Hells Angels associate Sean Michael Heickert is charged with first-degree murder

Hells Angels associate Sean Michael Heickert one of two men wounded in a gang-related shooting in Thompson in August is charged with first-degree murder, RCMP said. Mounties have arrested and charged a Sean Michael Heickert in the murder of gang leader Bekim Zeneli, who was shot to death almost 10 months ago. RCMP said additional arrests are possible. It's believed Heickert was targeted in the shooting for his alleged involvement in the murder of Zeneli, 33. No one has been arrested. Zeneli, who co-founded the LHS street gang with his brother Mohammed, was found dead in an apartment in Thompson on Dec. 7, 2007.
At one time, LHS -- standing for "Loyalty, Honour, Silence" -- was aligned with the Hells Angels. There has been increasing violence in Thompson in the last year or two due to a power struggle over the drug trade in northern Manitoba. Heickert was taken into custody for questioning shortly after the homicide but was released without charge last December. Heickert was arrested by RCMP this week. He remains in custody. Last year, Heickert was the target of a murder plot as part of a drug turf war in Thompson. That forced police to pull the plug on Project Drill, a year-long undercover investigation into Hells Angels members and associates, last December. Heickert's brother -- Oshawa, Ont., Hells Angels member James Heickert -- and two other men are charged with conspiring to kill him.

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Todd Anthony O'Connor, a former member of the Nomads' outlaw motorcycle gang shot dead

Dead man was named in the media as Sydney underworld identity Todd Anthony O'Connor, a former member of the Nomads' outlaw motorcycle gang.Gangland links are being examined by police after the man was shot in a quiet area of Tempe, in Sydney's south, on Sunday night.He also was said to be a founding member of the Notorious crime gang, which has been linked to the drugs trade in inner-Sydney areas such as Kings Cross and the Oxford Street nightclub district.Police would not confirm the dead man's identity.A spokeswoman for the State Crime Command said Strike Force Colbee had been established to investigate the shooting.The investigation would be headed by detectives from the homicide squad, but would also include the gangs squad and the Middle Eastern organised crime squad, she said.
The gangs squad is charged with investigating outlaw motorcycle gangs.Police rushed to the street in Tempe just before 9pm (AEDT) on Sunday after passers-by saw the critically wounded man staggering along South Street.Officers unsuccessfully tried to revive the man, who was found lying in the middle of road with shotgun wounds to his head and neck

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Den Internationale Klub has demanded that the Hells Angels hands over three members of its support group, and provides financial compensation

Den Internationale Klub has demanded that the Hells Angels hands over three members of its support group, and provides financial compensation. Den Internationale Klub’s Leader Danny Abdallah has demanded that the three named members of the AK81 group be handed over for punishment, and that the Hells Angels pays four million kroner in blood money for the death of 19-year-old Osman Nuri Dogan who was killed outside a pizza bar in August. The killing caused a heated armed conflict to erupt between the Hells Angels and immigrant gangs. A member of the AK81 group, which is a support group for the Hells Angels, has been charged with the killing but police have not had enough evidence to have him jailed. “What I’m saying is that we can find a solution. The Hells Angels must hand over the three people who were involved in killing Osman. Over and above that they must pay four million kroner in damages to Osmans family. That is hardly a big sum for a club such as Hells Angels,” Danny Abdallah told B.T. “If you do something like that, you have to pay for it,” he says.

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Eva Daley Convicted Of Driving Kids To Gang Murder

Daley, 31, had been charged with first-degree murder but the jury opted for the lesser conviction after deliberating for more than two days. She faces 15 years to life in prison when she is sentenced Nov. 4.Her co-defendant, Heriberto Garcia, was also convicted of second-degree murder for fatally stabbing 13-year-old Jose Cano near a Long Beach skate park in June 2007. Garcia, one of the passengers in Daley's vehicle, is 17 but was tried as an adult.Five other teenagers, including Daley's son, admitted a manslaughter charge in juvenile court and could remain in state custody until age 25. The case of another youth is still pending in juvenile court.
Daley's defense attorney, Javier Ramirez, argued that Daley didn't know what was going to occur when the boys, including her eldest son, piled out of her vehicle at the park. Daley testified last week that she didn't know anyone was killed until she was arrested the next day.Prosecutors said Cano's slaying could have been retaliation for the stabbing of Daley's son about six months earlier or for an incident earlier that night, when gang members threw flares toward at her apartment complex.Deputy District Attorney John Lonergan said Garcia stabbed Cano nine times.
Garcia's attorney, Jack Fuller, told jurors that the prosecution had not proven premeditation and deliberation or intent to kill.Garcia, who faces 15 years to life in prison, is scheduled to be sentenced Oct. 28.

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Fatal shooting of Mark Guardado. Christopher Ablett, a member of the rival Mongols motorcycle gang, turned himself in

Christopher Ablett, 37, of Modesto, a member of the rival Mongols motorcycle gang, turned himself in on Saturday and is awaiting extradition to San Francisco in connection with the Sept. 2 fatal shooting of Mark Guardado.Suspect in the September slaying of the president of the San Francisco chapter of the Hells Angels surrendered himself to authorities over the weekend in Oklahoma, San Francisco police said today.San Francisco authorities had issued a $5 million warrant for Ablett's arrest. Guardado, 46, was shot dead around 10:30 p.m. outside a bar in San Francisco's Mission District. Police later identified Ablett as the suspect and seized a motorcycle and other evidence at his Modesto home, but could not locate him and urged him to surrender to police.Guardado's funeral in Daly City on Sept. 15 was attended by about 1,000 Hells Angels members and associates.On Sept. 18, explosives detonated in the San Jose driveway of another Mongols member, damaging two parked cars. Authorities could not confirm whether it was an act of retaliation.

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Anthony John Austin, a documented member of a Boise street gang, was sentenced toserve 101 months in federal prison

Anthony John Austin, a documented member of a Boise street gang, was sentenced toserve 101 months in federal prison for possession with intent to distribute methamphetamine andfor using a firearm in relation to a drug trafficking crime.
Austin was prosecuted by the Special Assistant United States Attorney hired by the Treasure Valley Partnership under its SAUSA program. Austin's prosecution was also part of Idaho's Project Safe Neighborhoods Anti-Gang Initiative, designed to reduce gun violence in the state." Today's sentencing proves that the Treasure Valley now has an effective tool to combat gang activity," Boise Mayor David Bieter said. "The length of this sentence should send a message to other gang members that this type of activity will not be tolerated in our community."Austin, 27, was indicted on Feb. 13 after an extensive investigation by the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Boise City Police Department's Gang Unit. He pleaded guilty to both crimes in federal court on July 7. He was sentenced on Thursday by U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill at the Federal Courthouse in Boise.Despite Austin's lack of prior felonies, the combination of guns, drugs and gang activity
resulted in the lengthy prison sentence. Federal law mandates a five-year prison sentence when afirearm is used in connection with drug trafficking activities. The five-year term will be servedconsecutively to the drug sentence.

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Jury found Robert Pettus, 22, guilty of raping and murdering Martha E. Byrd

Jury found Robert Pettus, 22, guilty of raping and murdering Martha E. Byrd, who lived in the 500 block of Hilltop Terrace SE. Byrd's nude body was found in her bed with a 12-inch knife protruding from her chest. Prosecutors also said Pettus left a handwritten note attached to Byrd's stomach: "You souldns [shouldn't] have cheated on me." Pettus was arrested six days later. Judge Neal E. Kravitz called the crime "unspeakable" and said Pettus "proved himself utterly incapable of living peacefully in the community." During the trial, Byrd's family members and friends spoke about the grandmother who raised four sons and who had arthritis and walked with a cane. Authorities said Pettus strangled Byrd until she lost consciousness, then raped and stabbed her. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gorman had asked Kravitz to sentence Pettus to life without parole. Pettus must spend at least 55 years in prison before being eligible for release. Some of Byrd's family members were disappointed with the sentence.

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Sentenced Nathan Fry to 25 years in prison without parole.

Sentenced Nathan Fry to 25 years in prison without parole.A jury found Mr. Fry, 20, guilty of five counts of first degree murder and one count of attempted murder.
In speaking to Mr. Fry after the jury delivered its verdict, Justice Ian Pitfield said he hardly knew where to begin.“Heinous and cruel do not seem to be adequate” words to describe the crime, Justice Pitfield said, adding that Mr. Fry seemed incapable of expressing any sympathy or remorse for what had happened to the victims.
Nathan Fry, 20, was found guilty Sunday of first-degree murder in the deaths of five people, including three children, in a house fire in May, 2006. (CTV) “The fire and explosion you caused resulted in the deaths of five innocent people and serious injury to someone you regarded as a friend,” the judge said.The judge said Mr. Fry's acts were “planned, deliberate, cruel and callous, depraved, vile and malevolent.”
The deaths were the result of an arson on May 15, 2006 that killed five people, including four members of the Etibako family, who had immigrated to Canada from the Democratic Republic of Congo in 1997.The crown alleged Mr. Fry set the fire to get back at Bolingo Etibako, who in conversations with police implicated Mr. Fry in two stabbings that took place near Sky Train stations in 2005 and for which Mr. Fry spent time in custody.In a videotaped conversation shown in court, Mr. Fry told a man he believed to be a crime boss – in fact an undercover police officer – how he bought gasoline, poured it in through a window of the Etibako home and used a propane torch to set the blaze.The videotaped conversation was the culmination of an extensive undercover operation designed to make Mr. Fry believe he was part of a criminal organization and that he needed to tell the boss about his problem with police in order to take part in a lucrative upcoming job with the gang.In court, Mr. Fry testified that he'd made up those details and was only telling the crime boss what Mr. Fry believed he wanted to hear. Defence lawyer Philip Riddell told jurors there were no witnesses or forensic evidence linking Mr. Fry to the crime.
The fire killed Adela Etibako, 39, and three of her children: Edita, 12, Benedicta, 9 and Stephane, 8. Seventeen-year-old Ashley Singh, Bolingo's girlfriend, was also killed

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Edgar Navarro pleaded guilty Thursday to kidnapping and murdering a 28-year-old St. George man in 2007.

Edgar Navarro pleaded guilty Thursday to kidnapping and murdering a 28-year-old St. George man in 2007. The plea deal scrapped a trial that was set to start Monday.
Navarro, 26, will be sentenced Nov. 18 in St. George's 5th District Court.
Navarro, who had faced a possible life sentence if convicted of first-degree murder, told 5th District Judge Eric Ludlow he was pleading to the second-degree felonies to get lesser consecutive prison sentences of one-to-15 years.
Navarro's Salt Lake City attorney, Susanne Gustin, said the kidnapping charge was put into the plea deal, because prosecutors would not allow her client to plead guilty to a lone second-degree felony.
"He basically decided to not contest or see the evidence against him," Gustin said. "He thought it was in his best interest not to go to trial on this."
Navarro's deal comes more than 18 months after Mark Batin's body was found Jan. 13, 2007, lying off Old Highway 91 in Washington County near the Arizona state line with one gunshot wound to the head.
Navarro was arrested in February 2007 and has remained in Purgatory Correctional Facility on $500,000 bail.
Washington County Prosecutor Brian Filter said the victim's family agreed to the plea deal, but would have preferred aFilter said prosecutors agreed to the deal after weighing the case against Navarro.
As for motive, Filter said Friday it is unclear exactly why Navarro shot Batin, claiming his office heard multiple stories about the incident but would not elaborate.

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Timothy Pinckney Jr.linked by DNA to a cold case has been convicted of raping and killing a woman in Los Angeles in 1988.

Convict linked by DNA to a cold case has been convicted of raping and killing a woman in Los Angeles in 1988. A Superior Court jury deliberated for two hours Friday before convicting Timothy Pinckney Jr. of first-degree murder for the slaying of Ella Lawrence. The district attorney's office says police found Lawrence's battered body 20 years ago near a South Los Angeles high school. Police in 2004 matched DNA taken from the body to a sample taken from Pinckney while he was in prison on a parole violation for an unrelated case. He has been held without bail since then. Pinckney faces 25 years in prison without parole at his sentencing hearing on Nov. 3.

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Sgt Joseph Bozicevich, 39, has been returned to the US from Iraq and is being held in pre-trial confinement at an undisclosed location

Sgt Joseph Bozicevich, 39, has been returned to the US from Iraq and is being held in pre-trial confinement at an undisclosed location in southern Georgia, said Maj Lee Peters, spokesman at Fort Stewart where the soldiers' unit is based.
Bozicevich is charged with the September 14 slayings of Army Staff Sgt Darris Dawson, 24, and Sgt Wesley R Durbin, 26, the military said on Friday. Written charges filed on Thursday against Bozicevich say he shot both soldiers with a rifle.
Maxine Mathis, Dawson's stepmother in Florida, said she wasn't rushing to judgment.
"I don't want to condemn him," Mathis said. "I don't know what state that child was in. He's somebody's son, too." Bozicevich's father, who lives near Albany, New York, said he hadn't heard from his son much since his unit deployed to Iraq last year. He said he was unaware his son faced criminal charges until a reporter contacted his family yesterday evening. "We just have to wait and see what the circumstances were," said Joe Bozicevich Sr, the soldier's father. "In a combat zone, where people are highly stressed, who knows what happened?" The soldiers were serving a 15-month deployment to Iraq with the 4th Brigade Combat Team of the Army's 3rd Infantry Division.

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David Hughes, 44, was found dead on the second floor of his home two men in their 30s are being held

Two men have been arrested and are being questioned on suspicion of murder following the discovery of a man's body at his burned-out flat.David Hughes, 44, was found dead on the second floor of his home in Stapleton Road, Easton, Bristol, after the blaze.A post-mortem examination confirmed that his death was due to assault, and detectives have confirmed two men in their 30s are being held.

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Westchester County jury found Carlos Perez-Olivo guilty of second-degree murder. He could get life in prison.

Westchester County jury found Carlos Perez-Olivo guilty of second-degree murder. He could get life in prison.Prosecutors said the troubled lawyer shot his schoolteacher wife, Peggy, in the back of the head as she dozed in their car during a drive to their home in Chappaqua on Nov. 18, 2006.The 59-year-old then gave himself a superficial gunshot wound, tossed the weapon into a lake, and called police claiming that a carjacker had attacked him and his wife.Perez-Olivo said the armed stranger forced him off the road, muscled his way into the car and fired three shots as the two men struggled. That elaborate claim of innocence failed to convince the jury, which also convicted Perez-Olivo of illegal weapons possession.Prosecutors claimed Perez-Olivo wanted to collect his wife's life insurance, which totaled nearly $900,000.Defense attorney Christopher McClure had argued during the trial that his client was telling the truth.The jury heard a recording of Perez-Olivo's emergency call, during which he told police, sobbing, that his wife had been shot by a Hispanic man and that he was driving her to the hospital."I'm driving! I'm driving! I'm going to get there," he said on the tape. "I can't stop. I can't stop!"
His children testified that their parents' 30-year marriage was happy and that their father was devastated by her death."He was screaming out my mom's name," said Alysia Perez-Hall, 18. "He was in complete and utter pain."But the prosecution found a witness who testified that he had seen Perez-Olivo handling a gun just like the pre-World War II Walther PPK that investigators fished from Echo Lake in New Castle. That gun was established as the weapon that killed Peggy Perez-Olivo.Prosecutors also noted that Perez-Olivo had a 10-year affair during his marriage. And they said Perez-Olivo, having been disbarred three months before the shooting for misconduct in his representation of criminal clients, was down to $300 in his bank accounts.
At the time of the killing, former President Clinton and Sen. Rodham Clinton said they were "saddened" to hear of the death of their neighbor.

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David Beltran is charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon, both felonies, in the slaying of Ismael Hernandez

David Beltran is charged with second-degree murder and criminal possession of a weapon, both felonies, in the slaying of Ismael Hernandez. Police in the village of Liberty, about 100 miles north of New York city, found the 45-year-old dead outside his apartment house at around 1 a.m. Saturday.They arrested Beltran, who also lives in Liberty, about 15 minutes later.Police Lt. Charles Barber says Hernandez had been arguing from his window with Beltran, who was standing near the street.He says Hernandez came out of the house, both men tussled and Hernandez was stabbed near his stomach. Police recovered the 10-inch-long, dagger style knife that they believe was used in the crime.

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Kenneth Thomas is a suspected member of the United Crip Gang and has a ‘UCG’ tattoo on his left arm.

Kenneth Thomas is a suspected member of the United Crip Gang and has a ‘UCG’ tattoo on his left arm. Faith Thomas is often known to color or streak her hair. Both are considered armed and dangerous.
Omar Aquino and his sister, 27 year-old Maria Teresa Sanchez-Aquino, were shot to death, execution style, in their home in the 1900 block of Plymouth Ave. Maria Teresa’s 8 year-old son was asleep in a bedroom when the murders occurred and the entire house was ransacked. Since that time, MVPD detectives have arrested six suspects in connection with this case and two more are outstanding.
Fame Thomas, 15, Victoria Thompson, 20, and Nicory Spann, 18, were arrested on Aug. 21. Michael David Adams, 20, was arrested the next day. Kim Pham, 19, was arrested at Norman Mineta San Jose International Airport as she was attempting to flee California upon seeing herself on the news after a press conference held at the Mountain View Police Department. The most recent arrest was for Eric Williams, 22, on Sept. 2. Fame Thomas is being tried as an adult.
Two suspects remain outstanding – Kenneth Thomas, 20, and his sister Faith Thomas, 17. Kenneth Thomas is wanted for two counts of murder and one count of conspiracy to commit murder. Faith Thomas is wanted for one count of conspiracy to commit murder and will be tried as an adult once she is in custody.After the homicides, detectives began the investigation by sorting through information obtained from the victims’ cell phones while working on other leads as well. Detectives learned through the extensive investigation that robbery had been a motive in the crime. Additionally, a list of eight suspects emerged. The suspects’ cell phones became a key factor in the investigation as they revealed incriminating text messages sent between various suspects which outlined some of the events the night of the murders.The evidence has revealed that Fame Thomas lured Omar Aquino to the movies on June 27, while Kenneth Thomas and other suspects are believed to have met at the theater in order to follow the couple back to the Aquinos’ home. While at the movie, Fame met up with her sister, Faith, in the movie theater bathroom to discuss their plans. Suspects’ cell phones showed that the Thomas siblings texted each other throughout the night and arranged for the suspects to follow Fame and Aquino back to the victims’ home, where Maria Teresa and her son were sleeping.Once Fame and Aquino arrived back at the home on Plymouth St., the rest of the group entered the home and took control of both victims. The group ransacked the home and are suspected of stealing electronics and other valuables. Although original court documents named Nicory Spann as the likely shooter, detectives now believe Kenneth Thomas is the main suspect. It is unclear if Maria Teresa’s son saw anything, but detectives believe he may have heard the murders occur.
After the homicides, the two outstanding Thomas siblings, Kenneth and Faith, fled the state. Detectives believe they made stops in Las Vegas, Texas, Florida, and Georgia. Kenneth Thomas was most recently seen outside Atlanta, Ga. with a 15-year-old runaway girl from California, who detectives suspect Thomas was pimping out as a prostitute.The teenager’s mother, who had reported her missing, discovered where her daughter had run to via her daughter’s MySpace page. The juvenile’s mother alerted Georgia authorities who were not aware Kenneth was wanted for murder in California. Georgia authorities contacted the juvenile at the hotel they were staying at. Kenneth saw the officers coming and fled out the back door of the hotel, likely with a gun. Georgia authorities returned the 15-year-old to her parents in California but were unable to find Kenneth.MVPD Detectives travelled to Georgia to continue their investigation with the hopes of tracking down Kenneth. While there, the detectives received information that a suspect matching Kenneth’s description had recently robbed and pistol whipped another hotel guest. In addition to that robbery, a suspect matching Kenneth’s description robbed a local Wendy’s restaurant and a Metro PCS cell phone store. Georgia law enforcement officers suspect Kenneth may have committed all three robberies, which are still under investigation.
Since the homicides, Kenneth has been swapping out his cell phones, making him difficult to track. Although Kenneth and Faith may have been travelling together at some point, detectives do not believe they are together now. Faith may be in Florida, and they both could be somewhere in the Southern United States. Kenneth has been known to travel via Greyhound busses.

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Ehud Tenenbaum "The Analyzer"arrested over charges relating to a $1.8-million theft from a Calgary financial institution

United States is seeking the extradition from Canada of an Israeli hacker known as "The Analyzer" over charges of masterminding a multimillion-dollar worldwide online fraud. Ehud Tenenbaum, 29, was arrested in late August over charges relating to a $1.8-million theft from a Calgary financial institution. While he was granted bail last week, he was arrested again on a provisional warrant under the Extradition Act before he could post the required $30,000 bail.
Canwest News Service reported on Friday that Court of Queen's Bench Justice BryanMahoney denied Tenenbaum bail on the U.S. charges. The court heard on Friday that the allegations against Tenenbaum involved potentially hundreds of financial institutions in Russia, Turkey, the Netherlands, Sweden, Belgium, Germany and other countries. "Mr. Tenenbaum is alleged by the government of the U.S. to be one of the principal hackers, if not the mastermind, of their entire global operation," Canwest quoted federal Crown prosecutor David Gates as arguing. "Mr. Tenenbaum and others did the actual hacking into financial institutions to obtain [debit and credit] card PIN numbers, and then sold them to others in their operation." The U.S. government now has 60 days to submit an extradition order to have him taken back to face the charges, according to Canwest.
Canada's justice minister then has 30 days to decide whether or not an extradition hearing can take place. Tenenbaum is renowned for his computer prowess and hacking abilities, and was sentenced to 15 months in jail in Israel in 1998 for hacking into the Pentagon computer system in the U.S. Canwest reported that Gates could not say exactly how much money has been stolen as a result of the alleged hacking by Tenenbaum over the past year, but said it is in the millions of dollars, and the investigation is ongoing.

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Sylvain says he received about $300,000 for working with the Biker Enforcement Unit

Sylvain says he received about $300,000 for working with the Biker Enforcement Unit in Project Husky, a two-year probe that ended in 2006 and arrested six members, 21 of their associates and shut down an alleged $2.3-million drug distribution network that linked Ontario, Quebec and Alberta. Prison terms ranged from four months to 6 1/2 years for a wide range of offences. Last March, a court ordered the Heron St. clubhouse forfeited to the Crown. "This is a very significant forfeiture," Det.-Insp. Dan Redmond, BEU commander said then in a press release. Thunder Bay Police Chief Robert Herman added the clubhouse had "long been a thorn in our side. Its forfeiture is a good news story for our community and demonstrates our commitment to working with our partners to stop the unlawful activities of outlaw motorcycle gangs." The man who made it happen, Sylvain, has little left after buying vehicles for his work as a driver and says his cover has been blown. Everyone in the small undisclosed town he's living in knows he worked for the police and are too scared to hire him. He turned down the program's last offer to relocate him, covering expenses and $29 a day for six months. "You think I made something? I made (nothing)," he says. He wants a better deal Sylvain was urged to go to police by an ex-girlfriend after he got himself jammed with the Italian mob in Montreal. The rig driver admits to bringing in large loads of cocaine in tractor-trailer shipments from Miami, including one of 200 kilos in the 1990s, sins that police are aware of, he says. He says he was wrongly accused of taking four kilos by his underworld bosses and was beaten savagely. "The first beating I had was just practice," he says.
Sylvain was later targeted with death and while in New Jersey hiding from the mob, he turned to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, who in turn set up a meeting with the RCMP in Miami. What Sylvain wants now since he's too well known in Canada is to move to the U.S., hopefully to work for American law enforcement. But the only recent job offer he got from police was another attempt at the Hells in Canada, who now know what he looks like. "You can change your name as much as you want to, but you can never change my face," Sylvain says. In Project Husky, the truck driver provided what police dubbed the "Trojan Horse," a tractor-trailer used on the gang's runs and advertised a motorcycle shop. Since then, Sylvain has been on the move.
His first relocation was a bug-infested fishermen's shed "and they moved me to another place, and then another place. At that time, I could not work or nothing because they were changing the name and the SIN number. "How can you go to work if you don't have a SIN number? At the last relocation, the RCMP wanted me to work for them somewhere in the country. When I got there, it was to work the Hells Angels again. I cannot work the Hells Angels in the same country," Sylvain says.

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Mark Nunes had been planning and executing robberies across southern England

Mark Nunes ran towards a G4S cash van, a Beretta 9mm pistol in his outstretched hand pointed directly at Michael Player, the guard. At that instant a police sniper fired a single shot and Nunes fell backwards. He was dead.Simultaneously a blue Volvo swung out of a disabled parking bay and braked by the van with its rear passenger door open. This was the getaway car, intended for Nunes, 35, and his accomplice Andrew Markland, 36, who was now running across the road. But instead of jumping into the car, Markland ran past and picked up the gun. Another police marksman fired and Markland fell, dropping the gun. As he lay on the ground there was a third rifle shot. His wounds were fatal. Suddenly there were armed police everywhere – prodding the men on the ground to see if they were still armed, trying to talk to the shocked security guard and running for first aid equipment. Because of the blood and the pain in his wrist, Mr Player thought he had been shot. "Most times, we don't come off better," he said. In the confusion, the Volvo sped off. Its driver, Terry Wallace, was tracked as he dumped the car and made his way by train back to south London and the estate in Brixton where Nunes lived. Wallace made contact with other members of the Nunes Gang which had carried out at least 18 cash van robberies over the previous 18 months. The Metropolitan Police's Flying Squad, which had been watching and gathering intelligence on Nunes for months, was not far behind. A surveillance camera hidden in a tree outside Nunes's flat filmed Wallace - gesticulating with his arms as he described the shooting. Yesterday, at Kingston Crown Court, Wallace, 26, and three other members of Nunes's gang were convicted of conspiracy to rob. Three other men have already admitted offences linked to the parts they played as drivers, look-outs, scouts and robbers in his criminal organisation. All the men now face lengthy prison sentences. Brendan Kelly, QC, for the prosecution, told the court: "Despite their skill, their planning and their patience - their luck ran out." From the time he left prison in 2005 until the day he died, Nunes had been planning and executing robberies across southern England - from Ipswich and Cambridge to Bristol and Bath. They made off with at least £500,000.Nunes did not take part in every raid, but had organised each one - recruiting the team and carrying out extensive reconnaissance. The indictment listed 18 raids but police believe the gang was as many as 10 others. A career criminal, Nunes served three years and nine months of a jail term for a cash van raid in London in October 2000. Immediately he was freed, Nunes took up where he left off but deliberately targeted deliveries outside the capital. His theory was that cash vans would be less security-conscious in the provinces and the Flying Squad would not be on his tail.
Wallace, Johnson, Leroy Wilkinson, 29 and Victor Iniodu, 34, were convicted of conspiracy to rob after a five-week trial. Three other men - Leroy Hall, Leon McKenzie and Brian Henry - admitted the charge.

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Man later identified as a member of the Nomads Motorcycle Club was ejected from court LG4 at Sydney's Downing Centre court complex.

The trial of the Nomad national president, Scott Allan Orrock, and two other senior Nomads, Hassan "Sam" Ibrahim and Paul James Griffin.
The three were charged after a Nomads member was kneecapped in both legs at their Islington clubhouse in Newcastle in 2004. The District Court trial ended on Friday with all three found not guilty on all charges.But what can be revealed is that on September 22 a man later identified as a member of the Nomads Motorcycle Club was ejected from court LG4 at Sydney's Downing Centre court complex.
He spent at least half an hour sitting in various seats in the public gallery - separated from the rest of the court by glass - staring menacingly at the jury. Two of the jurors complained and Judge Steven Norrish ejected the man.
Two days later a Sydney construction worker, Te Rana Rakete, was allegedly discovered filming the only crown witness in the trial - Dale Campton, a former Nomad who rolled on his clubmates after he was shot in both kneecaps.Mr Rakete was detained by sheriff's officers after a detective from the gang squad in court noticed him filming.In a hearing earlier this week for Mr Rakete, the court was shown the footage he had taken - five seconds of unrelated footage shot from a car and five seconds of Mr Campton as he sat in the witness box
Mr Rakete's legal aid barrister, Richard Jefferis, told the same hearing his client did not deny using the camera, but why he was filming was not yet clear."Mr Rakete does not deny that he was using the camera; he's made that clear," Mr Jefferis said.
"The critical issue was your client was filming a person who perhaps may have changed their appearance slightly since the time they were shot and bashed and are now under [police] protection," Judge Norrish advised Mr Jefferis.While no decision has yet to be made on Mr Rakete, it is possible he will face a charge of contempt of court in the Supreme Court.Mr Rakete is due to face Judge Norrish again on Tuesday.

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Five Jamaicans said to be a part of a criminal gang in the United States have been arrested.

Five Jamaicans said to be a part of a criminal gang in the United States have been arrested. The five were held during a special summer crackdown of criminal gangs in the US. The Jamaicans are among 1,500 members of criminal gangs who were arrested during the operation. Immigration officials in the US say many of those now in custody were arrested on immigration violations. They face deportation from that country. The US authorities also arrested 12 gang members who are said to be from the Dominican Republic, five from Haiti and Cuba and two from Trinidad and Tobago.

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Hells Angels stood guard outside court yesterday as a pool of jurors were chosen in the case of a murdered biker.

Karl Garside, 45, Simon Turner, 41, Dane Garside, 42, Malcolm Bull, 53, Dean Taylor, 47, and 46-year-old Ian Cameron all plead not guilty to murder. GANG members stood guard outside court yesterday as a pool of jurors were chosen in the case of a murdered biker. The panel, who will be sworn in today, will hear the case of six men accused of killing Gerry Tobin, who was gunned down on the M40.
Mr Tobin, 35, from Mottingham, London, was shot in the back of the head as he returned home from a Hell's Angels festival in Warwickshire last August.

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Spanish branch of the Latin Kings was launched in 2000 by the young Ecuadorian Eric Velastegui, known as King Wolverine

The Spanish branch of the Latin Kings was launched in 2000 by the young Ecuadorian Eric Velastegui, known as King Wolverine, who is now serving a prison sentence for rape. The Almighty Latin King and Queen Nation was initially formed to help and defend Latin American immigrants in the Chicago area of the United States in the 1940s. Its members later became involved in violent crimes. US leaders of the Latin Kings visiting Spain, however, have downplayed the group's violent reputation, and evidence from the north-eastern region of Catalonia suggests that such gangs have the potential of being transformed into constructive social forces.
The Latin Kings' big rival in Spain are the Netas, a gang founded in the prisons of Puerto Rico in the 1970s. Other gangs include Dominican Don't Play (DDP), many of whose members come from the Dominican Republic. The Madrid DDP has begun to sell drugs and acquired firearms, the daily El Pais reported. Recently, evidence has even emerged of the presence in Catalonia of the Mara Salvatrucha and the Mara 18, Central American groups known for their extreme violence. In the Madrid region alone, the number of gang members tripled in three years to about 1,300 by 2007, police estimated. Nearly 300 of them were regarded as violent.
The main gangs, which are present in several cities across Spain, are hierarchically structured, tribe-like organizations. They are characterized by mystical symbols, an ethos of religiosity and machoism, and an ideology of defending the Latin American identity against an environment perceived as racist and hostile. The Latin Kings, for instance, wear rap-style clothes and black-and-gold bead necklaces. Their symbol of a five-point crown represents respect, honesty, unity, knowledge and love. The gangs tend to place women in a secondary role, with the Latin Kings as the only one to have a female section. Many of the gangs have a double nature, with leisure activities such as football alternating with robberies or extortion which new members can be ordered to commit as a kind of initiation rite. Dozens of gang members have been detained on charges ranging from kidnappings and threats to attacks and killings. Most of the violence takes place between rival gangs, but former members have also told courts about the beatings faced by those who break the internal rules. "We were told to pay 1,200 euros (1,700 dollars), or we'd be burned alive," two girls who had tried to leave the Latin Kings told a Madrid judge.
The growth of the gangs is based on the rapid increase of Latin American immigration to Spain. The overall number of immigrants has soared from 1.8 per cent of the Spanish population in 1990 to more than 10 per cent. The largest groups include 420,000 Ecuadorians and 260,000 Colombians. "Immigrants never see their children, because they work 23 hours a day. The kids are on the street, in search of a (new) family," King Mission, a US representative of the Latin Kings, explained during a visit to Spain. Gangs like the Latin Kings also give a sense of purpose and self-esteem to youths who may come from neighbourhoods riddled with gang violence in their own countries, grew up without their parents who emigrated before them, and who are now struggling with the difficulties of adapting to a foreign culture. In 2007, Latin street gangs did not commit any killings in Spain for the first time in several years. The decline was attributed to police crackdowns and, in some regions, to attempts to integrate the gangs into Spanish society. While the conservative Madrid authorities outlawed the Latin Kings in 2007, liberal Catalonia took the opposite approach, giving them the status of a cultural association.
Representatives of the Latin Kings and Netas even visited the regional parliament, explaining to legislators that they were planning to make joint musical recordings to bury their hostilities. International experts on street gangs have hailed Catalonia's ground-breaking approach, but it has not entirely eradicated inter-gang violence.

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Lee Dotson, a member of an O'Donnell Heights gang engaged in a vicious, weeks-long turf war.

Lee Dotson, a member of an O'Donnell Heights gang engaged in a vicious, weeks-long turf war.But the bullet hit his 16-year-old girlfriend, Estefany Gonzalez. Dotson, the only eyewitness to the crime, refused to name her killer.Yesterday Juan Hernandez, the man prosecutors believe killed the former Patterson High School student, entered an Alford plea - an acknowledgment that prosecutors had enough evidence to convict but not an admission of guilt - to second-degree murder and handgun charges. He made the plea as part of a deal with prosecutors for a five-year prison sentence.Hernandez's defense attorney, William Purpura, told Circuit Judge John Addison Howard that a five-year sentence normally would not be "anywhere close to appropriate" for murder. But in this case, because of the lack of witnesses, it was, he said.Estefany Gonzalez Dotson "refused to cooperate in any way with the Baltimore City Police Department," prosecutor Lisa Phelps said. Phelps said the state's second witness did not see the crime but overheard Dotson say that "Juan" had "shot at" him.The second witness was subsequently shot with the same gun used to kill Gonzalez. He is paralyzed from the waist down."The state had difficult evidentiary issues, but if they overcame those, my client faced life in prison," Purpura said.Phelps said that in March 2007 a violent turf war broke out after members of a gang called the Untamed Gorillas beat up a member of the Toone Street Bangers.Prosecutors say the Toone Street gang retaliated, with Hernandez attempting to kill Dotson, a member of the Untamed Gorillas, as he walked through a nearly empty public housing project on the far eastern edge of the city.The bullet struck Gonzalez in the shoulder and then went into her chest. Dotson left her there. A passer-by discovered her in a parking lot in the 6200 block of Toone Street.
Yesterday, Gonzalez's guardian, Gennette Washington, wept as she told Howard that she forgave Hernandez but couldn't forgive herself for allowing Gonzalez to move to Baltimore to live with her father a few months before her death.
"I'm so lost without her," Washington said. "She wasn't my child, but it felt as though she was my baby."Washington's mother, Elba Ortega, took Gonzalez in when she was an infant. When Ortega died in 2001, Washington took guardianship of the 10-year-old. But she wanted to leave her school in Newark, Del., so Washington allowed her to move in with her father on Eastern Avenue, where he had moved after Ortega's death.By the time of the shooting, Gonzalez had been expelled from Patterson High School and was staying with a girlfriend in O'Donnell Heights."She's not my biological sister," Washington said. "My mother raised her, but I wanted to give her the life my mother couldn't give us. A family. A home. I wanted her to be able to grow up ... to graduate from high school, to go to prom, to do things I never got to do. She was at the wrong place at the wrong time.""Maybe he'll change his life," Washington added. "Everyone should get a second chance."Hernandez declined to say anything to the judge, but he was escorted out of the courtroom in tears.Hernandez's five-year sentence will be served without parole, followed by five years of probation. If he violates probation, he could face up to 25 years in prison.

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Ajine Stewart joined the Crisis Crips, a local branch of the notorious gang

Ajine Stewart Jamaican-born man, who came to Mississauga as a child, dropped out of school in Grade 10 to move in with his then-girlfriend, who had a baby by him, a boy now 7. He started selling marijuana and moved onto cocaine and crack "because I wasn't making enough money," started acquiring a criminal record and, about the age of 19, joined the Crisis Crips, a local branch of the notorious gang.
Asked to explain what the Crips are, Mr. Stewart offered, helpfully, that "they're different from the Bloods," another infamous gang. Asked what the "Crisis" meant, he said this was a reference to "the turmoils in life, the problems you go through."
At some point, he moved in with another woman who had given birth to his daughter, now 4, and began carrying a knife - then, some months before the shooting, the gun.
Despite pressure from his mother and the mothers of his children to go straight, and a brief stint working in a factory, he always chose the drug dealer's life - even selling while he was on bail, and under curfew, for a domestic-assault charge that was later withdrawn. It was in fact at this time, while he was living with his mother, also his surety, that he met Mr. Taylor. He was a Crip too, Mr. Stewart said, albeit from a different unit, and a drug dealer, and according to him, they struck up such a friendship that Mr. Taylor let him sell to his customer base while he was on bail.Mr. Stewart's thanks, for this inexplicable generosity, was to steal Mr. Taylor's customers when the charge was dropped and he could return home.
While he agreed with Mr. McDermott that some of his contemporaries stayed in school and worked at real jobs, Mr. Stewart nonetheless blamed his poor choices on "where I was living and the people around me.""You chose another life because it paid better?" Mr. McDermott asked. "Yes," said Mr. Stewart. "A lot better?" "Yeah," said Mr. Stewart.He went to Dundas Square only because he was looking for women. "I love women," he said, "especially from the States."He took the .38, fully loaded, because, he said, the Caribana celebration attracts lots of gang members, like him, many of whom are armed, like him, and he knew that gunfights could break out.
He said he saw Mr. Taylor, who called him over and told him he owed him money. He tried to get Mr. Taylor alone, away from his friends, but he wouldn't go; instead, "He was giving me bad looks, looking at me up and down." He demanded his money. "I told him to fuck off," Mr. Stewart said. "He said he was going to kill me."
Mr. Taylor allegedly reached for his waistband, so Mr. Stewart reached for his. He couldn't bow down to Mr. Taylor in public, or run or holler for police because "My career [as a gangster] would have been scattered." So he shot, in that square packed with people."As I said," he told Mr. McDermott shortly before he left the witness box, "I went through a lot that night."

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Surenos 13 members were far-flung, ranging into what might seem like unlikely places such as Provo, Utah. Seven people identified as Surenos 13 member

Surenos means "southerner," Eways said. The term is often used in California prisons to refer to any gang member from southern California, he said. And No. 13 represents the letter M — the 13th letter of the alphabet — which symbolizes the gang members' alliances to the Mexican mafia, Eways said.increase in arrests of alleged members of the gang Surenos 13 may represent the gang's increasing reach, or it may result from better classification of those arrested, authorities and academics said. The gang is distinct from the larger and better-known MS-13, but police or federal agents may have lumped them together during previous roundups.Over the course of a four-month effort that ended Tuesday, officials arrested 1,759 people in 28 states, 33 percent more than they arrested during a similar campaign last year. Of those, 1,315 were gang members and gang associates, and 338 belonged to Surenos 13, according to figures released Wednesday by federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials.
The Surenos 13 members were far-flung, ranging into what might seem like unlikely places such as Provo, Utah. Seven people identified as Surenos 13 members were arrested there in June.A relatively small number of those picked up this summer, 86, were identified as members of MS-13. Federal authorities have said MS-13 is one of the nation's largest gangs, with 10,000 members in the U.S., Mexico, El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala. During a similar crackdown last year, officials arrested 273 people identified as MS-13 members."In every area of the country, there are transnational gang problems," ICE assistant secretary Julie Myers said in an interview with The Associated Press.Surenos 13 gangs, also known as SUR 13, may not be connected to gangs bearing the same name in other locations, she said. MS-13 continues to have a tighter affiliation across the country than those calling themselves Surenos 13, she said.Another reason for the uptick in Surenos 13 arrests could be that for many years, law enforcement across the country had been misidentifying MS-13 members. There are about 1,000 gangs across the country with the same signifiers as MS-13, said Sgt. Andrew Eways, supervisor of the Criminal Investigation Section of the Maryland State Police.MS-13 and Surenos 13 are equally lethal and dangerous, said gang psychology expert Jorja Leap, an associate adjunct professor of social welfare at the University of California, Los Angeles. "I would not want to be greeted by either one of them."

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Jose "Boom Bat" Negrete had "total control" over the gang's activities and used money from the gang's kitty to purchase guns he gave members to carry

As head of the Latin King street gang, Jose "Boom Bat" Negrete had "total control" over the gang's activities and used money from the gang's kitty to purchase guns he gave members to carry out his deadly orders, an ex-Latin King testified in court yesterday. Esmeraldo "Esmo" Rodriguez said if any Latin King wielded a gun -- to shoot up a rival gang member's house or commit a murder -- it was done with Negrete's express permission. "Anything that went on, anything that happened went through him, especially beef," Rodriguez said, referring to gang-related violence. "There was nothing going to happen without that man's say so. He had control over all of us. He was militant. He was the one giving the orders, making the plans, in venting what to do." Negrete, 27, is on trial for the murder of Jeri Lynn Dotson, 23, a female member of the Latin Kings who was shot to death execution style in her Chestnut Street home in August 2004. Negrete is charged with ordering the shooting to keep the mother of two quiet about witnessing several Latin Kings lure rival gang member Alex Ruiz to what was supposed to be his death. Ne grete is also charged with the at tempted murder of Ruiz, who sur vived the strangulation attempt. Yesterday Rodriguez testified outside the jury's presence in a hearing to determine what he will be allowed to say when he takes the stand today.
Assistant Prosecutor Tom Meidt wants Rodriguez to be able to testify that Negrete bragged that he had "Muslim connections" to supply guns to the gang and that on one occasion Rodriguez ac companied Negrete to a mosque for guns. He also wants Rodriguez to testify that Negrete gave guns to the gang members he ordered to "put in work," or shoot and murder people. Defense attorney Mark Fury said Rodriguez could provide no proof that Negrete could or did get guns from any Muslims or that any guns he may have provided were used for the murder of Dotson or any other crime. Such testimony would unfairly prejudice the jury, Fury argued. Fury maintains that it was Rodriguez and another Latin King, Roberto "Bam Bam" Rodriguez, who plotted the murders of Ruiz and Dotson. Superior Court Judge Darlene Pereksta is expected to rule on Rodriguez's testimony this morning. Earlier in the trial yesterday Dotson's family members sobbed quietly as photos of her crime scene were displayed on a video screen for jurors. Negrete sat impassively, hand on his chin, as he looked at photos of Dotson, clad in shorts and a tank top, lying in a pool of blood. Dotson's parents and sister averted their eyes, but hearing a police witness describe the crime scene was enough to bring them to tears as they clutched each other's hands for support. Another witness, neighbor Anthony Smith, testified that he had heard a loud bang inside his home around 2:40 a.m. the morning Dotson was shot to death.

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John Gizzi is serving five-and-a-half-years for violent offences must repay over £2m

£875,000 offer was being considered by an enforcement receiver handling John Gizzi's affairs magistrates in Prestatyn, Denbighshire, were told. Gizzi is serving five-and-a-half-years for violent offences. The criminal builder must repay over £2m of his criminal gains by December, or face an extra seven years in prison.
Gizzi was said by police to have "ruled" Rhyl through threats and intimidations, and he was jailed in 2006 for causing grievous bodily harm and other offences.
His former home, Bronwylfa Hall in St Asaph, was valued at £1.8m in March 2007, when a crown court ordered that he repay £2.6m. It has been reduced twice already. On Wednesday, the court heard he had repaid £318,000 and still owed £2.3m. His solicitor said Gizzi's Rolex watch was to be sold at a specialist auction and his parents had put in an offer for four personalised number plates, originally valued at £45,000. A decision on giving the receiver more time to sell some of the assets was adjourned until December by District Judge Andrew Shaw.

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Kenneth (Wags) Wagner, a founder of the Niagara chapter who was found guilty yesterday of trafficking cocaine and firearms

Hells Angels were able to obtain confidential documents regarding police intelligence, the trial for a member of the notorious Hells Angels heard yesterday.
A handbook produced by the provincial Biker Enforcement Unit for front-line officers and intelligence reports about members of a rival gang were among documents seized from the clubhouse and homes of senior gang members, including Kenneth (Wags) Wagner, a founder of the Niagara chapter who was found guilty yesterday of trafficking cocaine and firearms for the benefit of a criminal organization.
The police documents and a member's wiretapped statements that he received "paperwork" from a police source were part of an agreed statement of facts read before the court."This was a highly sophisticated criminal operation that was using informants," prosecutor Tom Andreopoulos said during a break in the proceedings, adding that the Hells Angels' ability to penetrate police intelligence is a long-standing concern.Mr. Wagner was arrested in late September, 2006 along with 23 others in raids on homes and clubhouses in Toronto, Oshawa, Windsor and Niagara Region. The arrests were the culmination of an 18-month undercover operation called Project Tandem, which involved 500 officers from 11 forces and resulted in the seizure of more than $3-million worth of drugs and an array of weapons, in addition to the police documents.Project Tandem was executed with the help of a police agent named Steven Gault.In the agreed statement of facts, a Niagara chapter member and co-accused of Mr. Wagner's, Gerald Ward, revealed to Mr. Gault in a conversation recorded in August, 2005 that he knew a police officer who would tell him "a lot of stuff" and bring him "paperwork all the time."Mr. Ward's court proceedings are separate and ongoing.Mr. Wagner pleaded guilty to trafficking cocaine and to possession of the proceeds of crime, and has admitted to being an executive member of the Niagara Chapter of the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club. However, he pleaded not guilty to trafficking cocaine and transferring a firearm for the benefit of a criminal organization, leaving it to the court to determine whether that group constituted a criminal organization. The confidential police documents formed part of Mr. Andreopoulos's argument that they are, and the judge ruled that Mr. Wagner's crimes were therefore to the benefit of a criminal organization.Justice John McMahon is scheduled to pronounce sentence on Oct. 7.In April, 2007, seven months after Project Tandem ended , Constable Frank Dean Rudge, 44, of Niagara Regional Police, was arrested and charged with breach of trust.Suspended with pay on a $30,000 surety and required to surrender all his police gear, including his service pistol, Constable Rudge is midway through a preliminary hearing, set to resume in December, which will determine whether there is sufficient evidence to send him to trial.Constable Rudge was arrested at the Port Colborne police station where he worked. At his bail hearing, according to news reports at the time, he was ordered to stay away from members of the Hells Angels.Prior to his arrest, he had spent 21 years with the Niagara force.

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White Boy Posse Edmonton-based gang bid to sell cocaine in Medicine Hat

undercover investigation by Medicine Hat police has stopped an Edmonton-based gang with ties to the Hells Angels from putting down roots in the southern Alberta city.
The investigation, dubbed Project Vortex, netted police 1.25 kilograms of cocaine and resulted in the arrest of three men allegedly involved with the White Boy Posse a gang that includes white supremacist members with a fondness for Nazi symbols.
Although the gang continues to operate, Medicine Hat police said their operation last week has foiled the White Boy Posse's nascent bid to sell cocaine in the city of 60,000.It was a huge impact in Medicine Hat," said Sgt. Brent Secondiak of the organized crime section. "They were in the process of finding clientele and we stopped them."Police in Edmonton who have observed the White Boy Posse said being a white supremacist isn't a requirement for being in the gang, but the racist ideology is shared by many of its members and associates."People of that mentality do gravitate to that group," said Acting Det. Dale Johnson of the Edmonton Police Service.Some members have Nazi-style swastikas tattooed on their bodies, and police have found flags and other white supremacist paraphernalia.In March, a joint Edmonton-RCMP investigation called Project Goliath ended with the arrest of 14 White Boy Posse members and 10 others believed to be associates.Police alleged the suspects were responsible for street-level cocaine dealing in Edmonton, Grande Prairie, Fort McMurray and Yellowknife.Law enforcement agencies have identified the White Boy Posse as a puppet gang associated with the Hells Angels.
The Hells Angels, an international outlaw biker gang with three chapters in Alberta, are believed to be responsible for wholesale drug sales to street-level gangs.
In the Medicine Hat case, three men have been charged with possession of cocaine for the purpose of trafficking, possession of the proceeds of crime and possession of prohibited weapons.The accused are Christopher Scaglione, 21, and Chase Calihoo, 20, of Edmonton, and Douglas Hurton, 29, of Medicine Hat.

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New Canadian Rock Machine chapter. Michael Xanthoudakis and Eneliko Sabine told customs officials they had arrived for a week-long fishing trip

Michael Xanthoudakis and Eneliko Sabine told customs officials they had arrived for a week-long fishing trip and were planning to meet up with an Internet buddy, who they only knew as "J.D."Police believe they had other plans.The residents of Sydney had flown halfway around the world at the invitation of several bikers in Western Canada who are in the process of setting up a new Canadian Rock Machine chapter.
According to police they were all planning to meet last week in Gimli, Man., to begin mapping out the process, but plans were scuttled when suspicious customs agents began asking questions and eventually began searching their luggage. Inside they found several biker vests, flags and other paraphernalia.Gimli is in south-central Manitoba.Xanthoudakis and Sabine were detained in custody Sept. 19 after it was learned both men had criminal records in Australia.Xanthoudakis was convicted in December 1999 of assaulting a police officer, while Sabine has a 2006 conviction for impaired driving. They are not facing any new charges in Canada.The facts surrounding their arrest and detention were laid out for the first time Monday during an immigration hearing. There was no publication ban.A government lawyer said Canadian police had recently circulated a national bulletin warning of the impending resurrection of the Rock Machine and the rumoured meeting in Gimli. Police were told to be on guard for any foreign bikers who may be travelling to Canada.Daphne Shaw-Dyck, a member of the Immigration and Refugee Board, ordered both men to be deported as quickly as possible after finding they have no legal grounds to be in Canada. She also rejected their bid to be released into the community pending the deportation, which is expected to happen later this week.Ed Rice, a defence lawyer acting on behalf of Xanthoudakis and Sabine, said the men were hoping to be "out on the streets" for the duration of their stay in Canada.He expects them to be deported later this week, once security issues can be worked out with the airlines regarding their flight back to Sydney.Shaw-Dyck agreed with the federal government's claim that the men - and the gang they represent - pose a significant risk to public safety.The federal government cited the Rock Machine's dark history in Canada, which included links to 150 murders in Quebec during a violent turf war in the 1990s.
Among those victims were two prison guards and an 11-year-old boy hit by shrapnel from a car bomb.The Rock Machine was absorbed into the Bandidos in 2000.Several members actually joined the Hells Angels when the Bandidos refused to immediately grant full-patch status to them.The immigration hearing was told Monday the new western Canadian Rock Machine will be headed up by Winnipeg biker Ron Burling, who recently was sentenced to eight years in prison for a drug-related kidnapping in which the victim was tortured.Burling, the former leader of the now-defunct Manitoba Bandidos, lost an appeal earlier this summer and ended up leaving court on a stretcher after he launched into a bizarre outburst and then began clutching his chest.Rice said the "new" Rock Machine will be nothing like the one Canadians grew to fear and will simply be a club of motorcycle riding enthusiasts who will frown upon criminal behaviour. Both the government and Shaw-Dyck expressed doubts about that claim, noting Burling's violent past."I find it very difficult for that claim to be made," said Shaw-Dyck, who noted that one of the Canadian bikers who met Xanthoudakis and Sabine at the Winnipeg airport was arrested after being found carrying marijuana.Xanthoudakis and Sabine must return before the Immigration and Review Board for another hearing if they have not been deported within seven days

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