Contract Killing On The Increase In Costa Rica

 

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.

Vallucos gang members get life in prison for 'ice pick' murder

 

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.

police have released images of 28 suspects they want to question about serious street disorder that “wreaked havoc” across Northern Ireland

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.

Drug couriers killed in Chiang Rai

 

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.

Gaylords charged with gun, drug and gang crimes

 

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

 

 

coastal war between Norteños and Sureños

 

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.

Gangs Squad investigates shootings

 

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.

Dave Courtney believes the killer of his murdered stepson attended his funeral.

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.'

 

More...

• Two women stabbed to death and third in hospital with knife wounds to the neck after horrific incident in sleepy town

 

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 associate professor wanted in meth probe

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.

 

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.

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.

case that got six members of Bradenton's Brown Pride Locos off the street took 18 months to put together.

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."

 

San Francisco MS-13 gang members convicted in 2008 murders

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.

 

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,

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.

 

Gangs Are Said to Have Killed 39 in 2 Days

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.

 

Police and city leaders are using 3-year-old's killing to push policies, while local businessmen are reaching out to "OGs and grandmas"

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

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 

Two men have been jailed after heroin and crack cocaine were found at a flat in Middlesbrough.

Police searched Mark Phipps' home at Thorntree House in the Cargo Fleet Lane area of the town in March.

Phipps, 47, was sentenced to seven years. Leroy Mitchell, 38, from Daubeney Road, London, was jailed for five years.

The pair appeared at Teesside Crown Court where they were found guilty of intent to supply.

Judge Peter Bowers said that Phipps faced a maximum sentence under the three strikes rule for previous drug convictions.

South Beach man faces deportation

South Beach man faces deportation to his native India after a justice sentenced him to three years in prison for a felony drug conviction.

Last month, a jury in state Supreme Court, St. George, convicted Ahmed Rasheed of three felony counts of drug possession and other crimes stemming from a June 30, 2010, arrest in his home.

A Staten Island judge imposed sentence on Friday.

Police said the episode was set in motion when Rasheed threatened a male relative and female relative in his seventh-floor apartment on Capodanno Boulevard.

"I'm going to kill you," he said to the male, while telling the female, "I'm going to shoot you."

When cops arrived, they found a loaded gun in a bag alongside a large bag of marijuana, court papers allege. They also discovered several smaller bags of marijuana and crack cocaine and seven oxycodone pills on Rasheed's person, court papers stated.

Officers found another 68 oxycodone pills in a suitcase and 81 Percocet pills in a jacket in a closet, court documents said.

It was revealed at trial that Rasheed boasted of his drug sales and the cash he made from them in a recorded jailhouse telephone conversation, prosecutors said. Rasheed, a native of India, spoke in the Urdu language during the call, according to a spokesman for District Attorney Daniel Donovan.

Besides the felony drug convictions, Rasheed was found guilty of misdemeanor marijuana and criminal-contempt charges, along with a lesser count of harassment. He was acquitted on three felony gun-possession counts.

The criminal contempt charges were levied because Rasheed had violated a court order by trying to contact his wife, via letter, from jail, prosecutors said.

The top gun charges of which he was acquitted carry a maximum sentence of 15 years behind bars. The minimum is three and a half years.

Rasheed's lawyer, Mark J. Fonte said his client's is "extremely happy" he was acquitted on all weapons charges.

"This increases the chances that he will not be deported," Fonte said on Friday.

However, Donovan's spokesman, Peter N. Spencer, said U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement will take custody of Rasheed, who has a prior conviction, after he serves his sentence. He'll very likely be deported afterward.

 

Suspected drug dealer shot dead

A suspected drug dealer was killed in a three-hour shoot-out while six others, including two women, were arrested at an apartment in Seri Kembangan, near here, yesterday.

Police also seized drugs and weapons, including pistols and machetes.

Kajang police chief Assistant Commissioner Abdul Rashid Abdul Wahab said in the firefight, the suspected drug dealer fired seven shots at policemen and injured one of them. The incident began about 1am.

"The shoot-out at the Flora Apartment in Taman Impian Ehsan lasted three hours. We had no choice but to open fire since he wouldn't budge and continued to shoot at us."

The man had been arrested before for alleged rape in Petaling Jaya.

A 32-year-old woman who was arrested had two previous criminal convictions related to drug offences.

All the suspects, aged between 22 and 47, tested positive for drugs.

Rashid said police seized 110g of heroin, 55g of syabu and 50g of marijuana, weapons, including a semi-automatic Glock 17 pistol and a .22 calibre revolver, as well as two cars - a BMW and a Mitsubishi Evo.

The body was sent to Serdang Hospital for a post-mortem.

 

Texas tattoo artist has been ordered to serve consecutive life prison terms over a 2008 gang-related double slaying.

A judge in San Antonio on Thursday sentenced 27-year-old Juan "Joker" Gomez after he pleaded guilty to two counts of murder.
The San Antonio Express-News reports Gomez admitted to solicitation of murder for allegedly targeting his former lawyer and a witness while in jail. The charge was then dropped, but considered toward his murder sentence. He must serve 60 years before being considered for parole.
The defense says Gomez thought he was being targeted for a drug gang hit.
Prosecutors say Steven Bustamante and Juan Marcelo Alvarez had nothing to do with gangs and were shot after Gomez called them to the business.
A co-defendant still faces a capital murder charge.

Dean Johnson was shot a number of times while he sat in the back of a friend's car on Moorefield Avenue in Neilstown at around 9pm

Dean Johnson was shot a number of times while he sat in the back of a friend's car on Moorefield Avenue in Neilstown at around 9pm 
Gardaí have described the killing of the young man as a "terrible act".

One shocked neighbour in Neilstown said: "There's a child without a father and a mother without a son

Dean Johnson was sitting in the back of a friends car when he was shot at least four times in the head and chest.

The 20-year-old father of one was rushed to Tallaght hospital but died a short time later.

Although known to gardaí, Johnson was not believed to be involved in any major criminal activity.

They say they have no clear motive but are following a number of lines of inquiry.

The attacker is described as a man in his 20s of stocky build wearing a grey hoody and grey tracksuit bottoms.

alleged Red Scorpions gang member pleaded guilty Wednesday to drug and gun charges after his former girlfriend decided to testify against him.

After delivering his opening statement on the first day of trial for Jason William Brown and Terra Lynn George in B.C. Supreme Court in New Westminster, Crown prosecutor Peter Eccles stayed the charges against George and announced that she would be the Crown's first witness.

After a brief break, Brown changed his plea to guilty for two of the five charges he faced -- the rest were stayed.

Brown and George were charged with two counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking, possession of property obtained by crime and possessing a restricted firearm with ammunition. Brown faced an additional charge of possession of a firearm contrary to an order.

In the fall of 2009 Abbotsford police began investigating Brown's activities and set up surveillance of his Aldergrove home. On the evening of Nov. 12 police executed a search warrant on the house.

A safe was found bolted to the floor in the closet of the master bedroom. After removing the safe and prying it open, officers found two one-kilogram bricks of cocaine, two bags containing 26 grams of cocaine, 493 grams of crystal methamphetamine, $7,700 in Canadian currency, two boxes containing 91 rounds of 9-mm ammunition, a case with a 9-mm semi-automatic handgun inside and an eight-round magazine.

In the office, police found digital scales, a money counter, a video recorder and a monitor for exterior video cameras.

Investigators determined that Brown and George lived in the house after finding personal items and documents belonging to the pair.

Brown admitted to possessing cocaine and meth for the purpose of trafficking and possessing a restricted firearm and readily accessible ammunition.

Eccles said he plans to ask for a six- or seven-year prison sentence. There is a mandatory three-year sentence for the gun charge and Eccles said he wants that to run consecutive to the drug sentence.

"Crown and the Abbotsford Police Department are deeply concerned about handguns," Eccles said.

A sentencing date will be set next week.

Brown is also believed to be a former associate of the East End chapter of the Hells Angels.

forehead bore the large tattooed inscription "MS-13 Sur," a unit of the feared Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, gang that has tentacles across Central America and the U.S. Two tattooed teardrops trickled down his cheek below his left eye. Huge tattoos on his chest and back gave him an inky sort of body armor.

When Santos Guzman sought help from a state program for onetime gang members, there was no mistaking his gang affiliation.

His forehead bore the large tattooed inscription "MS-13 Sur," a unit of the feared Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, gang that has tentacles across Central America and the U.S. Two tattooed teardrops trickled down his cheek below his left eye. Huge tattoos on his chest and back gave him an inky sort of body armor. His fingers and legs also sported gang tattoos.

On his sixth visit to a state Tattoo Removal Clinic, Guzman lay face down on a padded exam table. A physician aimed a jet of chilled air at a giant tattoo on Guzman's back, drawing a slight wince on his face. Then with a laser, she traced the outline of the tattoo, gently coaxing the ink out from below the skin.

Guzman wants the 20 or so tattoos on his body to vanish. He gave up the life of a gangbanger long ago but only recently learned that the evidence of his past — such as the ink billboard on his forehead — could be erased. Guzman said he grew tired of trying to hide his tattoos with long-sleeved shirts, and with pancake makeup on his face.

"The culture here is that whoever has tattoos is a criminal," he explained.

Potential employers shut the door on anyone who is tatted up, fearing street gangs that relentlessly extort businesses. When tattooed riders get on buses, fellow passengers often change seats or get off altogether. Gangs have firebombed buses as part of widespread campaigns for extortion and turf.

"People panic when they see these guys," said Gladis Pacheco, a psychologist at the Tattoo Removal Clinic run by the National Council of Public Security. "In this country, it is just a primordial requirement to get rid of one's tattoos."

Tattoos have a mystique in North America and Europe. Those sporting them — from office clerks to actors and on to athletes — feel sexy or empowered. A survey early last decade found that 1 out of 7 U.S. adults have tattoos. Skin art has moved from skank to hip, from taboo to mainstream.

Not so in El Salvador. Tattoos are the province of the two big street gangs, the MS-13 and the 18th Street, and for much of the past two decades, young gangsters allowed the tattoos on their faces to serve as an angry warning to anyone who dared cross them.

That started to change eight years ago, with the first of a series of mano dura, or "hard hand," law enforcement crackdowns to break criminal gangs, whose ranks were swelling from a stream of thousands of Salvadoran gang members deported from the U.S. From July 2003 to June 2004, police arrested some 18,000 gang members, although only 5 percent were given prison terms, said Jeannette Aguilar, a gang expert at the Central American University here.

Following a subsequent crackdown, called super mano dura, gang leaders told members to restrict tattoos to less visible parts of their bodies.

"They aren't getting so many tattoos now," said Gersan Perez Mendez, a veteran commissioner of the National Civil Police. "They definitely don't put them on their hands and faces."

gang rape of an 11-year-old girl inside a park bathroom.

Authorities have captured a 19-year-old California man they say is responsible, along with six others, for the gang rape of an 11-year-old girl inside a park bathroom.

Michael Sykes, a suspected gang member, was arrested Monday morning at a Moreno Valley home, police sources confirm to FoxNews.com.

Police allege that Sykes, along with six juvenile gang members, raped the child in the bathroom at Moreno Valley's Victoriano Park between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. March 10, according to the Riverside Press-Enterprise. 

The attack, which was on the south side of the city near Moreno Valley College, wasn't made public until Sunday, and police have not released further details about the incident.

"As a father — even as a police officer — there are crimes that shock us. This is one of them," Capt. John Anderson, chief of the Moreno Valley station, said.

Detectives told the newspaper that the girl was at a shopping center near the park when she was approached by an older girl, who lured her to the bathroom where the six boys and the 19-year-old were waiting.

The attack was in an area where gangs and crime aren't a problem, Anderson said. 

The six juveniles were arrested shortly after the rape and booked at Riverside County juvenile hall for investigation of sexual assault on a child. Sykes eluded authorities until his arrest Monday. Each of the suspects will face sexual assault and gang enhancement charges, according to the Riverside County Sheriff's office.

Authorities have so far not released the named of the teens because they are minors. Police sources, however, say the boys are all over 14 and could be charged as adults.

girl was hit in the chest, and a 35-year-old man also found at the Stockwell Food & Wine shop in Lambeth, was shot in the face.

The girl was hit in the chest, and a 35-year-old man also found at the Stockwell Food & Wine shop in Lambeth, was shot in the face.
The two victims are in a critical but stable condition in hospital.The five-year-old was visiting relatives who owned the shop and the man lived above the premises.
Police said two black youths were believed to have run into the shop shortly before the shots were fired.
These criminals have seriously injured two innocent bystanders and must face the consequences of their actions
Detective Chief Inspector Tony Boughton
"The youths had been chased from Broom Grove Road, across Stockwell Road, and into the shop by three other black youths on bicycles," a statement said.
"Once the youths on bikes were outside the shop, one of them fired shots into the shop front."
Officers believe the two intended targets then ran from the shop to chase the three on bicycles, heading back towards the Stockwell Park Estate.
Detective Chief Inspector Tony Boughton: "This is a terrible incident where an innocent child has been seriously injured. We want to hear from the local community, who might have seen these youths cycling around the estate between 9pm and 10pm.

A councillor said there was a "well-known problem with guns and gangs" in the area
"I appeal to those who have information or were involved in this shooting to come forward and assist us with this investigation.
"These criminals have seriously injured two innocent bystanders and must face the consequences of their actions."
Sky reporter Jane Dougall, in Stockwell, said a local man was saying "he came out of his house and saw what he described as five youths - aged between 13 and 15 - on bikes.
"As soon as the gunshots had happened he saw them fleeing into the estate across the road.
"It has been reported that other local people have said that five youths had an argument with the shopkeeper and the shopkeeper had banned them from his shop."

A councillor said the area had a "well-known problem with guns and gangs"
Peter Robbins, one of three Lambeth councillors who represent the area, said: "There is a fairly well-known problem with gangs and guns in Lambeth, it is something that the council and the police are working together incredibly hard to solve.
"Obviously, there is always more you can do and incidents like this really bring that home."
Mr Robbins said the local community was "numb and horrified, and rightly so".
No arrests have been made and the investigation is continuing.

Metropolitan Police’s Operation Connect, 27 Wandsworth homes were searched along with 14 other addresses across six other boroughs during a pan-London “hit day”, in a bid to tackle gang-related activity.

Dawn raids targeting gang members and violent offenders took place in the early hours of this morning, with a number of properties in Wandsworth being searched by police.

As part of the Metropolitan Police’s Operation Connect, 27 Wandsworth homes were searched along with 14 other addresses across six other boroughs during a pan-London “hit day”, in a bid to tackle gang-related activity.

Seventeen Wandsworth men between the ages of 15-35 were arrested for offences including conspiracy to supply class A drugs and possession with intent to supply, and are currently being interviewed at a number of south London police stations.

About £10,000 in cash was seized as well as drugs, various drug dealing paraphernalia such as scales, mobile phones and jewellery which was believed to be stolen.

MPS Territorial Policing Commander Steve Rodhouse, said: "Today’s raids demonstrate our determination to continue to dismantle gang networks that are responsible for a disproportionate amount of criminality in London.

"They also send out a clear message that drug dealing, which can fuel many other gang-related activities, will not be tolerated.”

Notorious bikie gang The SKS assault rifle, the loaded shotgun, a loaded .22 calibre rifle and the ammunition were found during a raid on a storage unit in Packard Avenue, Castle Hil

An assault rifle, a sawn-off shotgun and 1000 rounds of ammunition linked to the Notorious bikie gang have been seized in a raid, say police.

At least one of the guns has been used in a shooting, police believe, and all the guns will be forensically tested.

The SKS assault rifle, the loaded shotgun, a loaded .22 calibre rifle and the ammunition were found during a raid on a storage unit in Packard Avenue, Castle Hill about 3.45pm yesterday, police said.

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The raid was part of Strike Force Raptor's investigations into the gang.

Strike Force Raptor was formed two years ago to target bikie gangs and their alleged criminal dealings.

Mara 18 street gang to pressure bus drivers to pay gang extortion fees. Nine people eventually died and many more were wounded by the impact of the blast.

A home-made firebomb allegedly was placed on the bus that day in early January by members of the Mara 18 street gang to pressure bus drivers to pay gang extortion fees. Nine people eventually died and many more were wounded by  the impact of the blast.

Public transportation and bus drivers have become frequent targets in the rampant  violence of Guatemala City, where organized crime rings, street gangs and drug cartels operate on a large scale but prosecution rates remain low.

In 2010, 130 bus drivers and 53 bus helpers who collect tolls were murdered, according to statistics released by the Guatemalan daily paper El Periódico. Drivers paid more than $1.5 million dollars in extortion money to organized crime in the same time period, according to police figures released earlier this year.

"There is a general impunity problem in Guatemala," Claudia Paz, Guatemala's attorney general,  said through an interpreter. "We have a system of justice that has historically been weakened, that can't cope with violence and has permitted the number of deaths and homicides to rise."

On a national scale, the country has a homicide rate of more than 48 per 100,000 inhabitants. It's one of the highest homicide rates in the hemisphere— in the United States in 2009, the rate was 5 in 100,000, and in Mexico it was 14 per 100,000 people.


Many of those crimes occurs in Guatemala City, and the case of bus drivers reveals much about how gangs use public, violent crimes as a means to intimidate others --and cash in.

There is no single authorized public transportation system for buses in the city, so bus drivers often rent from a bus owner or buy their own vehicle and receive subsidies from the government to help provide transportation. This cash, and the money received from passengers, makes them targets.

Rubén Aquino is a former driver in Guatemala City who used to work for a company that began receiving threats from a gang through one of the company's bus helpers. The company began paying the gang $150 a month, but the harassment didn't stop for the drivers.

"I was attacked. They shot against the bus I used to drive. One day, they threatened me. If I didn’t pay them [$13] a day, they would kill me," Aquino said. "I was afraid and stopped circulating. There was too much to pay and it made no sense to work that way."

The Urban Bus Service Companies Association, which deals with industry concerns, has tried hiring private security for buses but found they could not afford to guard all the routes. There has also been a push to switch to new buses that have a prepaid system that allows payment without the exchange of cash. But for now, many of the old buses still roam the roads.

Norteño and Sureño street gangs,Tuesday's shooting was a retaliation to Sunday's homicide

Vacaville police have linked the shooting that claimed the life of 18-year-old Gumercindo "Joel" Pena on Sunday to a suspected retaliation shooting Tuesday night and authorities say that both are likely gang related.
Police identified the victim of the second shooting as 20-year-old Jose Rosales of Vacaville. Rosales suffered a single gunshot wound to the head and was taken to Kaiser Hospital in Vacaville at about 8 p.m. Hospital staff notified authorities about Rosales' injury, who was then transported to a Sacramento-area hospital for further treatment.

According to Vacaville police Sgt. Jeff King, "Tuesday's shooting was a retaliation to Sunday's homicide," and one of a number of identified acts of violence between the Norteño and Sureño street gangs through the years. The rivalry between the two gangs has been ongoing for more than 20 years, King said, but sometimes the violence between the groups is more visible than others.

In a press release issued Thursday by the Vacaville Police Department, police identified Rosales as a known Sureño gang associate who has had "numerous contacts" with authorities. In addition to a past arrest on minor charges, police said that Rosales has also been in contact with known Sureño gang members.

Police have not confirmed the exact location of Tuesday's shooting and said that Rosales has changed his story about the events surrounding and leading up to it several times. Rosales has been unable or

unwilling to identify the person who shot him to detectives investigating the case, police said.
According to authorities, Rosales' injury is not life-threatening and he is expected to be released from the hospital soon.

While police do not consider an "associate" in the same realm as a full-fledged gang member, King said that it's only "one step away."