major blow against the stateside networks of Mexico's La Familia Michoacana narco gang

La Familia is said to specialize in smuggling methamphetamine, controlling the port of Lázaro Cárdenas, where precursors for the synthetic drug arrive. It manufactures thousands of pounds of the drug strictly for export to the United States.The cartel started 20 years ago as an anti-drug vigilante group, and its leader, Nazario Moreno González AKA "El Más Loco", still spouts paradoxical anti-drug rhetoric. He carries a Bible and a cartel-produced book of his own quotes, and requires the core members of the group to attend church. The organization apparently recruits heavily among drug addicts in Michoacán's rehabilitation clinics."What is distinctive about them is they are messianic," George W. Grayson, a professor of government at the College of William & Mary, told the New York Times' James McKinley. "They justify their actions because they are carrying out divine justice."For years, La Familia was allied with the Gulf Cartel, based in Tamaulipas, and fought against the rival Sinaloa Cartel for control of the local police and officials in Michoacán. But that alliance fell apart in 2004, and La Familia has since gone into business for itself, competing with both the Gulf and Sinaloa cartels.
"This is an organization that just recently we started calling a cartel because of how they've grown and the violence that they spread," DEA administrator Michele Leonhart told the Times. "And it is the first time we have seen a cartel take on meth trafficking, where they are the direct pipeline from Mexico to the US of multi-hundred-pound quantities of methamphetamine."Mexico has claimed some progress against La Familia's leadership in recent years, but Moreno González and his top lieutenants remain at large. One, Servando Gómez Martinez AKA "La Tuta", was indicted on drug trafficking charges in Manhattan as part of the nationwide crackdown. After the murder of Mexican federal officers in July, Gómez gave a recorded statement to a local TV station in which he said the cartel was locked in a battle with the Mexican police, the indictment noted. (El Universal, Oct. 23; NYT, Oct. 22)Caro Quintero brother pleads guilty in massive '80s marijuana operation
As the raids against La Familia went forward, a long-sought Mexican cartel leader—best known as the brother of the man who killed DEA Agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena in 1985—pleaded guilty to drug trafficking charges in a federal court in Denver, Colorado. Nearly 20 years after his indictment, Miguel Angel Caro-Quintero, 46, admitted trafficking more than 100 tons of marijuana into several western states between 1985 and 1988, and sending more than $100 million to Mexico. He faces between 10 to 20 years, as well as an additional five years in a separate marijuana case in Arizona.Arrested by Mexican authorities in Sinaloa in 2001, Caro Quintero was extradited to Colorado in February after serving eight years for weapons crimes in Mexico. (CNN, 7News, Denver, Oct. 23)

Hideous narco-violence continues across Mexico
In Tijuana Oct. 17, the nude, mutilated body of a man was found hanging from an expressway overpass. Local news outlets reported that the man's tongue had been cut out, suggesting that drug traffickers suspected he was an informant.

It was the second such discovery found in the past two weeks. On Oct. 9, the mutilated body of a Baja California state official who authorities said was suspected of giving fake driver's licenses to drug gang members was found hanging from another bridge in Tijuana.

Also Oct. 17, police reported finding the mutilated body of a woman in a reservoir in another part of Tijuana. The woman's hands and head were missing. That same day, a shoot-out between police and narco-gunmen left one officer and one narco dead, and two police wounded. (AP, Oct. 17)

major blow against the stateside networks of Mexico's La Familia Michoacana narco gang this week. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. Oct. 22 announced the arrests of 303 people in the past two days, the culmination of a four-year investigation dubbed "Operation Coronado."
"The sheer level and depravity of violence that this cartel has exhibited far exceeds what we, unfortunately, have become accustomed to from other cartels," Holder said. "While this cartel may operate from Mexico, the toxic reach of its operations extends to nearly every state within our country."
The biggest hauls were in Dallas, Atlanta and Seattle, with significant seizures also reported in San Diego and Riverside, Calif. Holder said authorities seized more than $32 million in US currency, 2,700 pounds of methamphetamine, 4,400 pounds of cocaine, 16,000 pounds of marijuana and 29 pounds of heroin, as well as 389 firearms and 269 vehicles. More arrests are expected, he added. Operation Coronado has led to some 900 arrests in the past four years, Holder asserted.
"These are drugs that were headed for our streets and weapons that often were headed for the streets of Mexico," Holder said. "That's why we are hitting them where it hurts the most—their revenue stream. By seizing their drugs and upending their supply chains, we have disrupted their 'business-as-usual' state of operations."
As the raids were carried out in the United States, the Mexican authorities on Oct. 22 arrested six members of La Familia, including two mid-level commanders in the towns of Taretan and Morelia, Michoacán.

Read more...

Gary Oxley, 48, from Bexhill, blasted Joseph Oliffe, 35, twice in the back of the head with a .455 calibre Webley Mk I revolver

Gary Oxley, 48, from Bexhill, blasted Joseph Oliffe, 35, twice in the back of the head with a .455 calibre Webley Mk I revolver as he sat drinking coffee.
Oxley then calmly dialled 999, and told an operator: "I have just shot someone. I fear for my life and my family."The Old Bailey heard Oxley owed Mr Oliffe, a father-of-two from Bromley, Kent, and his associates £6,000 in drugs money. Oxley claimed the "gangsters" had threatened the lives of his wife and parents.Prosecutor Oliver Glasgow told the court Mr Oliffe and friend Perry Hunt had arrived at the DA Sandwich Cafe in Court Road, Mottingham, Kent, on March 4 this year.
"They ordered two coffees and a chocolate bar before taking a seat at the window."Cafe owner Ali Gezer sent his employee Mahmut Akin out to get coffee from the shop next door.Shortly after he served the men Oxley walked in.
"He greeted them and they were seen to say hello back to him," the prosecutor said.
"Oxley walked up to the counter as if he was about to place an order, but rather than doing so, he stepped through the gate that separated the cafe and the kitchen.
"To the horror of Mr Gezer, he removed a gun from the waistband of his trousers and initially pointed it at the cafe owner."Fearing he would be shot or robbed, Mr Gezer asked Oxley if he was alright.Oxley ran towards the two men and aimed the weapon at Mr Oliffe's head.Mr Hunt was facing the gunman and ran out of the cafe, but the victim had his back to Oxley and 'was completely unaware of the danger he was in'.
Mr Glasgow said: "Oxley approached him and fired three shots.
"Two struck him in the head and Mr Oliffe collapsed on the table."Oxley then aimed the gun at the retreating figure of Mr Hunt.Following him out of the cafe, Oxley bumped into shocked cafe worker Mahmut Akin. "He was still holding the revolver and appeared to be in shock."He shouted: 'Call the police, I have killed a man', and then ran back into the cafe."Mr Gezer stood paralysed with fear behind the counter, but ran out the back of the cafe when the gunman returned.Mr Glasgow told the court: "The police received a number of calls about the incident, one from Oxley himself."He said he had shot someone, said he was scared for his life, and that the people involved were gangsters.
"He said he had no choice because they had threatened his wife, his mum and his dad. He said he had no choice because the problem concerned drugs and he owed them £6,000."Oxley told the emergency operator the situation was "quite heavy". He also said he had put the gun on the floor and did not want the police to shoot him.
Following his arrest, Oxley refused to tell officers why he had killed Mr Oliffe.
But in his fifth interview he claimed the pair – Mr Oliffe and Mr Perry – had threatened his wife and family and had been round to his home.Whilst in custody he was allowed to make a call to his parents and was overheard saying: "I won't have threats to the family. I have tried to go on the straight and narrow but I won't have that."Oxley, of Hornbeam Avenue, admitted murder. A charge of attempted murder, which he denied, was ordered to lie on the court file.Locking him up for life, Judge Peter Thornton said: "This was a deliberate, calculated and planned act."You killed in cold blood. Whatever the background to this case, whatever the past of the deceased you have taken a life, deprived a family of a loved one and deprived a mother of her only child.
"Friends and family now mourn their loss."The judge said it was accepted Oxley was being blackmailed over a drugs debt.
"The aggravating features of this case are the cold and calculated killing, shooting your victim in the head from behind, clearly intending to kill him.
"Secondly, however bad the background of the case you abandoned the help of the police, took the law into your own hands and killed with a firearm which you acquired and took to the scene.
"There was clearly substantial premeditation in your actions."

Read more...

Gangster Manny Buttar was found guilty of assault with a weapon Thursday for smashing a beer glass against a stranger's head

Gangster Manny Buttar was found guilty of assault with a weapon Thursday for smashing a beer glass against a stranger's head as he confessed to killing a rival gang leader.B.C. Supreme Court Justice Kathleen Ker said she accepted the evidence of victim Pardeep (Sunny)Dhillon that an intoxicated Buttar assaulted him viciously in 2006 at a Surrey restaurant after learning Dhillon was a cousin of slain gangster Bindy Johal.And Ker said she believed Dhillon that Buttar claimed he "killed for a living" and admitted to executing Johal, his one-time ally turned rival.
She said the Buttar statement may well have been false drunken rhetoric, but that Dhillon would have no reason to make such a claim unless it happened."It is entirely believable that Mr. Buttar made those comments....I accept without reservation Mr. Dhillon's evidence," Ker said. "I do not believe the denials of Mr. Buttar."Buttar was visibly upset by the verdict which came after a three-day trial last month at the New Westminster Law Courts. He will be sentenced

Read more...

Matthew Carpenter, 29, formerly of Albermarle Way, Cambridge and Marlon Robinson, 21, formerly of Ramsden Square, Cambridge were found guilty

Matthew Carpenter, 29, formerly of Albermarle Way, Cambridge and Marlon Robinson, 21, formerly of Ramsden Square, Cambridge were found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine. Carpenter, Robinson, Duncan Berry, 24, of Ramsden Square, Cambridge, and Aymon Popo, 25 of Tideslea Path, London were found guilty of conspiracy to possess firearms.Carpenter received 11 years for drugs offences and four years for firearms offences to run consecutively, totalling 15 years.Robinson received seven years for drugs offences and three years for firearms offences, totalling 10 years.Berry received three and a half years for firearms offences, with a 12 month sentence to run concurrently for possession of ammunition. Popo received three and a half years for firearms offences.Carpenter, Robinson and Popo are now subject to Serious Crime Prevention Orders meaning they will be monitored in prison and out of prison once their sentences have ended and will have conditions placed upon them.Three others were found not guilty of any charges.Detective Inspector Craig Harrison said: "This investigation was long, complex and challenging for all involved."The jury heard almost 10 weeks of evidence complicated by the fact that not all defendants were alleged to be involved in all conspiracies

Read more...

Brenice Lee Smith was arrested at the San Francisco International Airport

Brenice Lee Smith was arrested at the San Francisco International Airport as he arrived there on a flight from Kathmandu.The 64-year-old is suspected of being part of the Brotherhood of Eternal Love, a Hippie gang of drug dealers and users that was founded in the 1960s. Smith had been living in Nepal posing as a Buddhist monk.
The deteriorating law and order system due to continuous political instability for nearly 13 years, corruption in the bureaucracy that enables criminals on the run to procure passports and other legal documents easily and the open border with India have contributed to a growing number of criminals from other countries heading for Nepal where they can lie low in safety.There are also allegations that some politicians are involved in providing a safe haven to criminals on the run.
Indian don Babloo Srivastava wrote in his fictionalised memoirs that Nepali lawmaker Mirza Dilshad Beg provided safe houses for terrorists from Pakistan and their safe passage from Nepal to Thailand.Beg was murdered near his own residence in Kathmandu in 1998 in what was believed to be gang warfare.Besides terrorists, arms and drug smugglers and counterfeit Indian currency dealers, Nepal is also increasingly becoming a haven for western paedophiles.In 1999, Nepal police arrested French citizen Jean Jacques Haye and British national Christopher R. Fraser for paedophilia and running a child pornography racket internationally. Both ran child care centres in Kathmandu and abused the inmates.Though Haye was deported, he returned to Nepal and lived there quietly till his arrest once again this March when a childcare organisation tipped off police.

Read more...

Nathan Harris was told he must serve at least 16 years for ordering the execution of young father Craig Brown

Nathan Harris was told he must serve at least 16 years for ordering the execution of young father Craig Brown on Christmas Eve last year. Mr Brown was shot five times outside the home of his girlfriend Denica Date and their four-year-old son as he unloaded presents. Harris, aged 15 at the time, was spotted at the scene by Miss Date, who later identified him after seeing his picture on the social networking site Facebook. He had set in place the "lethal train of events" that led to the killing after seeing Mr Brown - who he believed to have "dissed" a friend - in the area. The youth, now 16, of Shepherd's Bush, west London, was found guilty of murder by an Old Bailey jury. Judge Richard Hawkins told Harris: "Your part in bringing these men to the scene to bring an end to Craig Brown's life was an important part.
"The loss to Denica Date and her young son cannot be measured." Jeremy Carter-Manning, QC, defending, said Harris's natural father had been in prison for most of the boy's life. He said Harris was "not a leader of men" adding: "He got caught up in the activities of older and more mature people." There was an outburst in the public gallery as Harris was led out of court. A woman shouted: "He didn't do it."
Detective Inspector Kenny McDonald, who led the investigation, said Harris had a "violent tendency" and it was "exceptional" for such a young person to be involved in such serious crime. Video footage posted on YouTube and hand-written rap lyrics found in his bedroom showed the teenager's obsession with guns and violence. Text messages on his mobile phone appeared to show other youths asking him to procure firearms for them. Harris had first come to the attention of police when he was 13-years-old following the murder of 16-year-old Kodjo Yenga in March 2007. He was one of a number of teenagers rounded up by detectives for questioning, although he was never charged with the crime. In December 2007 when he was 14, Harris was alleged to have taken part, with another youth, in the rape of a teenage girl, but was formally cleared following a trial at Inner London Crown Court. A second defendant, 22-year-old Khalid Elsheikh, was cleared of murder but jailed for 10 years for possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.

Read more...

John Ramirez, 25, of Vineland, allegedly wielded a .357 revolver as he approached the porch

John Ramirez, 25, of Vineland, allegedly wielded a .357 revolver as he approached the porch and demanded money from Contreras and two friends. As they rifled through their pockets to comply, the gun went off. The bullet lodged in Contreras' head, killing him instantly, police say.Ramirez and his accomplice fled. Shortly thereafter, police found the gun in the street and Ramirez in a house around the corner on the 600 block of Montrose Street. They searched the house and found evidence they will not detail but that they said links Ramirez to the crime.The gun was not registered as stolen, but police have not determined who it belongs to.Investigators do not believe Ramirez had any connection to Contreras. The men lived more than two miles apart in the city, according to their last-known addresses, provided by police.As Ramirez sat Sunday night in the Cumberland County Jail on $750,000 bail, Contreras' friends continued the vigil they started shortly after the 43-year-old's violent death.Sunflowers, tulips and carnations surrounded a cluster of candles and a few photos of Contreras. His wide smile beamed from beneath a hard hat in one, and from a comfortable seat on a couch in another. Several large containers filled with $1, $5 and $10 bills - donations for his family - rounded out the memorial.Ramirez has told police he belongs to the Latin Kings street gang, which they already knew from previous dealings with him. Besides that, Ramirez refused to talk, Vineland police Lt. Thomas Ulrich said.

Ramirez's gang affiliation and aliases - "John John" and "King Bliss" among them - drew little reaction from older adults gathered there. Some scoffed that Ramirez is much like other kids today: They think they are gangsters, or they want to be, but aren't really.

Regardless of whether Ramirez, like others his age, has imagined or exaggerated his status within the criminal underworld, the gun was real. So was the bullet. And so are the charges: homicide, unlawful possession of a weapon, possession of a weapon for an unlawful purpose and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, according to a statement from police.

Ramirez, who will turn 26 on Oct. 21, got out of prison in November 2008 after a seven-month stint for weapons possession, aggravated assault and loitering to distribute drugs, according to the state Department of Corrections Web site.

He also faces two counts of contempt of court for failing to appear for offenses police could not specify Sunday.

Ramirez wore a hospital gown in the booking photo provided by Vineland police. Police provided the gown after they took his clothing as part of the evidence for the case, Ulrich said.

Police got a call shortly before the shooting from a taxi driver in the area who had picked up a fare when two other people tried to get into his taxi. He would not let in the others - believed by police to be Ramirez and his accomplice - and immediately called police for help and to report what he said was an attempted robbery.

Police have not found Ramirez's accomplice. They described him as a Hispanic male clad in a gray sweatshirt.

Read more...

Luis Nava pleaded guilty earlier this year to drug charges, related to both cocaine and marijuana.

Latin Kings street gang came back to Lubbock federal court Friday. Luis Nava pleaded guilty earlier this year to drug charges, related to both cocaine and marijuana.
The 26-year-old also admits his participation in the gang. Nava was sentenced Friday to 22-years in prison for the drug charges. Federal agents tied the gang to a deadly drive by shooting in Big Spring last year using an AK-47. Parts of the gun were found by an FBI dive team east of Crosbyton. Written statements indicate that until the gang was busted, the leader of the Latin Kings in Texas lived in Lubbock.

Read more...

Mohammed Fahda, 22,wanted in connection with the March 14 shooting death of Abdul Qadier Darwiche in Sydney's southwest.

Mohammed Fahda, 22,wanted in connection with the March 14 shooting death of Abdul Qadier Darwiche in Sydney's southwest. Investigators allege the killing was linked to feuding families involved in the Sydney drug trade. Fahda arrived at Sydney airport about 3.15pm escorted by Tongan police officers, NSW Police said.
He was arrested by officers attached to the State Crime Command Homicide Squad and taken to Surry Hills police station," police said in a statement. He is expected to be charged later with the murder of Abdul Darwiche at Bass Hill on March 14, 2009.
Mr Darwiche, 37, was killed in a hail of bullets while sitting in his car outside a service station. He was shot in front of his young children allegedly after having a verbal argument with another man. The shooting raised speculation that a long-standing gang feud between the Darwiches and the rival Razzak and Fahda families would be reignited. Darwiche's older brother, Michael Darwiche, has since been charged with planning an attack to avenge the March slaying. He and another man allegedly were found in a car with a pistol, ammunition, maps and the names and addresses of Fahda family members. Darwiche claimed to be en route to a McDonald's restaurant.

Read more...

alleged member of the Rebels Outlaw Motorcycle Gang arrested

Police say that a St Clair man arrested while trying to obtain a false passport at Hurstville post office was in a drug-manufacturing ring. Matthew Espagne, 33, was in Sutherland Local Court last week charged with commercial manufacture of drugs, possessing fraudulent identification and obtaining a fraudulent passport. He is allegedly a member of the Rebels Outlaw Motorcycle Gang and allegedly had connections to a clandestine drug laboratory discovered south of Moruya this year. He will appear in court on November 5.

Read more...

Courtney High, Dejon Cagle, Ciara White and Dutchess Lykes were all arrested and charged with two counts each of aggravated arson.

Courtney High, Dejon Cagle, Ciara White and Dutchess Lykes were all arrested and charged with two counts each of aggravated arson. The arrests were related to two firebombing incidents that occurred simultaneously at 4813 and 4814 Tomahawk Trail last Wednesday. Victims and witnesses to both incidents were able to provide investigators with suspect descriptions, police said.Based on information received during the investigation, it is believed that the bombings were the result of an on-going feud between two rival gangs - the Gangster Disciples and the Bloods, police said. High and Cagle are both known members of the Bloods gang, it was stated.
Police said a third firebombing was attempted Sunday at 736 Georgia Ave. However, details are not yet available on that incident. Members of the Alcohol, Tobacco and Fire Bureau, the Chattanooga Fire Department, the Chattanooga Police Department and the Tennessee Bomb and Arson Division are all working on the incidents.

Read more...

Jamie Bacon’s rights are being violated by his living conditions at a Surrey, B.C., jail

Reputed gangster and accused murderer Jamie Bacon attended a special B.C. Supreme Court hearing in Vancouver Monday, where his lawyer argued that Bacon’s rights are being violated by his living conditions at a Surrey, B.C., jail while he awaits trial.Reputed gangster and accused murderer Jamie Bacon attended a special B.C. Supreme Court hearing in Vancouver Monday, where his lawyer argued that Bacon's rights are being violated by his living conditions at a Surrey, B.C., jail while he awaits trial.Bacon is charged along with three others with first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder in connection with the slayings of six people in a Surrey highrise in October 2007. Two of the victims were innocent bystanders, police said.Bacon claims his constitutional rights are being violated because he's being held in solitary confinement, his mail is not being handled properly and visits and telephone access are too restrictive.His lawyer, Kim Eldred, also said Bacon's cell is cold, he was given just one blanket with no pillow, and also that the cell was dirty, the walls apparently smeared with undetermined bodily fluids.Bacon's trial is not scheduled to begin until September 2010, and Eldred is seeking to have him moved to another facility or Bacon might suffer "grave psychological harm," she said.
The mother of one of the six victims from the 2007 murders, Eileen Mohan, attended Monday's hearing.Her son, Chris Mohan, was leaving his apartment to play basketball when he apparently stumbled on the murder scene and then was killed."What about our constitutional rights?" said Mohan during a break in proceedings."We families have lost our loved ones forever because of these thugs," she said.Bacon is the only one of the four accused — all currently incarcerated at the Surrey Pre-Trial Centre — to apply to the court to be moved.

Read more...

Ray Kanho $4 million worth of confiscations were part of a sentence

Ray Kanho,the Montreal Mafia and various street gang members. And Monday afternoon he watched the small fortune he amassed while drug trafficking with both groups be confiscated by the federal government.The $4 million worth of confiscations were part of a sentence Kanho received Monday at the Montreal courthouse for his activities, uncovered during Project Colisée, an investigation into the Montreal Mafia.As part of a negotiated settlement that took months to complete, Kanho lost his home in Laval’s Duvernay district, a 10-unit apartment building in Montreal and another house in Laval listed under the name of two of his relatives. He also conceded that more than $2.8 million the RCMP secretly removed from his father’s home in Laval, just weeks before he was arrested in Nov. 2006, was the proceeds of crime.“Listen to me. They took everything. I have nothing left,” Kanho was recorded telling an accomplice in 2006 after realizing his money was gone.He incorrectly assumed his sister’s boyfriend stole the money and is believed to have assaulted the man, or had someone else assault him, before the Montreal police arrested Kanho as a precaution and informed him the RCMP took his money.Besides the confiscations, Quebec Court Judge Jean Pierre Bonin sentenced Kanho to a 14-year prison term. With time served factored in he has a little more than eight years left to serve and is required to serve at least have of that before he is eligible for parole.
Kanho admitted to taking part in several conspiracies to smuggle cocaine into Canada, in particular with Giuseppe Torre, a man with ties to the Montreal Mafia also serving a 14-year sentence for crimes uncovered during Colisée.Kanho also admitted to being the man who ultimately was behind the corruption of two customs agents, including Nancy Cedeno, the Canada Border Services Agency agent who was convicted last week of accepting bribes.Besides giving up the $2.8 million and his real estate, Kanho agreed to let the federal government confiscate 72,000 shares he had in Investissement Mondi Inc., the investment arm of a St. Léonard-based construction company.According to a seizure order filed recently, Kanho is alleged to have used Constructions Mondi Inc. to launder his drug money. The company specializes in building single-family units and constructed several in Laval since 2000, including the Duvernay home confiscated on Monday.According to an affidavit filed with the seizure order, Kanho invested more than $180,000 total with the company. After purchasing shares in the company Kanho began receiving $1,000 a week from Constructions Mondi and claimed it was his salary on tax returns. However, while he was investigated in Project Colisée, Kanho did nothing that resembled work for the construction company.On April 13, 2007, the RCMP arrested Dominic Zavaglia, the president of Constructions Mondi. He gave investigators a videotaped statement during which he tried to explain why Kanho was paid $1,000 a week for doing nothing. Zavaglia, who has not been charged with a crime, told investigators that the money was paid to Kanho as a salary to save on tax deductions. But the affidavit, which was prepared after Zavaglia was questioned, the RCMP alleged Kanho’s money was given to Investissement Mondi “as a strategy to launder money.”By agreeing to the confiscation of his remaining shares Monday, Kanho admitted they were bought with dirty money.

Read more...

Rejected pleas by gun gang members Kaleem Akhtar, Madasser Ali, of Bradford, Asaid Salim, and Paul Wilson that their jail terms were over-the-top.

Rejected pleas by gun gang members Kaleem Akhtar, Madasser Ali, of Bradford, Asaid Salim, and Paul Wilson that their jail terms were over-the-top. He said the weapons dealt in by the gang had been accurately described as “an assassin’s armoury” and that, under the tough new guidelines he handed down, they might well have qualified for indefinite sentences for public protection. The judge said: “Guns kill and maim, terrorise and intimidate. That is why criminals want them, that is why they use them. “Sentencing courts must address the fact that too many lethal weapons are too readily available, too many are carried, too many are used, always with devastating effect on individual victims and with insidious corrosive impact on the local community.” Ali, 31, of Great Horton Road, Bradford, was jailed for 18 years after pleading guilty to conspiracy. Akhtar, 31, of Abbotsford Road, Chorlton, was jailed for 20 years at Manchester Crown Court last August after he was convicted of conspiracy to possess firearms and ammunition with intent. Salim, 28, of Bedford Road, Firswood, Manchester, received ten years and eight months after admitting the same charge. Paul Wilson, 37, a cage fighter, of Liverpool Road, Southport, purchased some of the weapons from Akhtar for onward distribution and was given 11 years and six months after admitting conspiracy to possess firearms. Another of the cases reviewed and ruled upon in yesterday’s judgment concerned a man who was found guilty of turning replica guns into live weapons linked to more than 50 shootings, including the murder of PC Sharon Beshenivsky One of the guns supplied by Grant Wilkinson, 34, was used during the Bradford armed robbery that led to the death of 38-year-old PC Beshenivsky in 2005, although it was not the murder weapon.

Read more...

Raul Esparza struck a deal with San Mateo County prosecutors

Raul Esparza struck a deal with San Mateo County prosecutors on Aug. 18 that allowed him to get out of jail.He wasn't free for long. Esparza was arrested Tuesday after San Carlos police pulled over a car he was riding in that authorities say contained a revolver and baggies they believe were full of cocaine.Esparza, who turned 19 this week, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to three felonies — possession of a narcotic substance for sale, possessing a controlled substance while in possession of a firearm and being a felon in possession of a firearm.The charges stem from a traffic stop on Tuesday on the 1500 block of El Camino Real in San Carlos. A police officer pulled over a car driven by James Kulp-Haggard, 20, at about 10:15 p.m. because its license plate lamp was out, Cmdr. John Reed said. Esparaza was allegedly in the passenger seat.Officers noticed Kulp-Haggard, a resident of Martinez, was on probation. They searched the car and found three baggies of suspected cocaine that weighed a total of 31.9 grams, along with a revolver and ammunition, Reed said. The two men were arrested and booked into jail.The substance in the baggies still needs to be tested to confirm if it is cocaine, Reed said. Esparza, a Redwood City resident, faces up to seven years in prison if convicted on the latest charges, significantly less than the 20 years to life he faced about six weeks ago.
In the previous case, Esparza, his brother Salvador Esparza Jr., and Angel Sanchez — all suspected gang members — pleaded no contest on Aug. 18 to one felony count of engaging in gang activity. Prosecutors said the trio participated in the beating of two men who were sitting in a car in unincorporated Redwood City in May 2008.
As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors agreed to drop charges of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and carjacking in exchange for a 16-month prison sentence. Each of the three defendants had credit for more than 500 days of time served, fulfilling their sentences, though it is unclear exactly when they were released.Raul Esparza and Kulp-Haggard both remained in custody Thursday on $100,000 bail.

Read more...

18-year-old man was shot in the leg outside the Biblos club

18-year-old man was shot in the leg outside the Biblos club at Byporten in downtown Oslo. Several witnesses were detained after the shooting, but the lead detective, Find Belle, of the Oslo police told the Dagbladet that the perpetrator is still at large. None of the witnesses are not currently suspects in the case.
"The shooter was a of African descent wearing a leather jacket. That's all we have at the present,' Said Belle. "The shot man is on the operating table at Ullevål hospital, and his status is fine."
The 18-year-old gang member is an acquaintance of the police, said Belle and added that he has an African sounding name. Heavily armed police with K-9 unit arrived to the scene quickly. The shooting took place around 02:25 in the morning. The police found several spent brass at the location.People ran from the scene of crime in panic after at least one shot was fired.

Read more...

Ian Alexander Foden, 24, of Gorse Crescent, admitted possession of a firearm and ammunition

Ian Alexander Foden, 24, of Gorse Crescent, admitted possession of a firearm and ammunition at an early hearing. Yesterday he was sentenced to five years in prison at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court. Acting on intelligence received from the community, police officers executed a warrant at his home shortly after 8am on June 25. A Norinco 9mm self-loading pistol and 19 rounds of ammunition were recovered.
Detective Constable Stuart Brown said: "Possessing a gun and ammunition is a grave offence and one GMP works tirelessly to tackle. "We don't know exactly why Foden had the weapon but it is possible he was storing it for someone else because of his previously unblemished record. "I hope today's sentence sends out a stark warning to those prepared to hide guns and those who use people they think police will not pursue to hide them that we will always act on intelligence given to us. "If you have any knowledge about anyone involved in gun and gang crime please come forward.

Read more...

Ayala, better known as "Angelo Millones," was captured last month

Ayala, better known as "Angelo Millones," was captured last month following a seven-year investigation."It was his domain," Pedro Janer, assistant special agent in charge for the Drug Enforcement Administration in Puerto Rico, said of the Jose Celso Barbosa project, a collection of concrete, three-story yellow buildings in the San Juan suburb of Bayamon. "He lived there his entire life. People liked him. They protected him."Arrest teams from the DEA, FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, the U.S. Marshals Service and the Puerto Rico police assembled at a nearby Army base, Fort Buchanan, before speeding into the complex before dawn."We use overwhelming force to guarantee the safety of our agents," DEA spokesman Waldo Santiago said.Suspects were rounded up without incident and loaded onto a bus for processing at a sports stadium in San Juan. By midafternoon Friday, 38 of 65 defendants indicted by a U.S. grand jury on drug trafficking charges had been arrested at the project and other spots in the metropolitan area."I think we've cut this tree down," said Joseph Shepherd, acting special agent in charge of the DEA in this U.S. Caribbean territory.Despite the project's grim exterior, there was clear evidence of drug riches inside.At one apartment, FBI agents broke down the door and found leather couches, custom recessed lighting and a lavish entertainment system including a large flat-screen television. Luis Fraticelli, the top FBI official in Puerto Rico, said the traffickers used that unit as a command center.Ayala, who was targeted by a long-running DEA investigation, is accused of importing cocaine from Colombia, often by way of the Dominican Republic, and distributing the drug to the U.S. mainland and other cities in northern Puerto Rico. Cocaine was allegedly shipped to New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida.Ayala's lawyer has said his client is innocent of charges that could send him to prison for life.
U.S. prosecutors say the ring generated roughly $100 million in profits since the mid-1990s. Authorities have seized cash and property in that amount from the defendants, including a $250,000 Lamborghini.Ayala was generous with the project's poor residents.For Christmas he put on lavish parties featuring well-known reggaeton artists, U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodriguez said. She said at a news conference that Ayala used drug profits to pay for the parties "as a way to maintain control over the housing projects."The trafficking ring also used violence and intimidation to control the Barbosa project, according to Rodriguez, who said the gang installed iron bars at some building entrances to facilitate drug sales and block the way for police. Ayala is suspected of ordering the slaying of rival traffickers, including a shooting that killed a 3-year-old girl in May.The DEA says Ayala used his wealth to provide back the career development of the island's reggaeton acts. Two that performed at his holiday parties, Don Omar and the duo Wisin y Yandel, were among witnesses called to testify before the grand jury.

Read more...

Jamal Shakir, hoped to renew his Rollin' 90 Crips criminal enterprise

Federal authorities say a gang leader had developed an elaborate plot to escape from prison in a homemade helicopter flown by his underlings.The Tennessean of Nashville reported Friday that the case against one of the gang leader's associates, 35-year-old Faith Readus, will be heard by a grand jury. She is accused of researching different types of helicopters and flight training.Authorities say the plot was orchestrated by Jamal Shakir, who hoped to renew his Rollin' 90 Crips criminal enterprise. He was convicted in May 2008 of orchestrating a nationwide drug ring, laundering money and killing nine people between 1994 and 1997.Readus' attorney, Jennifer Thompson, could not be reached Friday. But she said at a Thursday hearing that such a plot was ridiculous.

Read more...

Federal effort against Black P. Stones street gang convictions

David L. Brown, 25, of 2327 N. Delaware St. must spend 10 years on supervised release - the federal version of probation - after he is released from his 244-month sentence.His arrest was part of Operation Rockclimb, a federal effort against the Black P. Stones street gang. Unlike past operations such as Crackshot, which took on the Gangster Disciplines in the mid-1990s, Rockclimb has made extensive use of wiretaps to build cases. More than two dozen people so far have been indicted.
In Brown's case, his plea in June stated he was linked to more than 50 grams of crack cocaine during the two-year conspiracy.The 50 grams of crack is not an indication of how much cocaine was involved during the two years Brown allegedly participated in the conspiracy. Rather, it is a statutory amount used to trigger stiffer sentences.Brown was part of a ring headed by Carlos Williams, 34, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison, and his niece, Tiffany Edwards, 21, who was sentenced to 10 years behind bars on related charges.He bought drugs for himself and others, his plea agreement states.

Read more...

G-Shine set of the Bloods

Father of a young Bloods street gang member who died in a November 2007 drive-by shooting in New Brunswick forgave his son's killer at the man's sentencing Friday, going so far as to tell him to keep in touch."If you want to write to me or talk to me on a personal level you can do that," said Kevin Purnell of Somerset to 21-year-old Morgan Brown of New Brunswick.The comments capped an emotional hearing in which Brown apologized to Purnell and condemned the lifestyle that went with the crime."I'd rather be broke and a bum in the street" than continue living that way, he said. "All I can say is I'm sorry."Purnell's son, Dyshon Thompson, 24, was gunned down on Hampton Road on Nov. 5, 2007, in front of children playing touch football under street lights in the gang-ridden public housing complex.Brown and his co-defendant, Shakeira Summers, 22, who pleaded guilty to attempted murder in the case, were members of the G-Shine set of the Bloods. A dispute between G-Shine and members of NHB or Neighborhood Bloods, Thompson's set of the gang, sparked the killing.
"This was a classic gang rivalry," said Manuel Sameiro, assistant Middlesex County prosecutor.Brown was firing an AK-47 from the window of the drive-by car and Summers was using a handgun, prosecutors said.The case was marked by the interrelations of victims and shooters and their families. Purnell, who has coached youth football in New Brunswick for nearly 20 years, is friendly with Summers' relatives and appears to have coached Brown when he was a child.Brown's attorney, William Fetky of New Brunswick, argued for a lenient sentence, based on Brown's limited criminal record. Judge Dennis Nieves, while citing Brown's sincerity and remorse, rejected that.
Brown was sentenced to 20 years in prison, part of a negotiated plea with the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office. He must serve 85 percent of it, or about 17 years, before he becomes eligible for parole.

Read more...

Member of John Gilligan's drug gang was a key player in the 'Park West Bloodbath'.

The criminal, aged 35 and from Ballyfermot, sustained a hand injury in the 20-man melee which led to the murder of British gangster Jason Lee Martin last Sunday.
The Herald understands the man, who is a gangland enforcer and has a number of previous convictions, sustained a bite wound to his hand in the fight at Park West Road.Gardai have identified him as being present at the scene, with a relative. It is understood he may have been friendly with Martin, and had been a criminal contact of the Briton for a number of years.The Ballyfermot man was a close associate of both John Gilligan and Brian Meehan in the 1990s, and was regarded by gardai as a central member of the Gilligan crime gang, the outfit behind the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin.He is not believed to have had involvement in the journalist's murder, despite his friendship with killer Brian Meehan.After the jailing of Gilligan and Meehan in the 1990s, he operated on his own, and is also suspected of carrying out attacks on criminals who owed him protection money.
He remains a target for the garda Organised Crime Unit in southwest Dublin.
Gardai are investigating whether the Ballyfermot man helped Jason Lee Martin hide out, after the Manchester criminal left the UK eight weeks ago. Martin was wanted for questioning over the kidnap of a building contractor in Lancashire, on August 1 last.Days before that incident he had been arrested on suspicion of assaulting a woman in the city. She withdrew the allegations, but the Herald understands Martin told his family he was leaving the UK for Spain following that arrest. He is believed to have spent eight weeks hiding in Dublin, where he attended the Bernard Dunne fight in the O2 last Saturday night with a group of Ballyfermot criminals.
The group returned to Hennigen's bar on Park West Road, where a fight between two men took place in the car, which led to around 20 others brawling. Martin sustained a fatal stab wound, and another man, in his 20s from Tallaght, was seriously injured.
Gardai have issued an appeal for taxi drivers who were in the area at 1.50am last Sunday to contact them.

Read more...

Hermandad de Pistoleros Latinos,Brotherhood of Latino Gunmen

Floating trunk stuffed with a headless torso found while fishing in Galveston Bay six years ago, it didn't take long for authorities to figure out the dead man was the Houston captain of a Texas gang aligned with Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel.On his back, his name was tattooed in Old English script. On his hip, was inked a likeness of a .45-caliber handgun, the sure-fire call sign for a gang whose Spanish name translates as Brotherhood of Latino Gunmen. What took much longer was an investigation, sparked in part by intelligence information that the killing was an inside job, payback for skimming drug profits. Within the past week, that investigation has resulted in the sentencing of 24 gang members and associates on drug and money laundering charges.The probe underlined Houston's positioning as a hemispheric hub for smuggling illegal drugs into the United States. It also shed light on how a lesser-known prison-born gang distributed drugs for Mexico's best-known gangster, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who heads the Sinaloa Cartel and made the Forbes list of billionaires.“They certainly were a prolific drug-trafficking group as evidenced by the dollars involved and the drug quantities involved,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Braley.Records do not show whether any of those in custody offered insight into the killing in exchange for leniency, but the gang remains in the cross hairs of the law. Police contend that after being shot, Ranferi “Tiny” Arizaga was taken to a Houston apartment where he was dismembered. His head, torso, arms and legs were tossed separately into the bay where the Gulf of Mexico was supposed to swallow them.“It is their way of sending a message,” said Lt. Tommy Hansen, of the Galveston County Sheriff's Office, who noted beheading is a common terror tool in Mexico.Although the Sinaloa syndicate is known to operate in Houston, the city is considered the turf of El Chapo's rival, the Gulf Cartel.
Some of those who were busted in the gang investigation had criminal records; some did not.Court documents, testimony and interviews indicate a wide-ranging conspiracy that looped between Laredo and Houston:Among those snared was a car wash owner; a former semi-pro basketball player; a bowling alley employee; a soft-drink truck driver; the owner of a tattoo parlor; and the mother-in-law, wife and a maid of one of the gangsters.Perhaps the flashiest gangster of them all was Pedro “Master P” Gil III, who got 25 years, records show.Gil, who was born in Laredo and left school in the ninth grade, made a fortune moving cocaine to Houston, where it was bound for New York, Tennessee and other states. As part of his plea, Gil forfeited up to $6 million cash, nine cars, assorted Laredo real estate, and an array of jewelry, including a Rolex watch with 50 diamonds.Gil and his wife were high rollers in Las Vegas, having charged nearly $100,000 on a credit card in 2007. How much cash they dropped is unknown.Millions of dollars were stashed in the names of family as well as a maid who had a Laredo bank account. Gil's lawyers had no comment.Court documents indicate the gangsters were taken down by members of their own organization who betrayed them by wearing hidden recording devices. Members of Hermandad de Pistoleros Latinos, as the gang is called in Spanish, are in the organization for life, experts said.down to soldiers.Going against them means death, but hits must be sanctioned and leaders attend meetings known as High Mass.
“They don't kill just for the heck of it,” said Sig Sanchez, head of the prison system's gang department. “They are like many other groups: They have their constitution, they have rules and regulations they have to follow.”Sanchez called them “thugs and killers — a bunch of people that don't belong.”

Read more...

Gangster shot dead

Senthilvelavan alias ‘Kurangu’ Senthil (27) of Vilathisamuthiram in Nagapattinam district had dropped-out in the second-year of the engineering course he was doing from Annamalai University, Chidambaram.Senthil, who was involved in minor offences, threatened a merchant from Madurai in 1999 and had demanded for money. Later he led the gang formed by his close accomplice ‘Manalmedu’ Sankar, who was also shot dead in an encounter.In 2007, Senthil was notified as a prime accused in the murder case of Tiruvarur district DMK secretary Poondi Kalaiselvan and was lodged in the Central Prison here.However, Senthil who had come out on bail was reported absconding for about a year.Inspector General of Police, Enforcement and IG (in-charge) of Central Zone, J K Tripathy, told reporters that Ammapettai police inspector S Karthi keyan made inquiries with another inmate, Vijay alias Anand. He allegedly revealed that Senthil and his aide Natarajan had planned to murder Poondi Kalaiselvan’s brother and the present Tiruvarur DMK Secretary, Poondi Kalaivanan and Ammapettai DMK union secretary Suresh, IG added.Anand also informed Karthikeyan that the duo was hanging around Tiruchy, Coimbatore and Chennai.Based on this information Karthikeyan and head constable Sridharan visited Tiruverumbur on Friday.When the cops spotted Senthil riding a motorcycle, they chased him. After Senthil’s motorcycle skidded at Ganapathy Koil in Vengur he is alleged hurled a countrymade bomb at the police personnel, which failed to go off. Meanwhile, another country-made bomb, a country-made pistol and two cartridges fell down from Senthil.However, he reportedly took out an aruval and allegedly assaulted Karthikeyan, injuring him on the left shoulder. When he also tried to assault Sridharan, Karthikeyan fired two rounds at Senthil and one of them hit him in the head and other on the chest.The police took Senthil to the Tiruchy GH where he succumbed to his injuries. Karthikeyan and Sridharan were admitted at the GH.

Read more...

Cameron Taylor, gang member remains at large six months after a roadway shooting that left a passing motorist dead from a single rifle shot.

Cameron Taylor, a documented member of one of the city's most notorious street gangs, disappeared after the March 24 shooting in which rival gang members fired across afternoon traffic on South 16th Street. south Phoenix gang member remains at large six months after a roadway shooting that left a passing motorist dead from a single rifle shot.Earlier this week, Phoenix police's Silent Witness program listed Taylor, 22, among its most-wanted suspects. The 5-foot-11, 150-pound suspect, who goes by the nickname Woo, is accused of attempted murder and other crimes in the shooting north of Broadway Road. The stray bullet killed Gilbert Leon, 54, who was driving home after taking his nephew to lunch just blocks from the neighborhood where he grew up. Leon's parents said they continue to work with Silent Witness to share their son's story in hopes that others will learn from his memory.
"That's all we have - memories," said Leon's mother, Clemencia Leon, 77.
"We don't mind it because we hope it will help . . . to tell these gang members what they did, killing an innocent person," she said.While Taylor has gone missing, police arrested a 17-year-old gang member in May on suspicion of firing the fatal rifle shot in Leon's murder. Arkeem Coleman was indicted on 12 felony counts ranging from first-degree murder to endangerment and assisting a criminal street gang. He pleaded not guilty, and his next scheduled hearing is slated for later this month in Maricopa County Superior Court. Police believe Taylor and Coleman were two of the gang members shooting at or threatening each other from vehicles traveling north on 16th Street. disappeared after the March 24 shooting in which rival gang members fired across afternoon traffic on South 16th Street. Earlier this week, Phoenix police's Silent Witness program listed Taylor, 22, among its most-wanted suspects. The 5-foot-11, 150-pound suspect, who goes by the nickname Woo, is accused of attempted murder and other crimes in the shooting north of Broadway Road.
The stray bullet killed Gilbert Leon, 54, who was driving home after taking his nephew to lunch just blocks from the neighborhood where he grew up. Leon's parents said they continue to work with Silent Witness to share their son's story in hopes that others will learn from his memory."That's all we have - memories," said Leon's mother, Clemencia Leon, 77. "We don't mind it because we hope it will help . . . to tell these gang members what they did, killing an innocent person," she said.While Taylor has gone missing, police arrested a 17-year-old gang member in May on suspicion of firing the fatal rifle shot in Leon's murder. Arkeem Coleman was indicted on 12 felony counts ranging from first-degree murder to endangerment and assisting a criminal street gang. He pleaded not guilty, and his next scheduled hearing is slated for later this month in Maricopa County Superior Court. Police believe Taylor and Coleman were two of the gang members shooting at or threatening each other from vehicles traveling north on 16th Street.

Read more...

Eric S. Chambers shot Ronald L. Kenney, 19, in the stomach outside the CFE club in Forestville

19-year-old from District Heights was sentenced Thursday to four years in prison for trying to kill a member of a rival gang outside a nightclub last year, Prince George's State's Attorney Glenn F. Ivey said. Circuit Court Judge Larnzell Martin Jr. sentenced Eric S. Chambers in connection with the Dec. 26 shooting, prosecutors said. Chambers shot Ronald L. Kenney, 19, in the stomach outside the CFE club in Forestville, said prosecutors. Chambers is a member of the Hilltop Crew, which prosecutors said is a rival of the Walker Mill Crew. Members of the groups got into a fight at the club, according to prosecutors, and a member of the Hilltop Crew called Chambers at home. Chambers went to the club, authorities said, shooting and wounding Kenney after another fight outside the nightspot.

Read more...

Two gang members who are thought to have fled to Spain after raiding HSBC .

Two gang members who are thought to have fled to Spain after raiding HSBC .As reported yesterday Patrick McDonagh and Carl Hargin were jailed for stealing more than £300,000 from the Westbourne Road branch in an armed, daylight robbery in June.
Hargin, 24, got eight years and eight months and McDonagh, 28, got seven years and four months after admitting the offence.Det Chf Insp McDermott, of West Yorkshire Police’s crime division, said: “They were obviously dangerous and very professional in the way they planned and prepared the offence, using stolen vehicles, one of which was later burned out and abandoned.“The level of violence used at the scene was horrific and it was lucky the bank staff were not seriously injured.“It’s a good result to have got the sentences they received.”Hargin, of Salford, and McDonagh, of Cheetham Hill in Manchester, were part of a four-strong gang who armed themselves with a sledgehammer, a machete and a crowbar when they targeted the bank on the afternoon of June 26.After forcing staff to open the safe, they fled in a Vauxhall Vectra with hold-alls full of cash.The car was later burned out and the gang got in a van, which was spotted by police.It sparked a dramatic chase from Huddersfield to Manchester city centre, where Greater Manchester Police caught up with them in the Arndale Shopping Centre car park.Det Chf Insp McDermott said one of the gang attempted to strip off his clothes and hide behind cars before he was caught.Hargin and McDonagh were arrested, but the others escaped.Det Chf Insp McDermott added: “It was a great team effort between West Yorkshire Police and Greater Manchester Police. They reacted quickly to information we gave to them and in difficult circumstances managed to safely arrest two violent offenders.”He confirmed the other two gang members were thought to have fled to Spain and added: “We have identified who the other two suspects are, and they have been circulated as wanted.“The case is still a live inquiry and we are still actively pursuing them.”

Read more...

Appeal by Trong Minh Nguyen, 26, whose lawyer was seeking to have the sentence reduced to four years

Appeal by Trong Minh Nguyen, 26, whose lawyer was seeking to have the sentence reduced to four years. Nguyen was convicted in 2008 of discharging a weapon with intent and possessing a loaded, unregistered handgun in connection with the July 6, 2006, shootout at the Pacific Place Mall on 36th Street N.E.Nguyen was in his parked BMW at the rear of the mall when gunmen in another vehicle opened fire on him and he returned several shots. The appeal panel concluded the trial judge's sentence was fair because of several aggravating factors surrounding the shooting.

Read more...

17 year old girl was shot and killed on the front lawn of a Muldoon home

17 year old girl was shot and killed on the front lawn of a Muldoon home. Neighbors tell the Anchorage Daily News that this residence has been a persistent problem for loud noise, underage drinking and other problems in the area. Even that night, multiple calls by multiple neighbors were made to Anchorage Police complaining about the noise, traffic and drunken juveniles wandering around the neighborhood. News reports now tell us that the shooting was gang related. An early morning dispute between rival gangs led to the death of a 17 year old girl who was caught in the cross-fire. This tragic event leaves many of us in disbelief. We need to understand how this was able to happen, so we can prevent it from occurring in the future. It is certainly justifiable to question the actions, or inactions, of a few different groups. First of all the house in question is reportedly owned by AHFC; it is a low income rental unit with what are supposed to be strict rules regarding loud noise and illegal activity complaints. Neighbors say that they have made complaints to AHFC about chronic problems with the household, but feel that they have fallen on deaf ears. Equally questionable are the actions of the parents. Presumably these parents allowed their teenage children to leave the house dressed – frankly – like prostitutes at all hours of the morning. When did this become acceptable parenting behavior?However, the larger issue is that of the gang problem in Anchorage and how we, as a community, are going to combat that problem. In recent years our city has come out of our state of denial; however we clearly have not done enough to address the issue.Gangs are an interesting dilemma. They are well organized and enforce their rules mercilessly within their organizations. They understand the laws and consequences and plan their activities accordingly. Dan Fagan recently mentioned on his radio show that when he reported on gangs he learned that they would recruit the younger members for certain crimes because when caught, their sentences would be lighter. This strategy is a cleverly devised plan to minimize the cost of the crimes for these organizations. Gangs recruit at risk adolescents who feel a need to belong to something greater than themselves. These kids generally do not have a strong parental presence and often lack the self esteem necessary to make the right decisions. The sense of belonging given to them by the gang is the self-esteem boost that they have been looking for.

The History Channel series “Gangland” recently featured Anchorage and brought to light, for many, how serious our gang problem is. Masked men within well organized gangs – armed to the teeth – running ruthlessly throughout our city. We learned from the show that Anchorage gangs are mostly subsets of the “Crips”. They point out that gangs in Anchorage are not territorial, which is a nearly universal characteristic amongst gangs elsewhere. However they are certainly as capable of being ruthless and bloodthirsty as one East Anchorage family learned in the most difficult of ways.

Read more...

victim reports that he was assaulted by 5-6 Hispanic males that he believes are 18th St gang members.

officers on patrol found a man bleeding from his head and face at 294 Meridian St. around 10:10 p.m. on Friday:The victim reports that he was assaulted by 5-6 Hispanic males that he believes are 18th St gang members.Nestor Rodriguez of Condor Street was arrested for the attack, police say. The 18th Street Gang is a large gang based in Los Angeles.

Read more...