SIMMERING tension between rival bikie gangs exploded on the Gold Coast yesterday with the drive-by shooting of a tattoo parlour in the heart of Bandidos territory. Police fear the attack could be a push for territory by the Hells Angels as the outlaw gang seeks a toehold on the lucrative Glitter Strip. Less than 24 hours after police commissioner Bob Atkinson told the Bulletin that bikie gangs were "one of the greatest challenges to face law enforcement", the Bandido-protected Mermaid Beach tattoo shop was hit by at least four shots in the early hours of yesterday morning. High-ranking police yesterday said it was "inevitable" that the violence that has plagued Sydney would eventually spill across the border. "We do not believe it is directly connected to the war between the Hells Angels and the Nomads that has been unfolding in New South Wales," said police. "But it is a similar style of attack. "We know the Hells Angels have been pushing to establish a chapter on the Gold Coast -- that push is coming from Sydney. "Tradelink Drive is not their most profitable chapter." While detectives have attempted to play down the shooting, police say there is "no doubt" it was intended as a warning. The Bandidos are the largest and one of the most secretive bikie gangs on the Gold Coast. The club has gained strength as its main rival -- the Finks -- have been severely weakened with so many senior members behind bars and Bandido territory stretches south from Broadbeach. Police said last month's Hells Angels National Run was intended as a direct message to all gangs on the Gold Coast. More than 200 patched gang members descended on Surfers Paradise for the run. "These clubs are so well organised, they do nothing without a reason," police said. "You can bet they had some purpose in coming to the Gold Coast. "They taunted the Finks and nothing happened, now the Bandidos tattoo shop is shot up in the same way the gym controlled by the Hells Angels was hit a few months ago. "You join the dots." The shop is owned by a senior member of the outlaw gang who has been a patched member of the Bandidos "for years", police say. In an exclusive interview with the Bulletin, Mr Atkinson said the danger of bikie gangs was "under-rated" by the community. "The outlaw motorcycle gangs nationally present one of the greatest challenges to police. "I think the degree of that challenge and the risk they present to our society is underrated." The Gold Coast has one of the highest populations of bikie gangs in the country. Mr Atkinson said he would not be surprised if the Hells Angels were not considering a move closer to the Glitter Strip. "They are businesses, they look for opportunity so that wouldn't be a surprise," he said. "They market themselves as a group of mature men who have a love and interest in motorbikes and they do that very cleverly. The reality is they are highly sophisticated, well organised criminal enterprises that pose a genuine risk to the community and many are well represented by the finest and best lawyers who they retain to represent them." South East Region Assistant Commissioner Graham Rynders said the gangs were constantly looking to expand. "One of things about OMCGs is they look for opportunity for criminal enterprise," Mr Rynders said. "Throughout Queensland, throughout the country, probably throughout the world they are looking to expand. It is obviously dictated to by territory, depending on who or what other groups exist in what areas."
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Police discovered a grisly scene on Sept. 10, 2000, when they entered a Cogmagun Road home in Hants County. “It was a very brutal scene,” Cpl. Shawn Sweeney, who was a constable with the Windsor rural RCMP detachment that day, testified Tuesday in Nova Scotia Supreme Court in Kentville. It was the second day of trial for Leslie Douglas Greenwood, 42, who is charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the deaths of Barry Kirk Mersereau, 48, and his wife, Nancy Paula Christensen, 47. Sweeney, a Crown witness, testified that he and four other police officers who responded to a 911 call found Christensen sitting upright in a chair in the living room of her Centre Burlington home with a bullet wound in her left cheek, under her glasses. She had a cup of tea in her hand and a small dog was sitting in her lap. There were several bullet casings and lead fragments scattered on the floor. Mersereau was lying face down, with pools of blood around his head and body. Another dog, believed to be a German shepherd-Rottweiler mix, was hiding under covers on the bed in the master bedroom. A third dog was tied to the front porch and another had run off into the woods. Sweeney told Chief Justice Joseph Kennedy and the seven-woman, five-man jury hearing the case that the house appeared to be neat and orderly, with no signs of struggle. “It didn’t appear to be a house that was rifled through or things thrown around,” Sweeney testified. Const. Glenn Bonvie told the court it was immediately obvious that Mersereau and Christensen were dead. “There was no movement. There was no doubt that they were deceased.” Crown witness Ronald Connors owned a hunting cabin in the woods about half a kilometre away from the couple’s house. He testifed that he heard several shots at about 8:15 p.m. on Sept. 9. Connors said he heard six shots fired in quick succession, followed by a pause and a couple more shots. Moments later, there were more shots. He said he thought at first someone might be jacking deer, but Connors concluded that the shots didn’t sound like those from a high-powered hunting rifle. The jury was shown a video of the two bodies as they were found. Former RCMP officer David Clace, then in charge of the RCMP’s forensics identification unit in New Minas, said a large amount of money was found in plastic bags in a gym bag in one of the bedroom closets. The bag was later determined to contain about $65,000 in cash. Crown attorney Peter Craig has told the court that the victims were shot to death in their home in an execution-style killing as part of a Hells Angels-ordered killing. “They were killed in their home in a quiet community, with a teapot on the stove, with no signs of struggle and their baby in the next room,” Craig told the jury. He said evidence presented by as many as 40 Crown witnesses will show that Michael Lawrence and Greenwood murdered the couple on the orders of Jeffrey Lynds, a former Hells Angels operative who died recently in a Montreal jail of an apparent suicide. Lawrence, who owed Lynds money, pleaded guilty last January to three charges of first-degree murder and was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole for 25 years. Also killed that day, by Lawrence, was Charles Maddison, an innocent man who picked Lawrence up hitchhiking. Lawrence shot him to take his truck to commit a planned robbery. Craig said Lawrence, expected to be a crucial Crown witness, will testify that he and Greenwood shot the couple, one with a .357 Magnum, the other with a 32-calibre handgun, in what he called “planned and deliberate” killings. The couple’s 18-month-old baby boy was safely recovered from the house by neighbour Ruby McKenzie, who went to the victim’s home the day after the shootings. McKenzie said she brought the baby back to her mobile home and called police. Greenwood sat quietly during the proceedings, occasionally exchanging comments with his lawyer, Alain Begin. Begin is expected to argue that Greenwood went to the Mersereau house the day of the shootings to buy drugs, and that Lawrence shot the couple while Greenwood was waiting outside. Also charged with first-degree murder in the killings is Curtis Blair Lynds, 36, who is serving time in a federal prison for drug trafficking. A preliminary inquiry in his case is scheduled to begin July 16.
Essex County authorities arrested an alleged Bloods gang member Tuesday night and charged him with assaulting and carjacking a woman in Newark last week, police said. Gerald "Kadafi" Gilyard, 35, of Newark, was arrested during a motor vehicle stop near Lehigh Avenue and Clinton Place in Newark around 9:45 p.m. Tuesday, Essex County Sheriff Armando Fontoura said. Fontoura said Gilyard was the subject of an open criminal warrant and an alleged member of the Brick City Brims, one of Newark’s largest Bloods sets. On April 10, Gilyard allegedly pulled a woman from her car on Renner Street, struck her in the head with a blunt object and drove off with the vehicle. He was charged Tuesday night with carjacking, aggravated assault, receiving stolen property and weapons offenses, according to Fontoura, who said Gilyard will also face a charge of hindering prosecution for providing a fake name to the officer who arrested him Tuesday. Gilyard remains in the Essex County Correctional Facility in lieu of $250,000 bail.
The suspect who was shot by USC security officers after allegedly robbing USC students near fraternity row early Wednesday is a documented Compton-area gang member who was on probation, Los Angeles police officials said.
Jeremy Hendricks, 24, who is being treated for a gunshot wound to the leg, had multiple prior arrests for assault with a deadly weapon, burglary and robbery, according to LAPD officials. He is on probation for manufacturing dangerous weapons, officials said. Police did not immediately say what the weapons were.
Hendricks is from Compton and police said they are investigating why he was in the USC area. According to sources, Compton gang members have been known to frequent the area around 43rd and Hoover streets.
Officials said it was far too early to know whether the incident is related to the shooting deaths of two USC graduate students from China last week in the 2900 block of South Raymond Avenue.
In the latest incident, the suspect approached four students -- three men and one woman -- near USC's fraternity row and demanded items, said Lt. Andy Neiman of the LAPD. He placed the items in a backpack and fled on foot. The students flagged down USC security, who tracked down the suspect and confronted him, Neiman said.
An officer saw the suspect was armed, Neiman said. When Hendricks made a sudden move, the security officer shot him in the leg, Neiman said.
The suspect's gun as well as property belonging to the students was recovered, Neiman said.
A memorial service for the students killed last week -- Ming Qu and Ying Wu, both 23-year-old electrical engineering students -- is scheduled for 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Shrine Auditorium.
No one has been arrested in connection with their deaths. The city and school have offered rewards totaling $200,000 for information leading to an arrest in the case.
DETECTIVES have renewed their appeal for help following the shooting murder of ex-bikie Darko Janceski in the Illawarra last Saturday. Police and ambulance crews rushed to Gannet St in Berkeley after receiving reports a number of shots had been fired. Darko Janceski, 32, was found in the front yard of his home with several gunshot wounds and died a short time later. He was shot by a man on a trail bike who rode away after a violent struggle with Janceski's father. Police are now appealing for information about the trail bike, which was last seen travelling west towards flagstaff Rd, Berkeley. The trail bike has been described as possibly being a Yamaha and blue and white in colour. A post mortem examination was conducted at Glebe on Monday and police are waiting on results.
The arrest comes following investigations into a brawl involving alleged members of the Hells Angels earlier this year. The incident happened at Kings Cross about 12.15am on Sunday 5 February 2012, when a number of people from a group of about 50 Hells Angels were allegedly involved in a brawl with other people. Strike Force Cheviot was established to investigate the incident in conjunction with Strike Force Raptor. On Wednesday 11 April 2012, officers executed six simultaneous search warrants at the homes of Hells Angels members and associates in Wentworthville, Emu Plains, Macquarie Fields, Ryde, Smithfield and the Sydney CBD. Firearms, fireworks, prohibited drugs, steroids and chemicals used in drug manufacture were seized during the warrants, and inquiries into a number of people have continued. Yesterday (Thursday 19 April 2012), police arrested a 26-year-old Emu Plains man at Parramatta Police Station. He was charged with possess unauthorised pistol and possess unregistered pistol. The charges relate to the seizure of a .32 calibre Mauser handgun at Emu Plains during the search warrants. The man faced Parramatta Local Court yesterday afternoon and is next due to appear there on 31 May 2012.
Winnipeg police want to avoid a second summer of gang-related fire-bombings and assaults in the city, so they have started taking action now. The Winnipeg Police Service and federal prosecutors have taken the unusual step of applying in court for peace bonds for nine known biker gang members. The bonds impose various conditions on individuals, even if they have not been charged with a crime. Conditions could include curfews and orders to stay away from other gang members. Wiretap information connect the nine men to a turf war that erupted last summer between two motorcycle gangs: the Rock Machine and the Redlined Support Crew, a Hells Angels puppet group. In an affidavit filed with the court, police outlined last summer's violence between the gangs and raised concerns about public safety. "There were 20 reported and almost as many unreported incidents of violence between the Redlined/Hells Angels and the Rock Machine, including shootings, assaults and firebombings of properties," the affidavit states in part. Police said several arrests have been made, but most of the incidents remain unsolved. "The war has been quiet in the past few months, but the rivalry still exists and it appears the Rock Machine … are still intent on expanding their presence here and across Canada," the court document says. "More violence is predicted between these two groups." Two men have agreed to the peace bonds to date.
Yesterday NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione warned that a US-style gun culture was heading to Australia. He said in NSW said the shootings between rival bikie and other criminal gangs were generally over drugs, turf or organised crime and previously were resolved with a punch-up. "Well, those days appear to have gone," Mr Scipione said. More likely, he believes Australia's biggest city is shifting towards American gun culture, where people settle disputes with firearms. Nine men have suffered gunshot wounds during 19 shootings in Sydney in April with a total of 52 shootings occurring in Sydney in 2012. "Perhaps we're moving down the American path where these sorts of disputes are resolved on the end of a handgun," Ms Scipione said.
Production of the series has coincided with the formation of numerous strike forces targeting a strengthened organised crime network and the re-emergence of faces from Sydney's underworld past. Even King's Cross club icon John Ibrahim, whose life formed the script for Underbelly - The Golden Mile, has found himself back in the spotlight. On Tuesday fire tore through a hotel believed to be partly owned by Ibrahim. A sledge hammer and two gas bottles were found at the Parramatta Rd scene. Ibrahim's brother Fadi has been receiving his own publicity in the Sydney District Court where he and brother Michael Ibrahim and Rodney "Goldie" Atkinson are accused of conspiring to murder John Macris. It is alleged the three may have had a vendetta against the man they believed to be responsible for the near fatal shooting of Fadi in June 2009. The trial continues. Meanwhile, senior police officers believe the dozens of shootings reported in Sydney this year have stemmed from an ongoing conflict between members of the Hells Angels and Nomads motorcycle gangs. Bikie feuds have not only been at the centre of reckless violence in Sydney, but also in parts of Queensland and most recently, South Australia. On Wednesday an alleged Hells Angels member was in a serious condition in an Adelaide hospital after being shot in the chest and arm. The 29-year-old drove himself to the emergency department. Police believe the shooting may be the result of conflict in club ranks. Detective Superintendent John De Candia, Officer-in-Charge of the Crime Gangs Task Force, issued a warning to those aspiring to gang greatness. "Anyone considering becoming an associate or a member of a bikie gang should take a good look at this incident," Supt De Candia said. "This is not something you want to get involved in. "As certain as death and taxes, those who are involved in outlaw motorcycle gangs risk a life of violence and continual police attention." In Sydney's west, detectives attached to Strike Force Kinnarra are still investigating five shootings which took place within a few hours early on Tuesday morning.
The British government wants to expand its powers to monitor email exchanges and website visits, The Sunday Times reported. Internet companies would be instructed to install hardware to allow the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) to go through "on demand" every text message and email sent, websites accessed and phone calls made "in real time, the paper said. The plans are expected to be unveiled next month. The Home Office said ministers were preparing to legislate "as soon as parliamentary time allows" but said the data to be monitored would not include content. "It is vital that police and security services are able to obtain communications data in certain circumstances to investigate serious crime and terrorism and to protect the public," a spokesman said. "We need to take action to maintain the continued availability of communications data as technology changes. "Communications data includes time, duration and dialling numbers of a phone call, or an email address. "It does not include the content of any phone call or email and it is not the intention of government to make changes to the existing legal basis for the interception of communications." An attempt to bring in similar measures was abandoned by the Labour government in 2006 amid strong opposition. However, ministers in the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government believe it is essential that the police and security services have access to such communications data in order to tackle terrorism and protect the public. The plans would not allow GCHQ to access the content of communications without a warrant. However, they would enable the agency to trace whom a group or individual had contacted, how often and for how long, the report said.
Eight people have been arrested in northern Mexico have over the killing of two 10-year-old boys and a woman in what appears to be ritual sacrifices. Prosecutors in Sonora, in the north-west of the country have accused the suspects of belonging to the La Santa Muerte (Holy Death) cult. The victims' blood has been poured round an altar to the idol, which is portrayed as a skeleton holding a scythe and clothed in flowing robes. The cult, which celebrates death, has been growing rapidly in Mexico in the last 20 years, and now has up to two million followers. Jose Larrinaga, spokesman for Sonora state prosecutors, said the most recent killing was earlier this month, while the other two were committed in 2009 and 2010. Their bodies were found at the altar site in the small mining community of Nacozari, 70 miles south of Douglas, Arizona. Investigations were launched after the family of 10-year-old Jesus Octavio Martinez Yanez reported him missing early this month.
