Arron Young, a reputed member of the Crips street gang, is scheduled to go to trial the week of Nov. 2 on three counts of attempted murder

Twenty-three-year-old Arron Young, a reputed member of the Crips street gang, is scheduled to go to trial the week of Nov. 2 on three counts of attempted murder in connection with the incident.On the afternoon of Aug. 15, 2008, Fairbanks police responded to several reports that the occupants of two speeding vehicles were firing at each other on College Road between Aurora Drive and Danby Street.Three people in a green Buick said they were shot at by people inside a silver Isuzu SUV. The Buick had been struck by multiple bullets fired from a handgun.Several moving vehicles also were hit by bullets, and a bicyclist on the sidewalk took cover as the bullets flew. No injuries were reported.Young was arrested several weeks later after being identified as the driver of the Isuzu.At a hearing Thursday, Assistant District Attorney Elizabeth Crail said that at trial she will call a gang expert from the Fairbanks Police Department, who will testify the College Road shooting was in retaliation for an incident five days earlier at the Eagles Hall.In that incident, about a half dozen people were involved in a verbal altercation that resulted in gunfire. Sixteen spent shell casings were found at the scene, though no injuries were reported. Witnesses gave police little information about who was involved.
Fairbanks police Lt. Tara Tippett said the case still is open, and military officials also are investigating. Soldiers from Fort Wainwright are believed to have been involved in both the College Road and Eagles Hall incidents.There is no indication Young was involved in the Eagles Hall incident, but Crail said the incident will provide a motive for the College Road shooting.“The expert testimony will be that in gang culture, he only needed to know about it to have a motive,” she said.The Eagles Hall shooting might have been connected to two other gang incidents in Fairbanks and a rash of smaller shootings and fires, Crail said.
Among the incidents was a July 27, 2008, brawl at Wal-Mart involving about a dozen people. A handgun reportedly was brandished by one of the combatants, though no shots were fired.That melee was followed a week later by a fight at the Tanana Valley State Fair involving about 20 juveniles and adults. A security guard sustained a minor injury breaking up that fight. No arrests were made in either case.
Young’s public defender, Jennifer Hite, said there are several other possible suspects in the College Road shooting and this might be a case of mistaken identity.
The case has continued for more than a year, as attorneys have conducted more investigation into the people involved in the shooting.In April, Hite said there were serious discussions about a plea deal, but no such deal was mentioned at Thursday’s hearing.

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Sentenced five members of the Puro Lil Mafia (PLM) street gang

Sentenced five members of the Puro Lil Mafia (PLM) street gang following their guilty pleas to various firearms offenses, according to a a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office. In April 2008, three of the five, Andrew Cecil Harris, 36; Hugo Lopez, 22; and Betty Bustillos, 25; were arrested by members of the Wichita Falls Police Department and FBI agents on federal weapons charges in an early morning round-up. The other two, Jessie James Greek; 27, and Jason Grantham, 20, were already in state/local custody on related charges.According to the release, Andrew Cecil Harris pleaded guilty to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and one count of being a felon in possession of ammunition. He was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison.Hugo Lopez pleaded guilty to one count of possession of a firearm by an illegal alien and was sentenced to 46 months in federal prison.Betty Bustillos pleaded guilty to one count of making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm and was sentenced to 36 months probation with six months of that to be served in home confinement.Jessie James Greek pleaded guilty to two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison.Jason Grantham pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a firearm and was sentenced to 41 months in the bureau of prisons.Earlier this month, the known leader of the PLM gang, Mauricio Diaz, 33, was convicted at trial on one count of possession with intent to distribute marijuana, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime and being a felon in possession of a firearm, the release said. He faces up to life in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 15, 2009, by O’Connor.

Diaz’s conviction brings the total to 14 PLM gang members who were charged federally and have been convicted. Other sentencings are scheduled for later this fall.

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Lawrence Ballard was charged on April 29 with first-degree murder for the shooting death of Colby Harris

Lawrence Ballard was charged on April 29 with first-degree murder for the shooting death of Colby Harris. Harris was shot at the Brightwater Apartments, 2202 S. Phoenix Ave., on April 28. Police believe that Ballard, who uses the street name “Man Man,” had fought with Harris about money shortly before the shooting.
Ballard was later charged on Aug. 11th with second-degree robbery based on allegations that he and several associates assaulted and robbed three University of Tulsa students. Ballard is a documented gang member, belonging to the 107 Hoover Crips and has many associates in the states of Oklahoma, Kansas, and Texas and has been known to travel to these states frequently, according to the Marshals service. To aid in the task force in the investigation, Ballard has been elevated to the Department of Justice’s national Gang Targeting, Enforcement & Coordination Center’s (GangTECC) Most Wanted List. This most wanted list was developed by in conjunction with the Marshals Service and in partnership with the Fox Television show “America’s Most Wanted.” By profiling Ballard on a much larger scale, the Northern Oklahoma Violent Crimes Task Force intends to reach citizens in other areas that may have seen Ballard or have information to his whereabouts. GangTECC began operations in summer 2006 as the national anti-gang task force created by the Attorney General. It a multi-agency center designed to disrupt and dismantle the most significant and violent gangs in the United States.

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Joe Richard Poston, 24, and Robert Benjamin Seats, 28, died of gunshot wounds after a shoot-out in the parking lot of J-Mumbly's

Joe Richard Poston, 24, and Robert Benjamin Seats, 28, died of gunshot wounds after a shoot-out in the parking lot of J-Mumbly's, at 903 Hollywood Drive in the Hollywood Shopping Center. Police believe the men shot each other during an argument that began inside the club.Seven others - three women and four men - were injured in the incident. All of them were taken to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Some have been treated and released, while others remain hospitalized.Jackson police also are investigating a second shooting that happened about 2:20 a.m. Sunday in the area of the Sesame Street Lounge, at 411 Railroad St. Tallis Croom, 22, was treated for a gunshot wound to his chest and released from the hospital.
Lt. Tyreece Miller said Monday afternoon that Seats' and Poston's bodies had been sent to Nashville for autopsies. He said investigators would send bullets collected from the autopsies and bullets and casings from the parking lot to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation for ballistics testing.The testing could help determine how many guns were used in the shooting and could take up to 17 weeks, Miller said.Police did not recover any guns from the crime scene. They believe other people may have fired weapons in addition to Seats and Poston, but they have not determined how many were involved in the shooting.
Capt. Mike Holt confirmed Monday that Poston was affiliated with the Gangster Disciples or GDs, and Seats had ties to a rival gang, the Vice Lords."This determination is made based on prior intelligence, tattoos and their associates," Holt said. "However, we don't know if (gang association) caused the altercation the night of the shooting, or if there was some independent reason they were arguing."J-Mumbly's owner, Evans Chatman, reiterated Monday that he believes the shootings were gang-related.
"We are being penalized with all the media attention and people saying the shooting happened inside the nightclub," Chatman said, as he stood outside his club about noon Monday. "It was in the parking lot, in a gang-related fight that started somewhere else and happened to end in the shopping center."Police have asked the Special Operations Unit, which includes the Metro Narcotics Unit, the Gang Unit and the Street Crimes Unit, to assist in the investigation.Jackson saw an explosion of gang-related crime in the 1990s, but gangs in Jackson have kept a lower profile in the last few years, according to police.In January, Ledarren Hawkins, 20, of Memphis, told police he was a member of the Bloods gang after he shot and killed Jerome Ellington outside the Jackson Bowling & Skating Family Fun Center. Hawkins was seen flashing gang signs before the shooting, police have said.Holt said Monday that the level of gang activity in Jackson has stayed at about the same level for the last six months.He also noted that gang affiliation is not as clearly defined as it was in the past. Even though someone may be a gang member, that person also may have strong loyalty to family members or neighborhood groups, Holt said.Both Poston and Seats have extensive criminal histories and served time in state prisons.Poston was on parole for a 2006 robbery charge, according the Tennessee Department of Correction Web site. It was not known when he was released from prison.He was previously arrested or had warrants on charges of robbery, weapons offenses, aggravated assault and motor vehicle theft, according to Jackson police records. He also had numerous driving charges and a lengthy juvenile record.Seats' official prison sentence ended in January 2009, according to the Department of Correction Web site, but it was not known when he was released from prison.His prior record includes arrests and warrants on charges of burglary, motor vehicle theft, drug offenses, rape, aggravated assault and attempted first-degree murder. He also had driving charges and a juvenile record.

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William Key, 21,accused of killing a 16-year-old as part of a Black Guerrilla Family gang rite has been sentenced

Baltimore man accused of killing a 16-year-old as part of a Black Guerrilla Family gang rite has been sentenced to 40 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder and related charges, prosecutors said. On Thursday, a jury was unable to reach a verdict against William Key, 21, who was accused in the Oct. 13, 2007, slaying of Deron Hope. Prosecutors say Hope was killed by Key and co-defendant Kenneth Robbins because Robbins wanted to be initiated into the gang. But after the hung jury, Key suddenly pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, the same charge Robbins pleaded to in May. Robbins is to be sentenced in November.

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Three members of the notorious MS-13 gang pleaded guilty yesterday to stabbing a man and leaving him for dead

Three members of the notorious MS-13 gang pleaded guilty yesterday to stabbing a man and leaving him for dead inside a Hispanic nightclub in Chesterfield County last fall.One of the victim's five stab wounds to the chest punctured his heart in the Oct. 18 attack inside a restroom at Valentino's restaurant on Jefferson Davis Highway. The victim, who they mistakenly believed was their bitter rival, nearly died."The intent was to kill," said Matthew C. Ackley, special prosecutor of the Richmond-metropolitan multijurisdictional grand jury.Authorities described the attack, investigated by Chesterfield police and the Richmond Division of the FBI, as the most significant case of gang violence here involving known members of MS-13. The gang has local contacts but isn't believed to have gained a foothold in the region."The ones that we have identified have been from cliques in Northern Virginia," said Chesterfield Detective Keith Applewhite, a gang expert.The three gang members, natives of El Salvador who had spent time in Northern Virginia and New York, ambushed the victim after they believed the man flashed signs at them denoting he was a member of a rival Hispanic gang known as 18th Street."They are archrivals," Applewhite said of the two gangs. "If they see one another, they'll attack."
Saul Joab "Penguino" Miranda, 27, who was living in Mechanicsville at the time of the attack, was sentenced to serve nine years and four months in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated malicious wounding and criminal street-gang participation. A charge of abduction was withdrawn as part of his plea agreement.
Gilberto Ernesto "Diablo" Gutierrez, 30, living in Chesterfield in October, was sentenced to serve five years in prison after pleading guilty to similar charges. An abduction charge was withdrawn.Antonio "Little Duende" Urrutia-Barrera, 20, living in Reston last fall, pleaded guilty to a single count of aggravated malicious wounding. Abduction and criminal gang-participation charges were withdrawn. He is to be sentenced next week.Urrutia-Barrera recently pleaded guilty in Loudoun County to criminal gang participation, and Ackley said MS-13 commanders sent him to the Richmond area last fall after a shooting in Northern Virginia.In a summary of evidence, Ackley gave this account of the assault:The three defendants were at Valentino's the evening of Oct. 18 when they saw the victim -- identified only as "R.H." in court yesterday -- flash gang signs. Mistakenly believing he was a member of 18th Street, the trio then challenged the victim to come outside. He refused.The defendants then followed him into the restroom, where Miranda and Urrutia-Barrera stabbed the victim repeatedly in the chest, shoulder and hand while Gutierrez held him and blocked the door.The victim was hospitalized for several weeks and still has significant scarring from his wounds and limited use of his right hand, which he no longer can close into a fist. The 26-year-old victim, who lives in South Richmond, denied being a gang member, Ackley said.During a break in yesterday's hearing, Ackley said the defendants may have been pumped up by the Salvadoran rap music playing that evening in the club. They also flashed their gang signs that night, he said.Chesterfield Detective Michael P. Morgott investigated the assault and was assisted by the FBI in linking the defendants to MS-13, a violent gang that originated in Los Angeles in the 1980s by immigrants fleeing El Salvador's civil war.Ackley said an FBI informant infiltrated the gang and provided key information that aided in the defendants' arrest and prosecution. The FBI obtained recorded statements that implicated the trio, Ackley said.At the time of the offense, Miranda and Gutierrez were residing in the U.S. legally as protected refugees from El Salvador, according to their attorneys. Urrutia-Barrera's attorney declined to talk about her client. Miranda and Gutierrez originally lived in Bay Shore, N.Y., and Salisbury, Md., respectively, Ackley said.Through an interpreter, Urrutia-Barrera told Chesterfield Circuit Judge Frederick G. Rockwell III that he has been in the U.S. four or five years and attended high school in Fairfax County.
"This is for the Mara Salvatrucha," a nonfiction narrative about the gang, gives this explanation of the MS-13 name: The initials MS stand for Mara, or "clique," and Salvatrucha, commonly known to mean "street smart." When the Mara Salvatrucha allied themselves with the Mexican Mafia, they adopted "13" as part of their name out of respect, because "M" is the thirteenth letter of the alphabet.

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Highland's Finest street gang fired a warning shot in the air as he told a group of up to 20 to "back the (expletive) up,"

Teenager, who was being questioned by police Monday, fired a warning shot in the air as he told a group of up to 20 to "back the (expletive) up," according to students who witnessed the melee."They was about to fight and he pulled the gun out of his pants and shot," said one student, who didn't want to be identified."Everybody took off running. Some jumped on buses, ran across the street, all over."Grand Rapids police and Grand Rapids Public Schools Safety Director Larry Johnson said they were trying to determine what preceded the 3:10 p.m. shooting at the 1720 Plainfield Ave. NE school.No one was hurt and police recovered the weapon, Grand Rapids police Capt. Pam Carrier said.Authorities were unsure if the gun was ever in the school, but plan to increase security before, during and after classes Tuesday.Johnson was to convene his staff and discuss options that could include using metal detectors.
"We'll meet and determine how to go forward," he said.
"One gun near the school is too many."
Johnson said security officers did not sense trouble brewing during the day."I don't know if there's anything we could have done differently," he said.Police did not identify the student, pending possible criminal charges.Students said the teen was a member of the Highland's Finest street gang and that his attackers were part of the North Avenue gang.Police would not confirm gang ties played a role in the incident, which played out near a main exit from the school.A woman who lives across Plainfield Avenue said she heard girls yelling and screaming before the shot was fired. She's lived in the neighborhood for 30 years and says the violence and arguing is becoming more common."There's always people going back and forth," she said, declining to be identified.Johnson said the district has not had a complaint of a gunshot on school grounds since an Ottawa Hills student fired a gun in a bathroom three years ago."We can't change perception," he said. "It's not our job to change perception. We try to keep the kids as safe as possible."One 14-year-old freshman stood at a bus stop across from the school as police investigated. He saw the fighting and then heard a "big boom."He said he didn't know the people involved and that students were surprised a dispute escalated to the gunfire. Like security staff, he said there was not heightened tension at school Monday."But people are always talking trash, so you don't know," he said.

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Female suspect was injured during a shootout with SQ officers in the Laurentians

Female suspect was injured during a shootout with SQ officers in the Laurentians on Sunday evening. Two people had tried to steal gas from a gas station in Mont-Tremblant around 11 p.m. and were intercepted by police when they tried to flee.
There was an exchange of gunfire and a woman was injured and then arrested. A man fled into the forest and was arrested later in the morning.An SQ helicopter and search dogs joined the search for him. An apparent confrontation between street-gang members in Laval ended when a 20-year-old man was stabbed in the back. It happened just before 1 a.m. Monday inside a restaurant on Cure-Labelle boulevard in Chomedey.
The victim and three or four friends had been arguing with another group when he was stabbed. Everyone else, including the victim's buddies, fled the scene. The back-stabbed man is expected to live and is not co-operating with investigators from his hospital bed.

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Amos Brown believes that he has been targeted by the Money Green Gang, a group of youths from the Meadow Gardens housing complex

Amos Brown believes that he has been targeted by the Money Green Gang, a group of youths from the Meadow Gardens housing complex who have alleged ties to the notorious Bloods street gang. The Money Green Gang is known for drug dealing and suspected in multiple shootings in the city, according to an affidavit for Troy Davis, who was arrested by Norwalk police Tuesday on drug charges.Hunt was allegedly associated with the gang and his friend, alleged Money Green Gang member Corey Young, was convicted of stabbing Johnson, according to court documents.Brown said the gang violence has made AJ's life intolerable and prevented him from furthering his education in public schools. AJ has been confined to his room inside of Brown's Orchard Street home since his acquittal."I keep thinking they will come here, and it's a nasty feeling," said Robertson, who lives in Bridgeport but visits Norwalk often to see her son. "I'm shocked by a lot of this. I used to change the Pampers on some of these kids."Leaving their lives in Norwalk behind has been rough on AJ and his father as they separate from strong bonds in the community, but it's the right decision, Brown said.AJ simply commented that he didn't want to move, but his girlfriend, Shanteria Cosby, said she understands the reasons behind his need to relocate."They really need to move," she said. "There's too much drama here."Robertson still has grown children and grandchildren in the area, preventing her from moving with Brown and her son. She said parting with AJ will be difficult for her, but she realizes a change is necessary."When Amos and AJ go, I won't like it, but there's nothing I can do at this point. AJ hasn't even finished high school yet," she said. "He can't go out to school, and no one will come here to educate him. He has another chance at life."Amos spent late August and early September tying up loose ends, paying bills and handing over his property management and home improvement business to a friend. "The customers didn't like that I was leaving," he said. "They were very unhappy with what's happening with crime in this town."
While hoisting a go-kart into a U-Haul truck Thursday night, Brown said AJ will have an open field to ride the recreational vehicle on, but he remained cryptic about his future residence."Everybody knows where I'm from," he said, "but they don't know where I'm going."

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Lima Street gang uniform of green shirts and dark pants

19-year-old alleged Carson City gang member was arrested at 4:27 p.m. Saturday on the corner of Lompa Lane and Highway 50 on suspicion of causing a fight. Bail was set at $1,132. According to the arrest report witnesses saw the man, along with several others all dressed in the known Lima Street gang uniform of green shirts and dark pants, beat the alleged victim.A witness reportedly told police the man jumped in the truck as the alleged victim drove away.“It is common practice for gang members to ‘jump in' new members of the gang or to ‘check them' when they have done something wrong,” the arresting officer wrote in the report. “Both instances involve beating of the members.”

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Carlos Lopez, alleged Westside gang member was ordered held Wednesday to face charges

alleged Westside gang member was ordered held Wednesday to face charges in a bus stop shooting last year that left one man dead and the man's cousin wounded.
Carlos Lopez, 32, targeted what appeared to be rival gang members - two men dressed in red clothing - at a downtown bus stop last year, say San Bernardino police. One of the men, 23-year-old Bobby Brookins, died. However, a witness at the same bus stop did not identify Lopez as the shooter in photo lineup and told a detective he thought the shooter may have been black because his voice lacked an accent. After listening to testimony from several witnesses, Judge Douglas Gericke ruled there was sufficient evidence to hold over Lopez to face charges at trial. The ruling came during a preliminary hearing in San Bernardino Superior Court. Lopez returns to court Sept. 18 to enter a formal plea on charges of murder and attempted murder. Prosecutors have also alleged the crimes benefit and promote a street gang. The surviving victim testified Wednesday that a tan SUV pulled up near a bus stop on Arrowhead Avenue, at Fifth Street, and stopped. The driver and passenger got out, but only the driver walked toward the victims. "What's up fool?" the victim recalled the driver saying, before he produced a handgun and fired several times. The victims turned to run, but Brookins was fatally shot. The county medical examiner later found that Brookins was shot in the chest and abdomen. The surviving victim was grazed on the head and shot in the arm and back, he said. Police said they found that one of the victims associated with a Los Angeles-based street gang. Officers crossed paths with Lopez during a traffic stop about two hours after the shooting. However, Lopez was dressed differently and had a different color vehicle than the accounts witnesses had given. Lopez surrendered to police with his lawyer the following week. Gang officer Francisco Hernandez testified that Lopez has self-admitted gang membership to police and has tattoos of "I.E." on his arms, "Mt. Vernon," on his stomach and "Verdugo" on his back. Hernandez said members typically commit violent crimes to gain respect and promote their gang, and it also shows Lopez's willingness to commit crimes for the gang. "It would intimidate and strike fear into the hearts of other gang members as well as members of the community," Hernandez said. A man who was also standing at the bus stop just before the shooting also noticed the victims' clothing. "They looked like they was from a gang," said Billy George. He described the shooter to police as possibly being black because he didn't hear an accent in the shooter's speech.

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Steven Magana, 25, and Timothy Coronado, 22, are charged with attempted murder

Steven Magana, 25, and Timothy Coronado, 22, are charged with attempted murder and several enhancements tied to allegedly discharging a firearm and being members of a criminal street gang. Merced County sheriff's investigators believe the defendants and a third suspect, a 16-year-old juvenile who is being tried separately, went to the victim's Westside Boulevard residence on March 9 at 10:20 p.m. and shot him four times.The victim, who admits to being a former gang member himself, survived the incident. The identity of the victim has been withheld by the Sun-Star because of concerns about his safety.Merced County District Attorney David Sandhaus said the victim didn't identify the suspects at first because Coronado and the 16-year-old juvenile are his nephews -- and he wanted to protect them. Sandhaus said the defendants . A bullet also grazed his face. "There's no doubt in my mind it was them," he said.The victim admitted he purposefully withheld information from detectives, but later stepped forward after his son and a 4-year-old girl were shot two months later at a residence in Livingston. The man suspected that Coronado, Magana and the juvenile were responsible for that shooting, although they were never charged."I just decided to step up and say what really happened," he said.When asked about his criminal background, the victim acknowledged that he'd been in prison several times, primarily for several DUI convictions and violation of parole. The man also said he'd been a gang member in and out of prison, but has since "given his heart to God" and changed his ways.Tenenbaum told jurors during his opening statement that Magana, his client, wasn't at the scene when the 54-year-old victim was shot. He said the victim had decided to "throw in" Magana's name when he talked to detectives.Smith said there's no physical evidence linking Coronado, his client, to the crime. Smith also said it was "pitch black" outside when the shooting happened, making it impossible for the victim to see the shooters. "He didn't see who did it -- that's the bottom line," Smith said.Coronado and Magana face a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted. Both men remain in custody, in lieu of $1.4 million bail.

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"transnational street gangs" such as MS-13, one of the largest Hispanic street gangs in the United States, and Sureno-13, one of the most significant

four-day operation targeting street gangs in north and central Alabama ended with 23 people arrested and facing possible deportation. U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement agents arrested 20 men, two women and one juvenile they said have ties to violent street gangs during a sweep of Jefferson, Shelby and Morgan counties.
The effort targeted members of several "transnational street gangs" such as MS-13, one of the largest Hispanic street gangs in the United States, and Sureno-13, one of the most significant gangs operating in the Southeast, according to the National Gang Intelligence Center, a group supported and staffed by various government agencies. Such gangs have high numbers of foreign-born members and are frequently involved in human trafficking, drug smuggling and immigration violations, according to ICE. Other gangs mentioned in the announcement of the arrests were Lejion Negra, Judas 13, Southside Locotes and La Quemada. "Street gangs account for a significant amount of crime nationally and locally," Jesse Blakeman, resident agent in charge of the ICE Office of Investigations in Birmingham, said in a prepared statement. "ICE works closely with our local law enforcement partners to identify, locate and arrest these gang members to thwart criminal activity in our communities. Ultimately, ICE deports these gang members." Most of those apprehended were taken to the DeKalb County Jail; three were released pending immigration hearings. As of Friday, only two faced criminal charges, according to ICE. Misael Godoy-Torres was arrested Thursday at Cedar Brook Apartments in Hoover and has been charged with being an illegal alien in possession of a gun, according to federal court records. An affidavit filed Friday stated ICE agents received a tip that Godoy-Torres, a Mexican citizen, was a member of street gang Brown Pride 13. When his girlfriend let the agents into the apartment, Godoy-Torres threw a rifle from a third-story bathroom window and was attempting to jump from the window when he was arrested, the affidavit said. Agents found a cell phone with pictures of Godoy-Torres with the gun and "what appears to be a gang bandanna," the affidavit stated. Another man, Margarito Carbajal-Nava, was in custody in Decatur City Jail on three state charges - probation violations on three charges of criminal trespassing - a jail official said Friday. Officer Sharon Latham said Carbajal-Nava, a 38-year-old Decatur resident, was being held for ICE and was arrested Aug. 30. A statement issued by ICE Friday stated that agents conducted the operation working with local law enforcement including police officers in Alabaster, Decatur, Hoover and Pelham, and Shelby County sheriff's deputies. Alabaster Police Deputy Chief Curtis Rigney said ICE agents asked his officers for backup as they "went to a few residences." Rigney said he did not know if anyone was apprehended in that city. Rigney said his department has not noticed an increased gang presence in Alabaster, but is eager to work with immigration officials because "you never know where these gangs are."

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Shawn A. Goldfinch is an alleged member of the Nortenos street gang.

Shawn A. Goldfinch, 27, made a preliminary appearance on the charges in U.S. District Court on Friday. According to a criminal complaint, he sold cocaine to an informant working with police on Feb. 4, March 16 and March 24. The alleged deals were captured via audio recordings. The case was investigated by the Safe Streets Task Force, which includes the FBI, Vancouver police, sheriff’s deputies and Department of Corrections agents.The government also alleges Goldfinch is a member of the Nortenos street gang.man whom federal agents characterized as a "member of a violent Vancouver street gang" faces charges of dealing in cocaine and crack cocaine.

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Dennis "Dog" Rios, 40, suffered from AIDS for the last 10 years was arrested

Apple Valley gang member has been knowingly transmitting HIV/AIDS to women for the last decade, authorities said today.
Dennis "Dog" Rios, 40, was arrested last week while sheriff's detectives were investigating an alleged drug house in the 12000 block of Navajo Road.
While interviewing people at the home, detectives said they happened upon Rios. They discovered he has suffered from AIDS for the last 10 years but has continued to have sex with women without telling them. Officials have tracked down one victim and expects several more to come forward.He is being held at West Valley Detention Center in Rancho Cucamonga. He has pleaded not guilty to two counts of knowingly transmitting the disases.

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Westside gang member was ordered held Wednesday to face charges in a bus stop shooting

alleged Westside gang member was ordered held Wednesday to face charges in a bus stop shooting last year that left one man dead and the man's cousin wounded.
Carlos Lopez, 32, targeted what appeared to be rival gang members - two men dressed in red clothing - at a downtown bus stop last year, say San Bernardino police. One of the men, 23-year-old Bobby Brookins, died. However, a witness at the same bus stop did not identify Lopez as the shooter in photo lineup and told a detective he thought the shooter may have been black because his voice lacked an accent.
After listening to testimony from several witnesses, Judge Douglas Gericke ruled there was sufficient evidence to hold over Lopez to face charges at trial. The ruling came during a preliminary hearing in San Bernardino Superior Court. Lopez returns to court Sept. 18 to enter a formal plea on charges of murder and attempted murder. Prosecutors have also alleged the crimes benefit and promote a street gang. The surviving victim testified Wednesday that a tan SUV pulled up near a bus stop on Arrowhead Avenue, at Fifth Street, and stopped. The driver and passenger got out, but only the driver walked toward the victims. "What's up fool?" the victim recalled the driver saying, before he produced a handgun and fired several times. The victims turned to run, but Brookins was fatally shot. The county medical examiner later found that Brookins was shot in the chest and abdomen. The surviving victim was grazed on the head and shot in the arm and back, he said.
Police said they found that one of the victims associated with a Los Angeles-based street gang. Officers crossed paths with Lopez during a traffic stop about two hours after the shooting. However, Lopez was dressed differently and had a different color vehicle than the accounts witnesses had given. Lopez surrendered to police with his lawyer the following week. Gang officer Francisco Hernandez testified that Lopez has self-admitted gang membership to police and has tattoos of "I.E." on his arms, "Mt. Vernon," on his stomach and "Verdugo" on his back. Hernandez said members typically commit violent crimes to gain respect and promote their gang, and it also shows Lopez's willingness to commit crimes for the gang. "It would intimidate and strike fear into the hearts of other gang members as well as members of the community," Hernandez said. A man who was also standing at the bus stop just before the shooting also noticed the victims' clothing. "They looked like they was from a gang," said Billy George. He described the shooter to police as possibly being black because he didn't hear an accent in the shooter's speech.

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Plattekill man beaten half to death and left on the street

Plattekill man beaten half to death and left on the street, police said.Officers arrived about 1 a.m. Sunday to Hasbrouck Street and found the 23-year-old man bludgeoned, stabbed and sliced. He had multiple punctures in his torso and a deep gash on the top of his head, police said.He went to the Newburgh campus of St. Luke's Cornwall Hospital where staff discovered his arm and leg were broken. His condition was serious.Three witnesses helped officers track the attackers, police said. A 20-year-old woman told police she watched four of the assailants drive away in a Jeep Cherokee. She followed in another vehicle and called police. When officers stopped a Jeep on Johnes Street, she and a 22-year-old man came and identified suspects.Police arrested the four occupants: 30-year-old Lucio Ramirez, 16-year-old Edgardo Perez and two 15-year-old boys.The 22-year-old witness told officers the four were part of 10 or so who beat the man with a bat and hacked at him with a machete. A third witness said the man had been sitting with him on some steps when the men attacked. That witness said he ran when one of the attackers pointed a gun at him. He heard one shot as he fled but wasn't hit.Police said they found a bloody baseball bat in the Jeep after arresting the four.The suspects face felony gang assault charges — a charge that relates to the number of attackers rather than any affiliation to a street gang.Ramirez and Perez were being held at Orange County Jail; Ramirez in lieu of $25,000 bail and Perez in lieu of $20,000. The two juveniles were released to their parents pending a Sept. 18 appearance in Family Court.

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200 alleged Bulldog gang members arrested

600 people had been arrested in the month-long sweep. More than 200 of them were alleged Bulldog gang members.Dyer told reporters at a news conference that the Bulldog street gang was attempting to make a comback, but that officers would continue targeting gang members.He said part of the growing gang problem is that parolees are getting out of prison and joining gangs.

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Pacific Paper Products and an employee, were taken into custody for allegedly selling illegal weapons to Santa Barbara gang members.

Narcotics division of the Santa Barbara Police Department, shut down operations of a paper products business on Tuesday, after finding evidence of employees selling illegal street weapons.According to Lt. Paul McCaffrey, the owner of Pacific Paper Products and an employee, were taken into custody for allegedly selling illegal weapons to Santa Barbara gang members.Police confiscated weapons such as brass knuckles, throwing stars and even a blow gun.Lt. McCaffrey says, there was substantial evidence that these items were being sold for profit to members of local street gangs.

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Nelson Boys gang, based on East 116th Street feuded last fall with the Benham Miles Family gang

Jeffrey Grant faced up to 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to attempted murder, improper discharge of a firearm, criminal gang activity and using a gun in a drive-by shooting. He testified against another gang member who was convicted last week. 18-year-old Cleveland man was sentenced Wednesday to 12 years in prison for his role in gang-related shootings that injured four people, including a man in a wheelchair. "I am sorry," Grant said as he stood before Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Janet Burnside. "I made a mistake. I would like another chance to become a better man. I will spend the time to educate myself to be a better man." Grant was a member of the Nelson Boys gang, based on East 116th Street. The gang feuded last fall with the Benham Miles Family gang, from nearby Benham and Miles avenues. The territorial battle erupted Nov. 14 in gunfire after BMF members shot at a Nelson Boy's van, putting two holes in it on Miles Avenue. Grant and Dasean Jenkins, 19, joined the van's owner, AlMichael Woods, 21, in seeking revenge. The Nelson Boys armed themselves with an SKS semi-automatic rifle, TEC-9 semi-automatic pistol and Glock 9-mm semi-automatic pistol and opened fire on a group of men in a field on Miles Avenue, shooting a man in the neck. Then they fired at another group of people near Benham Avenue. A man in a wheelchair unaffiliated with the gangs was shot in the forearm. Cleveland police officers and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents already investigating local gangs responded immediately, interviewing witnesses and gathering evidence that resulted in more than a dozen felony charges against each shooter. Investigators found an assault rifle and the SKS and Tec- 9, but weren't able to find the Glock. Agents learned that the weapons were first purchased in the early 1990s, but couldn't track them further. Assistant County Prosecutor Mahmoud Awadallah lauded the investigators and said the defendants were lucky no one was killed. Jenkins pleaded guilty to the same charges as Grant and is awaiting sentencing. They testified against Woods, who was convicted last week of attempted murder, felonious assault, shooting into a habitation, criminal gang activity, carrying a concealed weapon and using a gun in a drive-by shooting. He will be sentenced Wednesday to 11 to 51 years in prison.trio opened fire on a group of men in a field on Miles Avenue, hitting a man in the neck. Then they shot at another group of men near Benham Avenue. A man in a wheelchair unaffiliated with the gangs was shot in the forearm. Cleveland police officers and ATF agents investigating local gangs responded immediately, interviewing witnesses and gathering evidence that resulted in more than a dozen felony charges against each shooter. Assistant County Prosecutor Mahmoud Awadallah said the defendants were lucky no one was killed. Jenkins pleaded guilty to the same charges as Grant and is awaiting sentencing. He also testified against Woods, who was convicted last week of attempted murder, felonious assaults, discharge into a habitation, criminal gang activity and carrying a concealed weapon. He will be sentenced Sept. 16 to 11 to 51 years in prison.

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North Vancouver Persian Pride gang David Tajali,murdered was once involved in a feud between rival gangs of Iranian origin in B. C.'s Lower Mainland.

Sources confirmed to the Calgary Herald the man who died was David Tajali, who was once involved in a feud between rival gangs of Iranian origin in B. C.'s Lower Mainland.Two brothers with ties to a gang war in B. C. were caught in a spray of gunfire in southwest Calgary early Sunday, leaving one dead and the other recovering in a city hospital.The second man, now in hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, is Tajali's younger brother, Niki, who is a known B. C. gangster.
The elder Tajali was once aligned with the North Vancouver Persian Pride gang and later the United Nations, and the younger brother has some of the same affiliations.
David Tajali was also the victim of an attempted murder in November 2006 when he was shot at his Richmond apartment.But it was the shooting that unfolded around 2:30 a. m. Sunday that took his life, sparking a police investigation that had officers poring over evidence at a crime scene that stretched for several blocks.Residents reported hearing numerous shots fired on 4th Street at 18th Avenue S. W., sending officers flooding into the neighbourhood.When police arrived, they found an injured Tajali in the driver's seat of a black BMW convertible with B. C. plates. He was rushed to hospital by paramedics but died of his injuries, said Duty Insp. Keith Pollock.The driver's side window of the BMW was smashed and what appeared to be two bullet holes marked the door. A piece of clothing lay on the ground next to the car.
Homicide unit Staff Sgt. Doug Andrus said the second victim was not in the vehicle when he was shot.Niki showed up at a local hospital after the shooting, where he remains -- not under police guard--and is co-operating with investigators, Andrus said."The hospital is aware of the investigation," Andrus added.A female passenger inside the BMW was not injured in the shooting. She is also cooperating with police.
Officers cordoned off several blocks of the neighbourhood as part of the investigation.Evidence markers denoting blood droplets and other items wove a pathway along the sidewalk on 4th Street, down the alley between 18th and 19th avenues and into a small parking lot. There, they also marked a pile of shattered auto glass.Forensic investigators dusted for fingerprints along a low wall at the edge of the small lot.Curt Heitmann, who lives in the apartment block overlooking the crime scene, said he was sleeping at the time."I woke up because I heard what sounded like fireworks," he said.The shots, more than 10, he said, came in two sets and were followed by someone on the street yelling, "I'm just trying to help you."
With the bars emptying at the time, many called police to report the gunfire, said Pollock."We're talking to a lot of people right now and trying to sort out what was related(to the shooting)and what wasn't. That could take awhile," he said.
But police are most interested in speaking with two women spotted talking to a lone man behind a building on the east side of the 1800 block of 4th Street S. W. just before the shooting."We believe the lone male will have information in regards to this incident. It's very important we talk to those two women. . . ." said Andrus. "We want to know what they saw, what they heard, who they talked to."
He would not say if the man is a witness or suspect, but said the woman are believed to be strictly bystanders in the crime.Besides talking to witnesses, investigators also canvassed the neighbourhood Sunday to see if there is any surveillance video that may assist them.It is unclear whether Tajali's death is a sign the gang war in B. C. has crossed into Alberta or if he somehow became entangled in the feud between the FOB and the UN-linked FOB Killers.Andrus said investigators have been in touch with B. C. police and Calgary's own gang unit is assisting.Sgt. Shinder Kirk of the B. C. Integrated Gang Task Force said over the past few years many gangs in that province have set up shop in Alberta and Ontario or have developed business relationships with gangs in other cities."We know that individuals well-known in Metro Vancouver organized crime and gang circles have been known to travel to other provinces where they are just as susceptible to violence," he said.Tajali moved to Calgary about a year ago. He had been no stranger to the law in B. C.His involvement in the ongoing gang war there had seen both him and his brother injured by bullets.
Investigators have speculated he was the target of another shooting in January 2007 --just two months after he was shot--that claimed the life of a man who happened to drive a truck of the same make, model and colour as Tajali.Kirk Holifield was driving his Dodge Ram truck near Tajali's residence in Richmond, B. C., when the vehicle was sprayed with bullets and he was hit several times.The father of a baby girl died a few hours later in hospital.At the time, sources said the shooting may have been a case of mistaken identity and police confirmed earlier this year Holifield was an innocent victim. The case remains unsolved.Tajali was busted in a complex dial-a-dope scheme in 2004, but those charges were stayed. Some of his co-accused pleaded guilty in 2006 and one of the gang was sentenced to seven years in jail in November that year--the same day Tajali was shot at his apartment.
A few years earlier, he was arrested for illegal possession of a firearm after he was found swimming in Vancouver's False Creek with a handgun in a fanny pack around his neck. That same night in October 2003, police had responded to reports of shots fired at a nightclub. In his July 20, 2005, ruling acquitting Tajali, Vancouver Provincial Court Judge Raymond Low said it was clear, considering the time of year, that Tajali was "not swimming as a part of recreation."Tajali's younger brother, Niki, was also involved in the ongoing feud. He was injured in a gunfight in a quiet residential neighbourhood around the same time Holifield was killed. Police said that shootout saw more than 150 shots exchanged between at least six gunmen using automatic weapons in a park frequented by families and dog-walkers.

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Jose Rodolfo Escajeda, is considered one of the bloodiest hitmen in the crime-ridden state of Chihuahua and a leader of the powerful Juarez Cartel

Troops captured the suspected killer of 17 patients at a rehabilitation clinic in northern Mexico, one of the deadliest attacks in President Felipe Calderon's three-year war against drug cartels, local media said on Saturday. The suspect, Jose Rodolfo Escajeda, is considered one of the bloodiest hitmen in the crime-ridden state of Chihuahua and a leader of the powerful Juarez Cartel. He is on the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's most-wanted list for marijuana and cocaine smuggling into the United States. About a dozen hooded men burst into a clinic in the violence-plagued industrial city of Ciudad Juarez, across from El Paso, Texas, on Wednesday, lined up patients and killed 17 of them. Turf wars and targeted attacks by drug trafficking gangs have killed more than 13,000 people across Mexico since Calderon took power in late 2006 and launched his drug war, a level of violence that has alarmed Washington and unnerved both tourists and investors.
Drug gangs have targeted rehab centers in the past, accusing them of protecting dealers from rival groups. Escajeda is also believed to be behind the killing earlier this year of two American members of a Mormon community in northern Mexico who were brutally murdered for denouncing cartel kidnappings, Mexico City's Daily Excelsior newspaper reported on its website. Benjamin LeBaron, a breakaway Mormon leader and anti-crime activist, was abducted from his house and killed by around 20 gunmen in revenge for helping track and arrest a group of drug gang members. His brother-in-law was also killed in the July attack. Calderon has deployed thousands of troops and federal police against drug cartels across the country but drug killings are at record levels. Some 10,000 soldiers patrol Ciudad Juarez alone, but crime remains out of control.

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Mara 18 and the Mara Salvatrucha.

They have exported their gang culture — learned by expatriates returned from undocumented existence in the big cities of the United States — to other countries in Central and South America, re-exporting their influence back to the U.S., moving beyond petty thievery, flashy tattoos and thuggish violence, to drug-trafficking and large-scale extortion.For the last three decades, successive Salvadoran governments have tried to curtail the two Maras. In the 1990s the Salvadoran government instituted a policy that became known as the Mano Duro (Strong Hand), that saw thousands of gang members jailed. But Mano Duro has not stopped the gangs. Corruption at the highest levels of government has allowed many leaders to go free or conduct business from behind bars. Saul Turcios Angel, also known as the "Pitbull," ran a kidnapping and extortion ring as part of Mara Salvatrucha. He escaped from a Salvadoran prison last year and was apprehended in Nicaragua earlier this week. Turcios faces possible extradition to the U.S. to face charges that, while behind bars, he phoned fellow gang members in a Maryland suburb, ordering them to commit murders and other crimes. Earlier this week as well, gang members are suspected of killing the photographer and documentary filmmaker Christian Poveda, who spent years chronicling their activity and evolution. Poveda was shot in the head, killed, say police, by the very gang members he had been filming earlier in the day. Gang related deaths average about 10 a day throughout the country, according to local newspaper accounts, which splash news of the mayhem across their front pages daily.While some gang members say they are virtual prisoners of their poor neighborhoods, unable to leave the slums because of police crackdowns and threats from rival gangs, gang culture continues to spread. It has moved well beyond its original bases in the impoverished suburbs of the capital like Apopa and Soyapango. It has now taken root in San Miguel, the country's second-largest city, and the port of La Union, which they now utilize for trafficking drugs abroad. Nowadays, gangs threaten businesses large and small, demanding kickbacks for not shutting them down. They are even said to force the country's public transportation system to pay millions of dollars annually in protection money. Many observers believe that newly elected Salvadoran President Mauricio Funes will ease the Mano Duro policy and, instead, implement social programs aimed at dissuading the country's youth into joining gangs. But, says Samuel Logan, an expert on Latin American gang culture, "The current administration still has not made an effort to to adopt a less punitive position in dealing with the gangs." Ironically, one of the loudest advocates for rolling back Mano Duro ways Poveda, who photographed the El Salvaor civil war for TIME in the 1980s. Poveda said in a recent interview that El Salvador's political corruption and abject poverty made most gang members "victims of society."

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Members of two gangs, a Bloods faction and a Crips faction, passed each other in a hallway and exchanged words.

Members of two gangs, a Bloods faction and a Crips faction, passed each other in a hallway and exchanged words.Then, "one coward sucker-punched a kid in the other group," he said.As a scuffle broke out, someone told police that a person in the pavilion had a gun, said Agent Donny Moses, a police spokesman.Before officers could arrive, a member of the Crips had fired a semi-automatic handgun, according to police.One victim lay bleeding on the ground. Another left and was found by police at a nearby amphitheater. Neither shooting victim was willing to give police information about the incident, Bealefeld said, noting that it took hours before the second victim admitted that he had been shot at the Inner Harbor.Law enforcement officials have struggled for decades over how best to monitor and combat gang activity in Baltimore and elsewhere in Maryland. State lawmakers have passed measures aimed at gang leaders in recent years, but prosecutors say the new laws are cumbersome and should be strengthened.Margaret Burns, a spokeswoman for the Baltimore State's Attorney's Office, said it is critical that Maryland define "gang member" in state law and devise enhanced penalties for gang members who are convicted of shootings and other violence. She said prosecutors also want to see a new statute that would allow them to go after anyone who furthers a gang enterprise, such as through drug dealing."It's not a crime to be a gang member," Burns said. "That's the challenge we face."She said police and prosecutors across the state will lobby for new gang legislation next year, but they'll likely face stiff resistance from the House Judiciary Committee, which has questioned the constitutional ramifications of gang-specific legislation."I would hope you don't embark on a crusade to put people in jail because of the color that they wear," Del. Luiz R.S. Simmons, a Montgomery County Democrat, told prosecutors during the 2007 session. Burns also said local law enforcement agencies, including police and prosecutors, are trying to create better information-sharing systems about gangs. But gang members, she said, seem to

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"Sureño Villains 13" street gang Nortes had been marking out the Sureños' graffiti "tags."

Four defendants are members of the "Sureño Villains 13" street gang. Just before midnight Saturday they had argued with several members of the rival "Norte" gang at a South Park gas station. Apparently, the Sureños were angry that the Nortes had been marking out the Sureños' graffiti "tags."When the Sureños warned them to leave their tags alone, the Nortes just laughed, the documents say. The Sureños talked about shooting the Nortes right then and there but decided against it because a gas-station surveillance camera might record them.Meanwhile, the Nortes ran away, down an alley. But about 20 minutes later, the Sureños found their foes behind a house in the 1000 block of South Sullivan Street, the documents say.Gomez-Pablo parked the SUV, and Rapisura, Gomez-Cervantes and Santos got out and ran toward the Nortes. Several shots rang out, and Joshua S. Vanhalteren was hit once in the back, the documents say.Vanhalteren ended up at Harborview Medical Center, but his wound was not life-threatening, police said.After the shooting, the Sureños ran back to the SUV, and Gomez Pablo drove out of South Park, intending to go to his house in West Seattle. But two Seattle police detectives driving toward the scene of the shooting spotted the SUV, and the foursome was stopped on Interstate 5.A police report says detectives found two semi-automatic pistols — both empty — in the SUV, along with some gang paraphernalia and a small amount of marijuana.Of the four men charged in the crime, only Rapisura has a criminal record. Prosecutors say he has twice been convicted of assault.

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Los Palillos ,The Toothpicks Crew impersonated police and used handguns and Tasers to assault, rob, kidnap and often times kill their victims

Suspected drug lord and 16 alleged members of his kidnapping and murder crew believed responsible for nine murders and the attempted slaying of a policeman, according to the San Diego County District Attorney's Office."This rogue group of individuals is responsible for a string of brutal murders and kidnappings that demonstrate the ugly reality of cross-border violence," said District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis."Thanks to extraordinary cooperation from several law enforcement agencies and the dedication of District Attorney investigators and prosecutors, we have essentially dismantled this dangerous organization," she said. The district attorney's office was assisted in its investigation by the FBI, California Department of Justice, Drug Enforcement Administration, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, San Diego Police Department, San Diego County Sheriff's Department and Chula Vista Police Department.The SDPD performed its largest DNA analysis during the investigation due to the number of items seized and individuals processed during the operation.FBI Special Agent-in-Charge Keith Slotter called the circumstances surrounding the murders "absolutely shocking" and "almost beyond human comprehension."More than 120 witnesses testified to a grand jury about violent incidents in which members of Los Palillos -- or "Toothpicks" -- often impersonated police and used handguns and Tasers to assault, rob, kidnap and often times kill their victims, according to the indictment.The nine murder victims were lured to houses rented by members of Los Palillos, or abducted and held at those houses before eventually being murdered, authorities said.The bodies of seven of the victims were found by residents after being dumped in neighborhoods in Chula Vista, San Diego and Bonita.The bodies of the other two were dissolved in acid in May 2007 at a rented house in San Diego, according to the indictment returned Aug. 6 after a two-year investigation.Some members of the ring were arrested in June 2007, when investigators located a kidnapping victim being held at a home on Point Dume Court in Chula Vista.FBI SWAT officers rescued the 32-year-old businessman and apprehended five kidnappers. Two leaders of Los Palillos were convicted of kidnapping for ransom last December and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Two other abductors pleaded guilty, and two defendants are still awaiting trial.
In the new indictment, the alleged ringleader of Los Palillos, Jorge Rojas Lopez, is charged with nine murders and numerous special circumstance allegations, making him eligible for the death penalty if convicted.Fourteen other defendants face similar charges and could also be eligible for the death penalty.Deputy District Attorney Mark Amador alleged that Rojas Lopez formed the Los Palillos marijuana and methamphetamine distribution ring after the Arellano Felix Organization killed his brother."Jorge Rojas Lopez has a deep animosity for the AFO," the prosecutor said.
Rojas Lopez and Juan Laureano Arvizu are also charged with attempted murder of a peace officer for a Sept. 28, 2005, attack in which 19 shots were fired at a Chula Vista police officer.Rojas Lopez, 30, Jesus Lopez-Becerra, 30, Juan Francisco Estrada-Gonzalez, 36, Edgar Frausto Lopez, 35, Jorge Salvador Moreno, 38, Jose Leonel Olivera Beritan, 35, and David Valencia, 39, all pleaded not guilty Thursday and were ordered held without bail. A status conference was set for Sept. 2.

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Derick Johnson member of the Black Gangsters Disciples street gang arrested

Agents arrested 31-year-old Derick Johnson on two charges, the sale of cocaine and trafficking cocaine. Berry says Johnson is a member of the Black Gangsters Disciples street gang. Berry would not disclose the specific location where Johnson allegedly sold the drugs, but the arrest was made at the corner of East Broad and North Central late Wednesday afternoon.“The transaction took place with us monitoring the undercover agent meeting Derick Demetrius Johnson, in making the buy and then setting up another buy, and then we got warrants and arrested him last night over on the east side,” said Major Berry.Agents say they seized just over 50 grams of cocaine. The drugs have a street value of about $5,000.

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WANTED Bloods ringleader Luqman Abdullah

Union County authorities are hunting for a Bloods ringleader who they say keeps giving them the slip but operated an aggressive drug ring out of Elizabeth that netted about $700,000 a week. The elusive Luqman Abdullah, 27, has an extensive criminal history that includes 15 arrests and seven felony convictions for burglary, resisting arrest, manufacturing and distributing drugs, possession of an assault firearm and aggravated assault, authorities said.He is believed to be armed and extremely dangerous.Abdullah rose to prominence on the streets of Elizabeth after he helped kidnap a rival drug dealer in 2003, stuffed the man into the trunk of his car and shot him, according to Union County Prosecutor Theodore Romankow. He and three other Bloods members sprayed bullets into the trunk, shut it and left the Dodge Intrepid parked on the street, authorities said.The victim survived and was discovered the next day by a truck driver who heard cries from the trunk.
Abdullah served jail time in connection with that shooting, but when he was released he allegedly further tightened his control of the cocaine trade in Elizabeth, then expanded into Newark neighborhood. Anyone selling cocaine on his turf had to purchase it from him, or face violent retaliation, authorities said.Last November, authorities raided several of Abdullah's alleged stash houses, arresting 15 people and recovering more than three kilos of cocaine, more than $80,000 in cash and a collection of guns that included a stolen AK-47 assault rifle, according to Romankow. Authorities said Abdullah was not found during the raids. The drug ring allegedly had been operating in Essex and Union counties and distributed at least two kilos of cocaine every week, with a street value of $350,000 per kilo.
The night of April 23, 2009, law enforcement officers attempted to arrest Abdullah in the parking lot of a mall in Edison. But Abdullah, a former Elizabeth high school track star and college football player, led police on a swift foot-chase through the mall parking lot, dashing across six lanes of traffic and into a large apartment complex, where officers said he disappeared in the dark amid dozens of buildings.
Authorities could not say why Abdullah allegedly went from athlete to drug ring operator. Nor could they say how Abdullah has managed to keep hiding from them.
But since the parking lot incident, he may have surfaced one other time. Authorities said Abdullah was spotted by several witnesses and informants at a Hot 97 Summer Jam concert in June. He apparently was sitting in the third row of at the concert, which was attended by 50,000 people.Abdullah has been charged with racketeering, maintaining a narcotics production facility and numerous drug and weapons offenses. Once arrested, authorities said he will be held on $5 million bail.

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27-year-old Marcello Jones was found shot to death

Police Capt. Jody Suit says 27-year-old Marcello Jones was found shot to death about 5 a.m. Saturday inside a unit at the Oak Ridge Apartments.Del City police are investigating an apparent gang-related killing on the city's southwest side.Suit says investigators are questioning two men who were detained at the complex with a gun in their vehicle, but he says its not known if the men are connected to the shooting.He says officers were called to the complex several times late Friday and early Saturday to reports of fighting and shots fired.

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Raul Lopez, 19, and Jorge Luis Meza Ruiz, 22, pleaded not guilty to a charge of first-degree murder.

The men are accused in the fatal shooting of Andres Chavarin on Tuesday night outside his house in the 700 block of Yucatan Way.Defendants usually enter a not-guilty plea during arraignment hearings.This is the second time this year that the District Attorney's Office has charged a teenager as an adult.In April, 17-year-old Ezekiel Lopez-Figueroa was charged as an adult in the death of 11-year-old King City resident Esther Rubio.Lopez-Figueroa pleaded not guilty in June to murder, attempted murder, gang enhancements and conspiracy charges.Esther and her older brother were shot after a soccer match Dec. 2 at King City High School.

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Carlos "Flaco" Espinoza was arrested Friday, along with Juan Nunez, Antonio Gayosso, both 19; and Julio Montoya, 21.

Carlos "Flaco" Espinoza was arrested Friday, along with Juan Nunez, Antonio Gayosso, both 19; and Julio Montoya, 21. They are accused of obtaining a gun, driving around in separate cars in search of rival gang members and shooting at them, according to court papers filed by the Monterey County District Attorney's Office.Prosecutors say Espinoza pulled the trigger in the shooting death of Jose Manuel Perez, 15.
All four defendants are charged with murder and related crimes, and prosecutors said they were acting on behalf of the Sureno street gang.Perez played football for Salinas High and was described Monday by Salinas Police Chief Louis Fetherolf as "an innocent bystander." Perez was fatally wounded at 2:15 p.m. Thursday on the 500 block of Terrance Street. He was walking to football practice at the time.
Nunez, Montoya and Gayosso appeared before Superior Court Judge Adrienne Grover on Monday, but their arraignment was delayed until 1:30 p.m. today because Espinoza had not been transported from Juvenile Hall to the courtroom.

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18th Street Gang linked to three handguns found in a car

Alex Estudyo-Herrera, 30, and Carlos Alberto Reyes, 23, both described as suspected gang members, face weapons charges after they were linked to three handguns found in a car and in Reyes' home, police said. The arrests come as police have stepped up pressure on residents to report weapons and drug dealing after a string of shootings in recent weeks.Police approached the men at 6:30 p.m. Saturday outside a home on Commercial Avenue and Redmond Street after learning they might be at that location, police Sgt. David Martella said. They allegedly tried to flee and got into a Ford Explorer, but were cornered by police.Inside the car, police found a defaced .32-caliber revolver that Estudyo-Herrera is suspected of dropping to the floor of the passenger's side, Martella said. Police also found a chrome .380-caliber handgun in Reyes' front pocket, he said.Both were arrested at the scene with the loaded semiautomatic weapons. A later search of Reyes' home at 823 Nassau St. in North Brunswick netted a third gun — a .22-caliber revolver — and a bag of hollow-point bullets, Martella said.The men are believed to be members of the 18th Street Gang, he said.Reyes was charged with two counts each of possession of a handgun and possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose, along with possession of hollow point bullets. Information about his bail was not immediately available.Estudyo-Herrera, charged with possession of a handgun and possession of a handgun for an unlawful purpose, was being held Monday at the Middlesex County Adult Correction Center in North Brunswick in lieu of $48,000 bail.The effort, bolstered by information developed over more than a week, was carried out by investigators from the department's Street Crimes Unit and uniformed patrol officers, Martella said

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Jorge Luis Meza Ruiz, 22, and Raul Lopez, 19, both of Salinas, made their first appearance in court following their arrests

Jorge Luis Meza Ruiz, 22, and Raul Lopez, 19, both of Salinas, made their first appearance in court following their arrests in the fatal shooting Tuesday night of Andres Chavarin outside his home in the 700 block of Yucatan Way.Chavarin's death marked the 20th homicide in the city this year and the sixth gang-related killing in a string of street violence that began July 27. The city saw its 21st homicide of 2009 on Thursday afternoon.Monterey County Superior Court Judge Adrienne Grover continued the arraignment to 1:30 p.m. Monday. Defendants typically plead not guilty during these initial court hearings.Ruiz and Lopez are charged with first-degree murder and acting for the benefit of a criminal street gang. Ruiz is additionally charged with the personal use of a firearm.At 8 p.m. Tuesday, officers found Chavarin lying in the front yard of his home. The teen, who had suffered several gunshot wounds, was taken to Natividad Medical Center and pronounced dead.Witnesses told police they saw two people drive away from the shooting in a white Ford F-250 pickup, and witnesses immediately pointed police to a mobile home park in the 1200 block of Rider Avenue.Near the location, patrol officers encountered the pickup, pulled it over and arrested its occupants, Ruiz and Lopez.Monterey-based attorney Lawrence E. Biegel, who made a special appearance on behalf of Lopez on Thursday afternoon, said in court that he wanted a chance to review the police reports in the homicide arrests before deciding whether to take the case.Grover extended the hearing to give the attorneys time to informally discuss the reports that police forwarded to prosecutors."I just want to know what the allegations are," Biegel said after the hearing.David Rabow, a deputy district attorney, initially declined to allow Biegel access to the reports, saying he was unwilling to show them to someone who was not committing to represent Lopez.During Thursday's hearing, Ruiz listened to the judge's explanation of the charges against him through a Spanish interpreter. Represented by the Public Defender's Office, he agreed to continue his arraignment to Monday. Ruiz remains in custody on $1.1 million bail. Lopez is being held on just over $1 million bail.Biegel said he was contacted by Lopez's family members who are interested in retaining him for the case. He said Lopez's three brothers, a sister and sister-in-law showed up in court on Thursday. Lopez's parents were not present, Biegel said."They're very concerned, obviously [Lopez] is somebody without a record," he said, adding that Lopez is the youngest son in a large family. "His parents are having a very tough time."

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The “Dream Team.” organized criminal enterprise that committed bank robberies and armed robberies around Genesee County

charged 21 individuals who were part of an organized criminal enterprise that committed bank robberies and armed robberies around Genesee County over the past few years. The names and birthdates of those charged are:
Dwayne Dejuan Alexander, 5/02/90
Raymond Louis Brown III, 4/28/90
Jequillian Tyran Chandler, 5/18/89
Sharron Frederick Criss, 9/07/90
Demetrius Damon Earl, 6/15/88
Denell Dequan Jenkins, 6/28/88
Quavone Corandas Jenkins, 5/29/91
Troy Mackner Jiles, 4/15/89
Robert Lee Lewis, 9/17/90
Shukariya Loetrian Mason, 10/27/91
Javonte Tyreece McMillian, 1/04/90
Isaac Ryan Moore, 4/04/85
Datwain Lee Perkins, 5/16/90
Darrius Jequan Robinson, 1/23/1989
Devonta Montez Smith, 4/24/90
Kalien Kenard Stubbs, 3/21/90
Michael Courtney Wilbon, 12/05/91
Rashulae Alola Wilbon-Streeter, 12/27/90
Eric Darnell Williams, 8/31/89
Tashuan Cortez Woodley, 11/25/89
Prosecutor Leyton said that his office began receiving reports around 3-4 years ago involving a group of young criminals who called themselves the “Dream Team.” They were involved with drug activity, robberies, various other crimes, and conflicts with other local gangs. Over time, they began to associate with members of a local rap group called the “Block Boyz” and, eventually, they combined together and took on the street name of “Dynasty.” Additionally, some of the members of this gang associated themselves with yet another group who called themselves “FOE” which stood for Family Over Everything.Over time, local law enforcement agencies and the Prosecutor’s Office began to piece together a pattern of criminal activity that involved bank robberies and armed robberies in the City of Flint, Flint Township, Grand Blanc Township, and the City of Burton.The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) were brought into the investigation and last month, July 2009, 21 arrest warrants were authorized and around 20 search warrants were executed by the ATF and Grand Blanc Township police with the aid of local agencies. During the execution of those search warrants, numerous guns were found along with other incriminating evidence pointing to gang activity. Arrest warrants have been issued against 21 individuals and 20 of the 21 have either been arrested or have turned themselves in and are awaiting preliminary examinations in 67th District Court. In all, More than 260 counts have been charged.Charges against these individuals include:armed robbery and bank robbery which carry a penalty of life in prison or any term of years;conducting a criminal enterprise and conspiracy to conduct a criminal enterprise, both 20-year felonies with possible fines of One Hundred Thousand Dollars along with forfeiture of all proceeds from the criminal activities; and various gun charges.The robberies took place at various gas stations, banks, and stores in Grand Blanc Township, Burton, Flint Township, and the City of Flint.

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Salvatore and Manuel Alas from El Salvador arrested in Saratoga Springs are members of the violent international gang MS13

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Monday arrested three men living above the Big Apple Restaurant & Lounge on Route 9 on charges of illegal immigration, and two of them were found to be "associated with the MS13 gang," ICE spokesman Harold Ort said. The criminal gang is known formally as Mara Salvatrucha, and its members have been involved with contract killings, human trafficking, home invasions, assaults and other crimes. It typically has operated in the Southwest and on the West Coast.Two El Salvador nationals arrested in Saratoga Springs are members of the violent international gang MS13, and police are investigating whether a Salvadoran from Corinth who is charged in the kidnapping of a 24-year-old woman is part of the group, authorities said Wednesday.Two of the men who were arrested worked at the restaurant. Noting that most of the gang's members are Salvadorans, Saratoga County District Attorney James A. Murphy III said they ''have a reputation of being extremely violent, in fact one of the most violent gangs."He said members have typically sported tattoos, but have recently started using tattoos that are visible only under ultraviolet light. Ort would not identify the three men arrested Monday as part of what he described as a targeted enforcement action. He confirmed that one of the suspects had been released.Guy Benacquista, co-owner of Big Apple, identified two of the men as cousins Salvatore and Manuel Alas from El Salvador. He said they had worked as lunch cooks at the restaurant since it opened almost two years ago. An Albany County jail spokeswoman on Wednesday confirmed the two men were there. The third man had been living with the Alas cousins and was freed after making $10,000 bail, Benacquista said."All three aliens were arrested for violations of the immigration law and are awaiting a hearing before a federal judge," Ort said.
The arrests came a week after State Police apprehended Victor V. Hernandez-Perez of Corinth and charged him with felony kidnapping and robbery in a crime that shocked the community. Police say the 23-year-old Salvadoran attacked and abducted a woman in downtown Saratoga Springs and threatened her with sexual assault and death.
The woman escaped naked and bloody from the man's van more than 10 miles away, police said.Authorities say Hernandez-Perez is an illegal immigrant who got his job at Bentley's Restaurant on Route 9 with forged residency and Social Security documents. He is being held in Saratoga County jail without bail; police are investigating if he is a member of MS13, Murphy said. Ort would say only that ICE could seek the removal of Hernandez-Perez from the U.S. A county grand jury is considering Hernandez-Perez's case this week. Police are investigating if his DNA matches that of suspects in open criminal cases, including a report of a Hispanic man who knocked out and sexually abused a woman in the Lake George area on June 30. Warren County investigators could not be reached for an update on that case on Wednesday.The arrests of the Alas cousins shocked Benacquista, a first-generation American who came from Italy in 1955 and is sensitive to helping immigrants. The workers were about 30, and had presented proof of their residency and Social Security numbers, Benacquista said. He had thought the pair were "clean- cut, dependable, hard working."

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William Rodriguez, a 29-year-old Modesto resident and known gang member, was arrested and several other known gang members were detained

Modesto Police Department
William Rodriguez, a 29-year-old Modesto resident and known gang member, was arrested and several other known gang members were detained during the investigation and warrant service.The search warrant was a result of an investigation into the sale of illegal narcotics and gang activity at the home. An assault rifle, a sawed-off shotgun, and other firearms were found in the home. In addition to the seizure of eight firearms, investigators discovered over half an ounce of methamphetamine, approximately an ounce of marijuana, and over $2,000 in cash at the home.Rodriguez was arrested for his involvement in the March 29 assault on a Modesto police officer. During that incident the officer was surrounded by a group of gang members after attempting to break up a street fight.Rodriguez was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police officer, lynching, and false imprisonment of a police officer for his involvement in the March incident.Rodriguez, out on bail from the previous incident, was arrested Monday for possession of a controlled substance while in possession of a firearm, possession of methamphetamine for sale, possession of marijuana for sale, being a gang member in possession of a firearm, committing a felony while out on bail, possession of a prohibited weapon, and participation in a criminal street gang.He will be booked at the Stanislaus County jail.

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Gulfton area is the headquarters for a gang known as the Southwest Cholos.

war zone as rival gangs fight for territory and power. Gulfton area is the headquarters for a gang known as the Southwest Cholos. Three weeks ago, outside of a nightclub on Clarewood, Houston police say a Southwest Cholo gang member was shot several times in the parking lot. Carlos Rogue, 17, died at the hospital. Witnesses said the shooter was Eric Hernandez, an MS-13 gang member. Police found him three days later, and now he’s sitting in jail, charged with murder. 11 News has learned that in recent months, MS-13 gang members have been coming into the Gulfton area, looking to take control. Just last Friday, paramedics and police were called to another scene where an alleged Southwest Cholo was severely beaten by a group of MS-13 affiliates. The victim went into seizures, but survived. Reverend Alejandro Montes of the San Mateo Iglesia Episcopal has witnessed the gang wars firsthand in Gulfton. He’s a member of P.A.C.T., a police and clergy team fighting the violence.
“When I see kids 15-16 years old, it is very hard. I think it could be one of my church kids, you know,” Montes said. Montes said stopping the violence starts with the entire family, because for the youth in Gulfton, gangs and violence have become a way of life. “We just kind of learn to live with it, because it happens so often. It’s kind of like breathing. We don’t talk about breathing, it just happens,” Wendy Pineda, the youth coordinator at San Mateo, said. “I had like 10-year-olds, elementary school children talking to me about it,” she said. The mayor’s anti-gang office said it’s currently working with 10 gang members in the Gulfton area who are looking for a way out, and 300 kids from Gulfton participated in the mayor’s summer camp program. The young singles who moved to Gulfton in the late 70s and early 80s eventually lost their jobs during the oil bust and moved away. Rents plummeted, and Gulfton changed. Now it’s home to gangs fighting for control and innocent residents ducking for cover.

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Mith Phakdy, 30, of Newark, and John Seuasoukeng, 23, of Weed, arrested

Mith Phakdy, 30, of Newark, and John Seuasoukeng, 23, of Weed, were arrested just after midnight on Ninth Street and Newville Road in Orland, the Glenn County Sheriff's Department reported.The men were stopped in a 2004 Jeep Grand Cherokee by a Glenn County Sheriff's deputy who believed the driver, Phakdy, may have been intoxicated, according to a statement from Sheriff Larry Jones.Phakdy, a registered gang member on probation in Alameda County, was not intoxicated. Seuasoukeng is a registered gang member on probation in Siskiyou County, Jones said.Deputies found two concealed handguns – a loaded Taurus .45-caliber semi-automatic and an unloaded .40-caliber Glock – in the back seat during a subsequent vehicle search. The serial numbers on both weapons were partially removed. Both guns were sent to the state Justice Department for analysis, the sheriff reported.Jones said it was not clear why they were in the area, but added there was evidence the two were gambling at Rolling Hills Casino in Corning."We did find $4,000 they won from gambling in the center console," Jones said. Investigators were able to verify the money as gambling proceeds, he said.Phakdy and Seuasoukeng were booked into Glenn County Jail on suspicion of being felons in possession of firearms, being criminal street gang members carrying loaded firearms in public and tampering with identification marks on firearms, all felonies.Each posted a $35,000 bail bond and were released the same day. They are set to appear Sept. 9 in Glenn County Superior Court.

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Westside gang drug agents raided five homes and businesses, confiscating cars, guns and cash. Sixteen people were arrested.

Cars came and went at all hours at the homes of Daniel Perez, 27, accused of leading the Westside gang, and his brother David Perez, 25. The brothers disappeared for days at a time. Nobody seemed to work.drug agents raided five homes and businesses, confiscating cars, guns and cash. Sixteen people were arrested. Most remain jailed. Two more are on the run.Most are charged with conspiracy to traffic cocaine. Daniel Perez could be sentenced to life in prison if convicted of directing the activities of a criminal gang.Like many other gangs, Westside used fronts to wash cash, investigators said.Members operated the hot-dog shop and a secretarial service elsewhere in Winter Garden, arrest papers show. Although they didn’t do much business, a steady flow of money was deposited into corporate accounts. Investigators said it came from drug profits.“It gives it the appearance of legitimacy,” said the lead case agent, Brent Harrison of the Florida Department of Law Enforcement.The arrests stemmed from a painstaking 11-month investigation that involved intercepted cell-phone conversations among gang members, surveillance, bank records and the use of informants.The scope of the group’s enterprises was large for a neighborhood gang, said Chuck Broadway, the FDLE supervisor on the case. But gangs of all sizes are a growing problem in Florida and throughout the U.S., experts said.
Once confined largely to South Florida, gangs have spread to Central Florida, Tampa and beyond. Orlando has about 2,500 gang members, according to the National Gang Intelligence Center.In this cyber age, MySpace and Facebook have become strong recruiting tools for young people. In 2007, 15.5 percent of Florida middle- and high-schoolers surveyed said at least one of their closest friends had belonged to a gang in the past year.Last year, Attorney General Bill McCollum unveiled a gang-reduction strategy, citing an “alarming” problem in the state. The Westside arrests were a result of that strategy, which targets kingpins.Most of Westside’s members grew up together in the Winter Garden area and were documented as a gang in 1997. They started with small-time shenanigans such as graffiti, fights and hanging out, rising to trafficking in large quantities of cocaine and marijuana, Harrison said.The gang isn’t nearly as widespread as the notorious Crips or Bloods. But there are about 80 members and associates in Central Florida, Texas and Mexico, including the Perez brothers; their mother, Olga Perez, 47; and a cousin, Adam Medina, 22, who was a drug runner, court papers show.A traffic stop in Louisiana yielded 40 kilos of cocaine. The man transporting the drug from Texas told them it was to be delivered to a man named “Fierro” in Clermont. Investigators say Daniel Perez is Fierro, which if spelled with one “r” means “fierce” in Spanish.Undercover agents delivered the cocaine and arrested a longtime Westside member, Nicolas Heller, 26, a runner for Daniel Perez, documentation shows. He is serving a six-year federal prison term for conspiracy to traffic cocaine and is a witness for the prosecution in the current case.Heller named the No. 2 man at Westside, Hector Escalante, 26, as a cocaine supplier. The two have known each other since they were 14. Escalante, arrested in July 2006 on cocaine charges, told a DEA agent that he distributed nearly 200 kilos of cocaine supplied by Daniel Perez.Escalante also told the DEA that Perez obtained his cocaine in a community in Mexico where Perez’s father owns a home. Investigators think Perez’s stepmother brought the cocaine to Texas, where she owns a clothing store and where Perez’s grandmother and father live, arrest papers state. The stepmother has not been charged.Though the drug trade is risky, gang members earned far more than the average working person, court papers show. Ten vehicles, including Hummers, a BMW, a Chevrolet Tahoe, a Chrysler 300 and a Dodge Magnum, were seized in Clermont and Winter Garden during the May raid.Five guns, $30,000, cocaine and computers also were confiscated. In the past four years, 125 pounds of cocaine and 100 pounds of marijuana tied to the group were seized, Harrison said.Escalante admitted delivering $810,000 in drug payments, hidden in a concealed compartment in a Suzuki Forenza, in three trips to Texas in 2006. He earned $5,000 for the first trip and $24,000 each for the others. On each of the last two occasions, he brought 20 kilograms of cocaine back to Central Florida with him, he told authorities.

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Cnange from Cobras street gang to Young Latin Organization Disciples,Change Gangs get Shot

The Northwest Side man who goes by the name "TK," or "True Killer" was involved in last summer's murder of Alfonso Cintron, 33, and Mario Arteaga, 36 but is not believed to be the shooter, police sources said.Edwin Figueroa was so intent on proving he left the Cobras, he helped kill two of its alleged members to prove his allegiance to his new gang, Cook County prosecutors said.Figueroa, 22, was ordered held without bail Thursday for the July 28, 2008, murders.Figueroa and an uncharged man nicknamed "Smurf" wanted to switch from the Cobras street gang to the Young Latin Organization Disciples, Assistant State's Attorney George Canellis said. So, to show devotion to their new gang, the pair allegedly announced they would go out looking for Cobras to shoot.The two, along with some other Disciples, were around the 4300 block of West Wrightwood when they noticed the two victims sitting in a Lincoln Continental, authorities said. That's when Cintron and Arteaga thought to be Cobras were shot.Figueroa was charged after telling someone else he was involved, police said. He gave a videotaped statement this week saying he was present at the murders, authorities said.Police said they have other suspects in the slaying but that they have not been charged.

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“Down West Boys” street gang, based in Bennettsville, and affiliate themselves with Folk/Crip gangs

Patrick “Big Pat” Broughton; David “Demont” Ward, also known as “Black David”; Demario “Mazo” Baker; Demario “dee” Hasty; Marlon “Fish” Hasty; Lokheim Campbell; and James Luther “Nitty” McLean, also known as “Little Nitty.” Deputies, along with police, SLED agents, U.S. Marshals and S.C. Department of Probation, Pardon and Parole Services agents made the arrests in Bennettsville, Florence and Lumberton, N.C.Investigators said they believe the suspects are members of the “Down West Boys” street gang, based in Bennettsville, and affiliate themselves with Folk/Crip gangs, according to a sheriff’s office press release. It’s thought the suspects have acted together since 2004 to commit several violent crimes, robberies and drug conspiracies.“We feel that we have made a huge impact of violent crime today in Marlboro County and anticipate the development of new information and more arrests related to this case and other cases in the near future,” sheriff’s Lt. Jamie Seales said in the release.The suspects will be arraigned in federal court in Florence on Friday morning, where they will be notified of the counts and specifics of the indictment.“It is my hope that these arrests will wake up some of the younger gang members in Marlboro County and help them realize what a life of crime does to their future,” Sheriff Fred Knight said in the release. “I would also like to say that once again, teamwork and cooperation between agencies has resulted in more successful arrests and a case we feel will impact gang crime in our county.“

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Leroy Frasier, and 14 Indiana and Michigan-based members and associates of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club have plead guilty

Leroy Frasier, who oversaw the Michigan and Indiana Outlaws, will be sentenced Oct. 27 by U.S. District Judge Julian Cook.The original indictment alleged that the Outlaws Motorcycle Club is an enterprise whose members allegedly committed, attempted to, and threatened to commit acts of violence to protect and expand the gang’s criminal operations. Several of the defendants were charged with allegedly assaulting various members of the rival Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, in some cases with dangerous weapons including a hammer, motorcycle parts and a cane. Several defendants allegedly dealt narcotics, including methamphetamine, marijuana, hashish and cocaine, while others were charged with various firearms offenses.The gang as chapters in Indiana, Detroit, the Downriver area and Bay City, officials said. The 13 other defendants began pleading guilty last year. "The guilty pleas by a large number of leaders and members of this illegal motorcycle gang are a good example of the success that comes from effective federal, state and local law enforcement cooperation,” said U.S. Attorney Terrence Berg. “This case has managed to put a damper on the heightened dangers of violence and other criminal acts posed by organized gangs such as the Outlaws." The guilty pleas included leaders, members and gang associates of Outlaws’ chapters in Fort Wayne, Ind., Indianapolis, and areas of Detroit including Eastside, Detroit Westside, Downriver and Bay City.
The defendants were charged with various crimes including violent crimes in aid of racketeering; conspiracy to commit violent crimes in aid of racketeering; distribution and possession with intent to distribute cocaine, methamphetamine, marijuana and hashish; possessing a firearm after conviction for a felony; and sale of a firearm to a known felon. 14 Indiana and Michigan-based members and associates of the Outlaws Motorcycle Club have pleaded guilty to federal assault, drug and other charges.U.S. Attorney Terrence Berg and other law-enforcement officials announced Thursday the pleas were entered in federal court in Detroit as far back as August 2008.The government says leaders, members and associates of Outlaws chapters in Indianapolis, Fort Wayne, Ind., Bay City, Mich., and the Detroit area pleaded guilty to crimes including assault with a dangerous weapon, cocaine and marijuana distribution and possession of hashish.Prosecutors describe the Outlaws as an international criminal organization.

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Shooting in connection with an ongoing dispute between members of the "Folk" gang, and the Trinitarios

Confrontations between rival gang members led to one teen being shot and two others jailed on charges that they both fired handguns at him and another youth, according to police reports.The victim, identified in court records as "Raul H.," 17, of Nashua, was shot in the pelvis and right forearm, and remains in stable condition at Southern New Hampshire Medical Center, Detective Lt. Jeff Bukunt said Wednesday.The victim knew one of the suspects, Jeffrey Ramos, 17, of 75 Lock St., and detectives found and questioned Ramos Tuesday evening, according to police reports filed Wednesday in Nashua District Court.Ramos admitted to shooting in the direction of Raul H. and another youth with him, Cesar Walteros, 18, of 2 Friar Tuck Lane, but said he meant only to scare them, police reported. Ramos is accused of firing four rounds toward the youths. Ramos and another witness also implicated Silvio "Carlos" Torres, 20, of 43 Chestnut St., who is accused of firing a single round. Police found five, .40 caliber shell casings in the street at the scene.Both Ramos and Torres were jailed after arraignment Wednesday in Nashua District Court, with probable cause hearings scheduled next week. Ramos' bail was set at $160,000 cash, and Torres at $100,000 cash. Each faces felony assault and reckless conduct charges.The incident was the first gang-related shooting of a person in recent history in Nashua, Bukunt and Police Chief Donald Conley said, and Conley stressed that gang violence would remain a top priority for police."I want to make sure the community knows that this kind of act, people that involve themselves in this kind of behavior, it's going to end up being on our top priority list," Conley said. "We're going to go after them with everything we have. People are going to be held accountable, and it's zero tolerance for this kind of behavior."
Conley said he expects the two youths will receive significant prison sentences if convicted of the shooting, despite the fact that neither has any prior criminal record as an adult.Until police find the firearms, it may be impossible to determine which of the suspects actually shot Raul H. One of the bullets passed entirely through the teen's forearm, while the other lodged near his lower spine, and was surgically removed and seized as evidence, Bukunt said."The investigation is still very active and ongoing, and we are working toward recovering the weapons," Bukunt said, adding later, "Detectives in the YSD have been working around the clock on this investigation."Witnesses, the victim and suspects all indicated that the shooting was gang-related, as Raul H. and his friends are associated or members of the "Folk" gang, and the suspects are associates or members of the local Trinitarios. The two groups don't get along, for no particular reason, Bukunt said.
"The shooting was in connection with an ongoing dispute between two groups of suspected gang members," Bukunt said. Walteros and Raul H. had been hanging about outside 68 Ash St. with a group of other youths Monday night, and had just left in Walteros' car shortly before 11 p.m. when Raul H. spotted Ramos, Torres and Torres' 16-year-old brother Michael, witnesses told police.Raul H. and Walteros both got out of the car, and yelled back to his friends nearby, to warn them, he later told police. Michael Torres said both Walteros and Raul H. were yelling at them, police report.Handguns were drawn and police charge that Ramos fired four rounds, while Silvio Torres fired one. Michael Torres was already running down Buck Street when he heard the shots, and the other two youths followed hard on his heels, police reported.Several of Raul H.'s friends drove him to the hospital, police report.Police later got video footage from the home security camera of a residence on Buck Street, which shows the three suspects fleeing, although they were not immediately identifiable on the tape, according to court records.In addition to attempted assault charges, for allegedly firing at Raul H., Ramos and Torres each face reckless conduct charges alleging that they endangered Walteros, who was not hit, and a woman who was sleeping in a nearby home at 87 Ash St. Police recovered a round from the wall of her bedroom, which likely would have penetrated the wall had it not hit a stud, Bukunt said.Ramos is unemployed, and lives with his mother and brothers, he told Judge Brackett Scheffy. Torres works at a local laboratory equipment manufacturer, and also lives with his mother and younger brothers, whom he said he helps support.Police caught up with Torres at his home at about 12:30 a.m. Wednesday, but he declined to speak about the shooting, police report.

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Armando Quintero Guerra La Familia Michoacana targeted arrest

La Familia Michoacana targeted arrests the cartel operates in its namesake state of Michoacan in southwest Mexico.Armando Quintero Guerra, who federal police said was in charge of the cartel's expenses, was among six people arrested Tuesday, said Ramon Eduardo Pequeno, head of the anti-drug unit of the public security ministry.
Also arrested was Lourdes Medina Hernandez, who is in a relationship with La Familia's top boss, Servando Gomez, Pequeno said at a news conference.The string of arrests followed the killing of 12 off-duty federal police officers whose bodies were found with signs of torture off a remote highway on July 14. Hit men for La Familia Michoacana linked to the killings were arrested last week, authorities said.
Authorities more than tripled the number of federal police officers patrolling Michoacan in response to the killings. The killings were among a series of reprisals by La Familia after federal police captured one of the group's top leaders, authorities said.An unprecedented wave of violence has washed over Mexico since President Felipe Calderon declared war on the drug cartels shortly after coming into office in 2006. More than 10,000 people have died in that time span, about 1,000 of them police.

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MS-13 street gang targeted victims based on race and suspected rivalries

Alexander Aguilar, 18, of Deer Park, pleaded not guilty to second-degree murder in the July 20 slaying of Edgar Villalobos. The case has sparked criticism of Suffolk police cutbacks because Villalobos' body remained on a Brentwood street for at least nine hours.Jose Gomez Amaya, 20, of Central Islip, and Edwin Ortiz, 19, of Brentwood, also pleaded not guilty to killing Villalobos, 28, of Bay Shore.
Assistant District Attorney Denise Merrifield said Gomez Amaya was the one who stabbed Villalobos, while Ortiz was the driver and later went back to the scene "and made sure he was dead by kicking him."Aguilar held Villalobos down during the attack, Merrifield said. All three are members of the MS-13 street gang and targeted victims based on race and suspected rivalries, Merrifield said. Aguilar is also charged with felony assault for shooting Wilson Batista in the face on June 15. Batista, 13, is still hospitalized, said his father, Wilson Batista Sr. "He's up and down," the boy's father said. "He's not talking."Also in court were relatives of Dexter Acheampong, who was shot to death in Central Islip on May 26. Ortiz is charged with second-degree murder for acting in concert by being the driver in that case, Merrifield said, while the shooter remains at large.Merrifield said Acheampong, 24, of Medford, was targeted because he was black and mistaken for a rival gang member.

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Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang member arrested

Leichhardt man presented himself at Glebe Police Station this morning and was taken to Newtown Police Station where he was charged with riot and affray. 37-year-old man has become the latest alleged bikie charged in connection with a fatal brawl between rival gangs at Sydney airport. Police allege he is a member of the Comanchero outlaw motorcycle gang and that he was among those fighting with Hells Angels gang members at the airport's domestic terminal on March 22. Anthony Zervas, 29, was bashed and stabbed with scissors during the fight and died as a result. On Monday, the 37-year-old suspect was refused bail to appear in Newtown Local Court.

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