoc” across Northern Ireland. Detectives from a specialist public order inquiry team are hoping the public will help them identify the men in these images as part of their investigations into rioting in east Belfast and Ballyclare during June and July. Three people were shot during three nights of sustained sectarian violence at an interface on the Lower Newtownards Road in Belfast in June. In Ballyclare six officers sustained whiplash when a hijacked bus rammed a police vehicle during riots that erupted after Union and paramilitary flags were removed from lampposts in July. Assistant Chief Constable Alistair Finlay said the response from the public appeals to date had been “positive”. A second tranche of photographs will be released on Thursday showing suspects police want to speak to in connection with rioting in north and west Belfast during July. Last month all of Northern Ireland’s main news organisations wrote to the PSNI Chief Constable to protest at having to hand over riot footage of trouble in east Belfast. The letter highlighted to Matt Baggott the “genuine fear that terrorists and rioters will target the media whom they perceive to be evidence gatherers for the State” if the PSNI continues to demand the disclosure of material gathered for news purposes. The PSNI has declined to comment on the source of these latest images.
Two drug traffickers were killed and 22,200 methamphetamine pills seized late on Sunday night in a clash with a combined force of police and para-military rangers of the Pha Muang Force in Thoeng district of Chiang Rai province, police said. Pol Maj-Gen Songtham Alapach, the Chiang Rai police chief, said the combined police-ranger force laid in wait near Rom Pho Thong village in tambon Tap Tao of Thoeng district between kilometre markers 56-57 on the road to Phu Chi Fa mountain near the Thai-Lao border after learning that a drug gang would transport speed pills across the border from Laos. Late in the night, the combined force spotted five men carrying backpacks and AK47 rifles walking down from the mountain and ordered them to stop for a search. The smugglers opened fire and a 10 minute gunfight followed. After the clash, the police and rangers examined the area and found the bodies of two men who were killed in the fight. One of them was identified as Laopho sae Wang, 50, a villager of Rom Pho Thong village, and the other was an unidentified Hmong from neighbouring Laos. The three other smugglers fled back across the border. A backpack containing 22,200 methamphetamine pills and a 9mm pistol were also found at the scene.
Police and federal agents swept through several suburban homes Tuesday, arresting members of the "Almighty Gaylords" street gang following an 18-month undercover investigation into allegations of drug dealing, gun trafficking and violent intimidation. Nine alleged members of the gang were charged with federal gun crimes, including selling an AK-47 assault rifle, and six others were charged with state drug and gang crimes, according to the U.S. attorney's office. Topics Juvenile Delinquency Crimes Gang Activity See more topics » Beginning in 2009, an informant inside the gang recorded conversations with gang members and bought guns and set up drug deals under the surveillance of investigators, led by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, authorities said. Once violent players in Chicago's decades-long neighborhood battles over integration, not much has been heard from the Gaylords since the 1970s. But the investigation, which involved ATF, Cook County sheriff's police and the Addison Police Department, lifts the curtain on the remnants of a gang that followed the white-flight path to the suburbs over the years. A secretive, somewhat ragtag network, the Gaylords in the western suburbs are often described as the "Gray Lords," a handful of middle-age men nostalgic over their youth spent brawling with Hispanics in the city's ethnic neighborhoods. "The Gaylords never were an especially organized gang, and gang life meant mainly drugs, alcohol, racism and fighting," said gang expert John Hagedorn, who teaches at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Having interviewed gang members over the years, he said they were "more of a model for racist, white youth than for an organized criminal entity." Investigators say the case shows a more serious threat. Other members were charged in a 2010 shooting, which the investigation revealed may have been related to internal gang strife. And the informant told investigators that gang members claimed the Gaylords carried out the 2009 murder of a North Side bar owner. Charged Tuesday were the alleged leader of the Addison faction of the gang, James Grace, 40, as well as Edward Rand, 46, and Daniel Springhorn, who allegedly supplied the gang with guns he purchased at Wisconsin gun shows. Springhorn, 56, known as "Stone Greaser," lives in Sharon, Wis., and Rand lives in far north-suburban Antioch. Other members arrested Tuesday live in Lombard, Villa Park and Elmhurst. The federal defendants are charged only with gun trafficking crimes, each of which carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Three alleged members, including Grace's brother, Wayne Grace, were charged with felony drug crimes in DuPage County, according to the DuPage County state's attorney's office. Another three individuals were charged with associating with gang members, a misdemeanor. The case took shape when a longtime member who wanted out of the gang became a police informant. While many of the gang members, like James Grace, are unemployed ex-cons, some have strong ties to law enforcement. Alleged gang members identified by the investigation include a Cook County sheriff's deputy, an Elmwood Park auxiliary police officer, a Michigan corrections officer and the son of a former suburban police chief, according to law enforcement sources. None of the law enforcement officers associated with the gang have been charged in the case. Much of the gang's gun supply came from Wisconsin. At Springhorn's rural home, agents discovered a cache of guns that included assault rifles. Investigators found that Springhorn and Rand, who is prohibited from possessing firearms because he is a convicted felon, regularly bought weapons at gun shows in Wisconsin
on Aug. 14, when a group of teenage Norteño gang members pulled out a gun and shot two rival Sureños on a quiet residential street in broad daylight. Fear prompted Luis' mother, Teresa Mendez, to bring him and his sister Noela to a community meeting Tuesday night, which was organized by the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office in the wake of the shooting. "I want to know how to prevent situations like this," said Mendez, who believes there are gang members on her son's youth soccer team. Luis has told her he knows kids in his class who have already become Norteños and Sureños like their older brothers or cousins. But she didn't know her son had been offered drugs until a reporter asked him about it. It was at the Pillar Ridge mobile home community, a known gang hotspot, Luis said. "They were, like, 15 or 16," he said. "They told me they had some extra if I wanted it." More than 300 Coastsiders packed into a meeting room Tuesday for a series of Advertisement presentations that amounted to a master class on gang warfare. Locals were shocked to learn that Half Moon Bay is immersed in an all-out coastal battle between Norteños and Sureños, who have been threatening each other for months with coded graffiti in plain sight. One recent tagger painted the number "187," a reference to the California Penal Code section on murder. Retaliation is now a major concern and the Sheriff's Office has beefed up patrols. "It's a war that's going to be going on for some time, but it's a war that's worth fighting," Sheriff Greg Munks said. Officers have arrested four suspects: 21-year-old Christian Serrano DeLeon, who police believe is the gunman; Mason Paul Wessel, 19; Marco Antonio Barajas, 18; and a 17-year-old resident of Moss Beach. But even arresting every gang member in town won't make the problem disappear, officials acknowledge. They need the community's help to address the deeper crisis that's taken root when young people grow up together, go to the same schools, and end up joining rival gangs. Older gang members reach out to younger kids in middle school and offer them acceptance and a seductive feeling of power and belonging in the most vulnerable period in their young lives, according to sheriff's Deputy Mike Smyser. "They don't have much money. You can take a kid into town and buy him a cheeseburger, and you've got a friend," Smyser said. Meanwhile, their parents (mostly first-generation farmworkers) are often too distracted catch the warning signs before it's too late. They work long hours and don't notice changes in their children, Mendez said. "Latinos, we have to work a lot, but we don't really pay attention to the kids. We leave them around too much," she said. Smyser has spent 10 years tracking gang activity and juvenile crime as a school resource officer on the San Mateo County coast. He said the shooting was a major wake-up call. "I've seen fights with fists and fights with sticks. But I've never seen fights with guns," he said. Smyser has counted about 50 Norteños and 40 Sureños on the coast, two rival Mexican-American gangs that originated in the California prison system. They go by local names like Media Luna Norteños, Coastside Locos, and neighborhood-specific gangs like Moonridge Outlaws. Those numbers are modest as compared with gang sets in East Palo Alto or Redwood City, according to the Sheriff's Office, which estimates 2,000 confirmed gang members in San Mateo County affiliated with more than 50 gangs. In a small town like Half Moon Bay, it's not a mystery who's in a gang or where they congregate, said Smyser. A quick search on YouTube for one local gang turns up a video filled with youthful Norteños flashing gang signs, drinking beer and showing off their Half Moon Bay gang tattoos. By the time they reach high school, kids are already sporting gang colors: red for Norteños, blue for Sureños. Drug dealers wear purple. Half Moon Bay High School counselor Kira Gangsei said she's worked with many gang members to turn their lives around -- but it's not easy. "They don't care about school as much. Getting involved with drugs, selling drugs -- once that happens, it's harder to get them back on track," she said. The high school uses a number of classes, workshops and nonprofit programs to teach students about the dangers of gang life, drinking and unhealthy relationships. Many are led by former gang members. Now it's the community's turn. The shooting has already prompted neighborhoods to come together and form Community Watch groups, and locals have volunteered to paint over graffiti and mentor youth with the Sheriff's Activities League. "I'm not going anywhere. If it has to be me standing my ground, then yes, I'll embrace it," said Brett Bowers, a father of two who lives in the neighborhood where the shooting occurred.
Gang-squad detectives are investigating the drive-by shooting of a family home in Blacktown four weeks ago. Investigators refused to comment on the case but have said all lines of inquiry are open. That includes whether the drive-by shooting was related to other shootings at homes linked to gang-members around western Sydney in the past few weeks. Police believe the shooting at Indigo Way at Blacktown on the night of August 9 was a case of mistaken identity. The Department of Housing property was formerly occupied by a family linked to the gang Notorious but had a family of six Afghan refugees living in it at the time of the shooting. No one was harmed despite three bullets penetrating the interior walls of house.
After burying gunned-down Genson, 23, at a huge funeral in south-east London, the notorious underworld leader of 'The Firm' mob said he could not sleep in the knowledge that the killer remains at large. Clad in white, the 53-year-old was surrounded by minders from the Outlaw gang as he paid his last respects with his devastated wife and mother of Genson, Jenny. Mourning: Dave Courtney with Genson's mother Jenny at the funeral of the gunned-down cage fighter Murdered: Genson Courtney, 23, was shot dead while he waited in his car outside of his girlfriend's home in Greenwich Genson, nicknamed 'G-Man', was ambushed as he got into his VW Golf outside his girlfriend's home in Greenwich, south-east London in July. The victim, whose stepfather has written books about gangland violence, was blasted by a lone gunman in the head and shoulder before his assailant fled on foot. Police suspect a major drugs baron owed thousands of pounds by Genson ordered his execution just before 11pm on Sunday. There is also a theory he could have been lured to the area after being caught up in an ongoing feud between gangs. But the Daily Star on Sunday newspaper says some sources from Genson's gang claimed to them that the shooting had been ordered by the young man's own stepfather. They claim Mr Courtney, from Plumstead, South London, had a grudge against his stepson after he was beaten by him in a fight following a family row. But the former debt collector, who claims to have been shot, stabbed and had his nose bitten off, rubbished the accusations. 'this has nothing to do with me and I honestly don't think ,y past has had any influences on my kid. 'Whether I'm gonna get chastised for this or not, I was aware what he was and I just tried to make him do that as much as possible. I could not have stopped this and I definitely didn't make it happen.' The Daily Star on Sunday said the gangster paid £2,500 for the coffin's plot in the send-off, which cost £4,00 and was held in Eltham. Killer on the loose: 'Dodgy' Dave Courtney, with wife Jenny, says he cannot sleep knowing that the person responsible for Genson's death is still out there Send-off: Hundreds turned out to pay their respects to the 23-year-old, whose execution police suspect was ordered by a drug baron Courtney, who was jailed in the Eighties for attacking five men with a meat cleaver, also boasts that he has been involved in assault and murder. He often focuses on his links with Reggie Kray and the infamous criminal Lenny McLean and is said to be a central figure in a loose collection of villains who refer to themselves as The Firm. He refers to himself as Dave Courtney OBE – 'One Big Ego' - and has a painted depiction of himself as a knight on his house.
Cal State San Bernardino associate professor who authorities say was the leader of a methamphetamine-selling operation is a fugitive, San Bernardino County Sheriff Rod Hoops said this morning.
Steve Kinzey, 43, knows he is wanted, Hoops said at a news conference.
His girlfriend, Holly Robinson, has been arrested and posted bail. Six others are in custody or have posted bail.
The arrests are a result of a six-month investigation of the activities of the Devil's Disciples Motorcycle Club, which Hoops described as an outlaw gang.
A search of Kinzey's Highland home found a pound of meth, unregistered guns and cash, Hoops said.
7 a.m. this morning, the San Mateo County Sheriff's Office SWAT team and officers from its Half Moon Bay Patrol Bureau arrested three men who they believe are responsible for the gang-related shooting that took place on August 14 at First Avenue and Grove Street in Half Moon Bay.
The arrests were made after the Sheriff's Office conducted search warrants at three separate residences in Half Moon Bay.
All were charged with attempted murder with a criminal street gang enhancement, the Sheriff's Office said this morning.
One victim was shot in the chest, while another was shot in the foot. Both survived.
Christian Serrano DeLeon, 21, is considered by authorities to be the primary suspect in this case. DeLeon was taken into custody in the 400 block of Metzgar Avenue and booked into the San Mateo County jail.
Marco Antonio Barajas, 18, was taken into custody from a residence located on the 400 block of Willow Street.
A 17-year-old Hispanic male, the third suspect in the shooting case, was taken into custody from a residence in the 100 block of Corona Street. The juvenile has been booked at the San Mateo County Youth Services Center. The juvenile is known to be a resident of Moss Beach.
While the search warrant at 400 Metzgar Avenue was based on the August 14 shooting, warrants for Barajas and the 17-year-old were based on probation searches.
The Sheriff's Investigations Bureau and allied law enforcement agencies assisted with the searches and arrests.
The arrests came less than two days after the city of Half Moon Bay and the Sheriff's Office held a standing-room only town hall meeting about gangs and graffiti for concerned residents. Residents have also begun to take matters into their own hands by organizing neighborhood watch groups.
Authorities believe that the shooting was an incident linked to tension between rival Norteño and Sureño street gangs. Members of both groups are known to live in Half Moon Bay.
The investigation is still ongoing and no further information is available at this time, the Sheriff's Office said.
Last week's conviction of four gang members on racketeering charges accounts for just a handful of the the Brown Pride Locos who have been arrested and jailed, said an investigator who helped build the case and make the arrests.
Over the past 18 months, investigators put together a case against six of the Bradenton gang members. One was convicted last week, and three others pleaded guilty to racketeering and conspiracy. Two others are being held in jail in lieu of $1 million bond while they await trial.
Those now in jail and awaiting prison sentences are:
Juan Carlos "Lazy" Hernandez, 22
Jessie Scott "Bola" Fuentes, 18
Raul "Sleep" Mondragon, 21
Moises "Cartoon" Antunes Jr., 23
The two still awaiting trial are:
Natalio "Lonely" Deleon, 22
Jason "J" Molina, 25
Building a Case
This is the second roundup of Brown Pride Locos gang members since B. Pieper, a gang investigator with the Bradenton Police Department (he declined to give his full name to protect his identity), began working with the department in 2003.
Pieper said that he helped capture Brown Pride Locos gang members in 2005 and 2006. Each time law enforcement officials make a gang arrest, he said, they learn something that helps them build stronger cases, making it easier prosecute the gang members on racketeering charges.
Racketeering requires law enforcement to show the connections among criminals and between the crimes they commit. Making the connections shows that a group is organized specfically for criminal activity, Pieper said.
Pieper said that social media has even helped them identify and capture gang members who will brag about their crimes on sites like Facebook.
Building a racketeering case is important to law enforcement for a few reasons. Getting convictions on gang members for individual crimes tends to be difficult because victims are afraid to testify, or there are rival gang members who tend to mete out their own punishments, only escalating crime, Pieper said. And with every robbery that doesn't get prosecuted, the criminals are able to build their network.
"We have learned how to better link the criminals to their activities," Pieper said. "If four members do a home invasion and they get money and jewelry, then they have more resources to buy guns and drugs. They use that to try to rule the community by fear and intimidation."
An armed home invasion robbery carries a life sentence, but if victims don't testify the criminal cases can fall apart.
If authorities can catch gang members acting together on a number of crimes, such a drug deals, thefts or gun crimes they can use organized crime laws to build a case and authorities don't necessarily have to depend on easily intimidated witnesses to make their cases.
"I've known these kids for years have arrested them numerous times," Pieper said. "This feels great for everybody. These individuals are off the streets."
Pieper said that the gangs made it impossible for families to live normal lives in their own neighborhoods.
One family told authorities that they simply wanted to have a cookout in their own yard, but because of gang activity, including shootings, they were afraid to spend time outside.
"Now that family doesn't have to worry about that," Pieper said. "There's a sense of closure for people who were afraid to testify. They see these guys are now in prison."
Winning convictions against the gang members means that they are out of the community and that police don't have to expend time, resources and assets following these particular gang members. It also sends a message to prospective gang members that the community and law enforcement will not tolerate gang activity.
"Every dog has his day. if we don't get you, the streets will," Pieper said. "There are only two outcomes in the gang world: prison or death. There's no such thing as an old, rich gang member."
federal jury convicted six MS-13 gang members Tuesday of murder and racketeering conspiracy after a five-month trial, part of a massive federal investigation that dealt a severe blow to the gang’s activities in San Francisco.
The jury found three men guilty of three fatal shootings in The City in 2008. All six were convicted of conspiring to commit murders and conspiring to racketeer. All face up to life in prison at their Nov. 30 sentencing.
Prosecutors said the Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, took up in San Francisco’s Mission district in the 1990s. Gang members conspired to kill their main rivals, the Norteños, as well as members of other gangs and people suspected of cooperating with police. But unintended victims were caught in the crossfire. Federal authorities arrested dozens of suspected members, mostly in 2008.
Erick “Spooky” Lopez was convicted of the March 29, 2008, slayings of Ernad Joldic, 21, and Philip Ng, 24, who prosecutors said were mistaken for Norteños.
Jonathan “Soldado” Cruz-Ramirez and Guillermo “Shorty” Herrera were found guilty of the July 11, 2008, killing of Armando Estrada, 31, a street-corner fake-document dealer who prosecutors said refused to pay a “tax” to MS-13.
Cruz-Ramirez was acquitted of the May 31, 2008, murder of Juan “Patas” Rodriguez, an alleged leader of the document-selling crew, according to Cruz-Ramirez’s attorney John Philipsborn.
Defense attorneys were forbidden by the trial judge from arguing to the jury that their clients were entrapped into committing crimes by other gang members who became informants in the case.
“Clearly, a major line of defense could not be presented,” Philipsborn said.
But the defense did attack the credibility of the so-called snitches, who agreed to plead guilty to other crimes in exchange for their testimony.
“Each of them was essentially trying to buy their way out of a life sentence,” Herrera’s attorney, Martin Sabelli, argued.
A seventh man, 21-year-old Walter “Sombra” Cruz-Zavala, who was charged with conspiracy but not murder, was acquitted by the jury. The government had accused him of maintaining the gang’s “gun library,” according to his attorney Randy Sue Pollock.
“There just wasn’t much on him,” Pollock said. “He was like a wannabe hanging out with these guys.” He now faces deportation to El Salvador, she said.
After the verdict, jurors said they found the physical evidence more compelling than the informant testimony, Pollock said.
Seven other alleged MS-13 members are still awaiting trial in federal court, including three men accused of the June 2010 murder of a man at a Daly City bus stop.
Another alleged gang member, Edwin Ramos, 24, is facing trial in Superior Court for the June 2008 shooting murders of a father and two of his sons. Police have said those murders also were a case of mistaken identity.
Two men charged in connection with the shooting of an Indianapolis police officer last week pleaded not guilty Thursday morning.
Eugenio Gonzalez-Ramirez, 18, was charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery, carjacking, carrying a handgun without a license and a criminal gang enhancement after the Aug. 26 shooting of Officer Dustin Carmack.
Johnny Taboada-Perez, 22, was charged with assisting a criminal, possession of marijuana and a criminal gang enhancement.
Police said Taboada-Perez drove the car to a liquor store at Michigan Street and Tibbs Avenue and that Gonzalez-Ramirez fired four shots toward Carmack, striking him once in the hip.
Taboada-Perez's attorney, David Hennessy, filed a motion to obtain video evidence from the crime scene.
"I just learned this morning the video is from someone's cellphone. I was really hoping there would be surveillance or security video," Hennessy said. "It is important from a wider time period than perhaps the state has, but until I see it, I won't know."
Police said Gonzalez-Ramirez is a member of the Puros Vatos Locos street gang, and Taboada-Perez is a member of the Surenos Cut Throats gang. Both have tattoos that express allegiance to those gangs, authorities said.
Deputy prosecutor Denise Robinson said Wednesday that the suspects' gang connection could play a major factor if they are found guilty.
"If the judge sentenced them to 30 years on attempted murder, by statute criminal gang enhancement (the judge) can add another 30 years to that sentence. That's non-discretionary. That is a high price, and I don't have a problem with (the charges)," Robinson said.
Hennessey said his client is not in a gang, but if he were, it's not likely that rival gangs would have committed a crime together.
"If police got caught in a crossfire between two people in these gangs, they would say these two gangs were at war with each other. But, since they formulated the belief that these two people are in different gangs and came together to shoot at an officer, now it's rival gangs acting together. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me," Hennessy said.
Both men were being held Thursday on $500,000 bond. A jury trial was set for Oct. 31.
One Person Shot During Biker Gang Brawl Witnesses said 20 people were fighting in the middle of I-44
Police are investigating a biker gang brawl that happened in the middle of the median near mile marker 150 along I-44 in Pulaski County.
Callers to the Pulaski County 911 Communications Center reported more than 20 people were involved in the fight at 8:16 Saturday night.
"It was really scary to know that there was people out there shooting at each other and it was really close to here," said a waitress named Heather who works at the Oasis Truck Port off of I-44.
People suspected of being gang members killed 39 people in two days in Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city, with many of the victims tortured, shot and stuffed in sacks that were dumped on the streets, officials said Thursday. The gangs are said to be affiliated with the city’s main political parties and have been blamed for a surge in killings in recent months. The latest round of violence seemed to be driven by a mix of political and criminal motivations, said Sharfuddin Memon, the security adviser to the government in Sindh Province, where Karachi is located. The recent violence came after the Muttahida Qaumi Movement left the federal coalition led by the Pakistan Peoples Party in late June and joined the opposition.
Wednesday morning, a crowd of reporters descended on a now-infamous stretch of International Boulevard that includes a dilapidated Little Caesars pizzeria, a beauty salon, an appliance shop and a corner convenience store.
This is where 3-year-old Carlitos Nava was killed Aug. 8 by a stray bullet in a drive-by shooting that police say was caused by gangs. As reporters have inflitrated the neighborhood, the drug dealers have temporarily vacated their corners, and the boy's death has taken on new life -- as a political issue.
On Wednesday, a group that waged a battle against former City Attorney John Russo over Oakland's gang injunctions held a press conference at the site of the shooting, now a memorial crowding the iron bars in front of the pizzeria. They said they were there in response to council members Ignacio De La Fuente and Larry Reid's demands for injunctions and curfews in the wake of the shooting.
Members of Nava's extended family were the newest additions to the group that included activists from Critical Resistance and Eastside Arts Alliance.
“I believe we need to try to reach out to the community in a better way,” said Jose Nava, one of Carlos' many first cousins, before a crowded cluster of television cameras. “A lot of people are afraid of cops. We need to work on that first before we can pursue other things.”
The toddler's death has become increasingly politicized. Police and city leaders have used the shooting as a platform to push policies, including gang injunctions and curfews, which the council rejected earlier this year. The shooting has inspired community action, including a car wash for the Nava family that raised close to $20,000. Even the Nava family has embraced the vision of Carlitos as a symbol of change. “My son gave up his life to stop the violence,” Carlos Nava said Tuesday at his son's funeral. News outlets have reported the developments, en masse.
Now some of the local business owners have decided to enter the fray, using the focus on their usually neglected neighborhood to help effect change.
On Wednesday afternoon, seven business owners met with Oakland Housing Authority police at a neutral location in Alameda to discuss solutions to the violent crime problem. Mondo Khalid, the owner of the All-Mart on 64th and International Boulevard, said police have pledged to post signs against loitering outside all of the area businesses. If anyone violates the signs, he said police have promised to make arrests.
The group has also pledged to organize long-term projects to help improve the neighborhood. They'll begin with another car wash fundraiser from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. this weekend, continue with a neighborhood block party on Aug. 25, and host a community meeting following the party at Oakland Housing Authority headquarters in Lockwood Gardens. Khalid said the business owners are also working on starting a basketball league for neighborhood youth.
“We're going to grab several of the neighborhood elders, the OGs and grandmas, and we're going to sit down — business owners, parents, mothers, grandmothers -- we're just going to have it all out,” he said. “Do I think it will stop the shootings? No. But I think we can bring people together in the community who can help figure things out, who can come up with alternatives.”
Khalid, who has ingratiated himself with the community since he arrived in the neighborhood three years ago, had decided to stay out of the spotlight following the shooting. He turned down many reporters' requests for interviews, and declined to provide his full name. But after the meeting, he said, he realized he needed to embrace the media attention. He began making calls.
“We need you guys to push our agenda, to get something done,” Khalid said. “We got quite a bit of momentum right now. What needs to happen is that the community needs to get up and do something.”
The prison population reached a record high today as officials said they were developing contingency plans to manage the unprecedented situation caused by hundreds of people being jailed over the riots.
Tough sentencing of those involved in the violence and looting by the courts saw the number of people behind bars in England and Wales rise by more than 100 a day over the past week.
But as some of the first appeals were heard, one woman who was jailed for five months after admitting that she accepted a pair of looted shorts from her housemate walked free from prison.
Mother-of-two Ursula Nevin, 24, who was sent down by a district judge at Manchester Magistrates' Court last week after she pleaded guilty to handling stolen goods, had her sentence reduced on appeal.
The Recorder of Manchester, Judge Andrew Gilbart QC, said the original decision was "wrong in principle" as he ordered that she should instead perform 75 hours of unpaid work for the community.
Nevin was in bed at the time of the widespread disorder in Manchester city centre where her lodger, Gemma Corbett, helped herself to clothing and footwear from the Vans store and then took them back to the house they shared in Stretford, Greater Manchester.
The Prison Service insisted it had enough space to cope with anyone jailed over the disorder, adding that it was developing its contingency plans to manage the "unprecedented situation".
This could involve bringing on new accommodation early, using extra places in the public and private estate, or reopening mothballed accommodation.
But there are currently no plans to halt the closure of Latchmere House prison in Richmond, Surrey, or Brockhill prison in Redditch, Worcestershire, which are set to shut next month.
And plans which would trigger police cells being used to accommodate prisoners have not yet been activated.
Immigration Minister Damian Green also said the Government wanted to deport any foreigners convicted over the riots, adding that it also had the power to cancel their visas.
The total number of prisoners in England and Wales hit 86,654 today, 723 more than last week's record high of 85,931 and less than 1,500 short of the usable operational capacity of 88,093, the Ministry of Justice figures showed.
A tough approach by the courts has seen two-thirds of those charged remanded in custody, compared with just one in 10 of those charged with serious offences last year.
Eoin McLennan-Murray, president of the Prison Governors' Association, said: "What is worrying is if the landscape of sentencing has changed.
"If the courts continue to be heavy-handed with other offences and use custody more readily than they have done previously then that would be problematic longer term."
Campaigners and lawyers have criticised the tougher sentences handed to those involved in rioting and looting last week as disproportionate and have urged the courts not to be swayed by "angry Britain".
Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith also warned that Britain cannot simply arrest its way out of the problems which caused the riots that rocked the country.
The country must instead "address why young people join gangs, try to prevent them getting involved in the first place and help those who want to exit gang life", he said.
His comments, in an article in The Guardian newspaper, came as the Government appeared split over its response to the riots, with some Liberal Democrats criticising Tory support for lengthy sentences and suggestions that rioters should be deprived of benefits and evicted from their homes.
Geoff Dobson, deputy director of the Prison Reform Trust, said the rapid increase in prison numbers meant parts of some jails were becoming "human warehouses" which will provide "a fast track to a criminal career" for first-time offenders.
Shadow prisons minister Helen Goodman said the Government has a "responsibility to ensure that the sentences handed down are being served safely".
The record came as an analysis showed that convicted rioters were being handed prison sentences which are on average 25% longer than normal.
Some 70% of defendants in 1,000 riot-related cases have been remanded in custody to await Crown Court trial, and 56 of 80 defendants already sentenced by magistrates have been handed immediate prison sentences.
Half of those jailed were charged with handling stolen goods or theft, receiving an average of 5.1 months, the study by The Guardian found. This is 25% longer than an average custodial sentence of 4.1 months for such crimes during 2010.
The outcry over sentencing began after Jordan Blackshaw, 20, and Perry Sutcliffe-Keenan, 22, were jailed for each setting up Facebook pages which encouraged people to riot. Even though no disorder occurred they were given four years each. Blackshaw plans to appeal against his punishment handed out by a judge at Chester Crown Court.
The Court of Appeal has not received any appeals so far about sentences handed out by the Crown Courts, a spokeswoman for the Judicial Office said.
"Anyone who wishes to appeal has 28 days from the passing of the sentence within which to do it. As and when appeals are received, the court is in a position to hear them promptly," she said.
Yesterday, Lord Macdonald, the former director of public prosecutions in England and Wales, warned that judges must remain dispassionate
