The Sons of Silence, one of the country’s biggest outlaw biker gangs. With its headquarters in Colorado, the Sons of Silence (SOS) are known as “one-percenters” — the term given to those that operate on the fringes of an otherwise law-abiding motorcycle community. One-percenters are dedicated to principles of personal freedom and the right to self-expression. Membership is by invitation only and their motto is Donecmors non separat — Latin that is intended to translate as “Until death separates us”. At first sight, an alliance of white supremacists and biker gang members seems an odd one. Edward Winterhalder, former leader of a rival biker gang known as the Bandidos and now an author on gang culture, said: “Most of them are just regular guys who work during the week and have a little too much fun at the weekends. The majority of them are law-abiding, have families. They’re just regular neighbourhood guys. “They love their Harley-Davidson motorcycles and love their brotherhood and the camaraderie of riding their bikes. They are very pro-government, they stand behind the flag. This is something they would never be involved in. Working with white supremacists would be an extremely unusual partnership.”
But Steve Cook, president of the Mid-West Outlaw Motorcycle Gang Investigations Association, said that the gangs were known to have a sub-culture — and a bad element — that could sit comfortably with racist extremism.
“I have personally seen SOS members wearing hats that say ‘Dirty White Boy’, T-shirts with swastikas and other Nazi regalia. “I don’t believe that even a group like the SOS would knowingly, as an organisation, get themselves involved in something like this because nothing good can come of it for them. “But would it be out of the realms for some of their associates or a member to do something like this on his own? No. Anything is in play.”

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Louis Vuitton, Luella Bartley, Marc Jacobs, Anya Hindmarch and Sonia Rykiel are just a few of the shops targeted by "scooter gangs" - criminals on mopeds who drive through the windows and take what they want. Oddly, they don't clear out the shop; rather, they pick and choose very specific handbags. This suggests they are taking orders, possibly for collectors who don't want to wait. It's all speculative at this point, as tracking of the stolen goods has proved unsuccessful. Bold smash-and-grab thefts of handbags in London's upscale designer shops are increasing, reports British Vogue in the September issue. Metropolitan Police say the gangs work in groups of six or more young men, and there are currently about six gangs operating in London. They work for a middleman who shifts the goods which are thought to be transported overseas, "likely Russia and the United Arab Emirates where you can still get a high price for a designer bag."Designers aren't only hit at the retail level. In August 2007, a shipment of shoes that Alice Temperley had co-designed with Christian Louboutin for her S/S 2008 collection in New York was stolen during transport in Italy during what appears to be a planned hijacking. Oddly, they've never turned up anywhere. More devastating is that some thefts could potentially ruin careers. Christopher Kane, one of London's brightest new talents, was burglarised eight days before the start of last September's London fashion week. Ignoring the neighbouring photography studios filled with expensive equipment, the thieves entered Kane's and carefully hand-picked items, says Kane "as if they were in a shop". Fortunately, he was able to remake the missing pieces in time to show his third collection, which was a hit. Had the entire collection been stolen, Kane acknowledges that in "such an unforgiving industry" he would have been "ruined".

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federal grand jury in Erie has indicted 13 people on charges they trafficked in cocaine. Though some of the 13 defendants are accused of working together, they are not accused of being part of the same overall conspiracy.The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Erie announced the indictments today. The indictments grew out of investigations by the FBI-led task Erie Area Gang Law Enforcement force, which focuses on large-scale drug operations.Most of the defendants are from Erie, and two are from Detroit. According to the indictments, the defendants are:
Rashad L. Williams, 22, of the 2400 block of McKinley Avenue, and Lamar A. Owens, 30, formerly of Las Vegas. They are accused of conspiracy to traffic in powder cocaine and crack cocaine, and Owens is accused of two counts of possessing powder cocaine and crack cocaine with the intent to distribute.Williams was also indicted in another case with Shawn T. Howard, 25, of the 800 block of West 19th Street. They are each accused of conspiracy to traffic in crack cocaine and possessing crack cocaine with the intent to distribute.Marvin T. Jones, 40, of the 300 block of East 14th Street, is accused of possessing crack cocaine with the intent to distribute.
Marcus D. Knight, 40, of the 1800 block of Buffalo Road, is accused of one count each of possessing crack cocaine with the intent to distribute and possessing cocaine base with the intent to distribute.Gilbert Jordan Sr., 50, of the 700 block of East 25th Street, is accused of one count each of possessing crack cocaine with the intent to distribute and possessing cocaine base with the intent to distribute.
Devoe D. Pickering, 27, of the 1600 block of German Street, is accused of possessing cocaine base with the intent to distribute.Samuel Tirado, 28, formerly of Erie, is accused of possessing cocaine base with the intent to distribute.
Robert J. Carver, 28, of Erie, but with no address listed, is accused of three counts of possessing cocaine with the intent to distribute and one count of carrying a firearm during a drug-trafficking crime.
Christopher G. Bowersox, 36, of the 2800 block of Atlantic Avenue, Millcreek Township, is accused of possessing cocaine base with the intent to distribute.
John C. Bisbee, 27, of the 100 block of Parade Street, is accused of possessing cocaine base with the intent to deliver.
Carl D. Smith, 35, and Ronald W. Thomas, 58, are accused of one count each of conspiracy to traffic in powder cocaine. Smith is also accused of one count of manufacturing cocaine base and possessing it with the intent to distribute.
The FBI previously charged Smith, with the indictment replacing those charges.

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The purported leader of a gang that stole loads of cocaine and methamphetamine in home robberies and carjackings was sentenced to life in prison Monday.Five others sentenced Monday on drug and weapons charges included Robert Ortega-Martinez, 28, sentenced to 34 years; Ricardo Villegas, 28, sentenced to 26 years; Eduardo Ontiveros-Trevino, 37, sentenced to 17 years; Jaime Alberto Saavedra, 29, sentenced to 10 years, and Victor Marquez, 28, sentenced to 10 years.Jesus Espinosa, 30, of the Hermanos Pistoleros Latinos gang was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Randy Crane for conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute cocaine.Espinoza and 14 others, some from his gang and others from another group, were earlier convicted on various charges stemming from drug robberies in McAllen in 2006, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Espinoza's gang typically stole the drugs at gunpoint after receiving tips from the other group.

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Peter Mitchell was sitting with a number of associates drinking in the El Jardin bar which is a hundred yards away from his own premises when the hitman struck on Thursday night.The gun man thought by locals to be a Moroccan hired by a drug gang – jumped out of a car and ran towards Mitchell.As Mitchell ran to the back of the bar to make his escape it is understood that the gun man fired at least four shots hitting him twice in the shoulder.According to eyewitnesses, the potential killer slipped and fell as he ran and as a result two innocent Irish people were hit by stray bullets.The hitman ran to a waiting car which was found burned-out some time later.
Yesterday, Mitchell was described by the Costa del Sol Hospital as not being in any danger. He was surrounded by his cronies and wife Sonia Walsh in a private room at the hospital.His cousin Christy Mitchell, who acts as his relation’s bodyguard, answered the phone in the gangster’s hospital room. The convicted drug dealer who is also from the inner city told a reporter: “Peter’s not around, he’s gone out for a jog but he wouldn’t speak anyway. We don’t speak to journalists.”Two other men one of whom is believed to be Irish were shot in a separate incident in the early hours of yesterday morning.The men got into a row at the trendy Nikki Beach, a venue popular with Irish and UK expats and holiday makers, in the resort of Elviria 10 minutes from Marbella town centre.Although some of those involved in the shooting are associates of Mitchell’s, it is understood the shooting was the result of a drunken and cocaine-fuelled row that got out of control.As a result of the shooting incidents, which have claimed five casualties in just over 24 hours in Marbella, the Spanish police are expected to launch a major offensive against the crime gangs who are destroying one of the wealthiest holiday hot spots in Spain.

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outlaw motorcycle gang, the Rebels, will be closely monitored by police during their overnight stay on the Sunshine Coast this weekend.The notorious Queensland bikie gang, also reportedly the world's largest Big Twin Harley-Davidson club, is expected to roll into the Sunshine Coast today wearing full club colours - red, blue and white.The Australian Crime Commission has said the Rebels are a major player in the drug trade and are heavily involved in organised crime.Yet Queensland police media virtually sanctioned the outlaw gang yesterday, warning drivers to expect delays as the club wound its way through the city before heading to the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane.Police are expecting close to 600 Rebels members to attend a function at the Kunda Park clubhouse tonight as part of the gang's compulsory national run.
Superintendent Ben Hanbidge said the outlaw motorcycle gang would be watched closely during its stay."It's no secret that we have adopted a very strong approach to (outlaw motorcycle gangs), not only on the Sunshine Coast but right throughout the North Coast Region, and we will continue to target their unlawful activities," Superintendent Hanbidge said."I don't want them here, and I am sure that the majority of the Sunshine Coast community probably don't want them here, and whilst we can't prevent them from coming, we will do everything we can to make it uncomfortable for them and will be watching their activities very closely.
"Action will be taken where there is any evidence of traffic violations or anti-social behaviour."It is believed the bikies will return to Brisbane on Sunday.

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off-duty Seattle police detective who shot and seriously wounded a Hells Angel in a bar fight at a South Dakota motorcycle rally earlier this month has clashed with a member of the outlaw motorcycle club before, according to court records, police reports and interviews.Detective Ron Smith filed charges against a Seattle Hells Angel in 2005, alleging that Anthony James Magnesi, a member of the Washington Nomads chapter of the Hells Angels, had threatened him over the phone.Magnesi, in turn, recorded one of their phone conversations and gave it to the police department's Office of Professional Accountability (OPA), claiming it was Smith who had threatened him.An internal investigation was opened, and the incident was referred to Smith's supervisor as a training issue, according to OPA officials.The misdemeanor criminal charges filed by Smith against the biker were dismissed after Magnesi's lawyers played the tape for city prosecutors, according to Magnesi's attorney, Paul Bernstein, and court records.On a copy of the tape given to The Seattle Times by Bernstein, Smith calls Magnesi a "dirtbag," taunts him about suspected criminal activity — although Magnesi was not under investigation by Smith and has never been convicted of a serious crime — and tells him "you better watch your back."Smith tells Magnesi that simply "being a member of the Hells Angels outlaw motorcycle gang is a ... crime."The detective also boasts that he's a member of the biggest "gang" of all: "It's called law enforcement. You got it?"The recording contains only Smith's side of the conversation — what Magnesi is saying can't be heard. Bernstein said the recording device was set up that way.Magnesi declined to be interviewed for this story, but gave Bernstein permission to discuss the incident.Officer an avid biker, tooSmith, an avid biker himself and a member of the Iron Pigs Motorcycle Club, which draws its riders from police and firefighters, frequently opines about the scourge of "outlaw bikers" in a regular column he writes as editor of The Guardian, the Seattle Police Officer Guild's newspaper.
It is not known whether Smith's apparent contempt for the Hells Angels played a role in the incident in Sturgis, S.D. What is known is that, among an estimated 500 revelers at the Loud American Roadhouse early on the morning of Aug. 9, it was Smith who wound up in a confrontation with members of the gang.
Smith won't talk about it or his earlier run-in with Magnesi, and the Seattle Police Department is withholding comment pending a criminal investigation by a grand jury in Meade County, S.D., said spokesman Sgt. Sean Whitcomb. The grand jury reconvenes on Wednesday.Authorities in South Dakota have also declined to comment on the investigation.The Seattle Police Department is conducting an internal investigation into the incident, and the command staff will review the use of deadly force in a separate inquiry.Smith says that he was "cold-cocked" by a Hells Angel and then jumped by others. He has said the assault was unprovoked and that he was fighting for his life with as many as three Hells Angels when he pulled a handgun and shot one of them.Joseph McGuire, a Hells Angel from Imperial Beach, Calif., was seriously wounded in the shooting.Smith, 43, was working as a theft detective in Seattle's Southwest Precinct in May 2005 when Magnesi called him from Lucky's Choppers, his custom motorcycle business on Airport Way South. Magnesi had "heard I had been talking about him" and wanted to know why, Smith wrote in a police report on the incident.Magnesi, Bernstein said, learned of Smith's inquiries through a friend, who had given him the detective's telephone number.Smith acknowledges in his report, and on the tape, that he "has no business" with Magnesi. Nor does he ever explain why he was asking around about him.Magnesi called from a blocked number, but Smith was able to determine where the call was coming from and told him so.
"Suspect Magnesi informed in a sarcastic tone that he knew where I worked as well," Smith wrote.
"Based on the fact that he is known to me as an armed and dangerous person ... and associated with the Hells Angels I took his assertion that he knew where I worked as a veiled threat."Bernstein pointed out that Magnesi had just called the detective at his desk at the police station: "Of course he knew where he worked. How is that a threat?"
"Armed and dangerous"
Smith's reference to Magnesi being "armed and dangerous" involved a 2003 arrest for assault in which Magnesi allegedly threatened three people with a handgun in downtown Seattle, firing a shot between the legs of one of the victims.
When Magnesi was arrested, police confiscated a handgun, a concealed-carry permit and Magnesi's Hells Angel jacket and patches — his "colors," considered sacrosanct by members — which were never returned, Bernstein says.
Bernstein says Magnesi believes that Smith has them, although Smith denies it on the recording. The detective says he wouldn't "want my hands on the filthy red and white."By the time of the phone calls, the assault charges had been dropped because the witnesses refused to testify. One claimed he was contacted by a man thought to be Joshua Binder, the Nomads' onetime "enforcer" and a member of the "Filthy Few" — Hells Angels who have killed for the club — and told not to testify, according to court records.No witness-intimidation charges were ever filed.
Binder and several other Nomads were convicted last year of conspiracy and racketeering, and Binder admitted to a role in the murder of a man who posed as a club member.Smith testified briefly at their federal trial about a run-in he had while a bicycle officer with Binder and another Hells Angel in a bar in Pioneer Square. Both men were carrying guns.Magnesi called Smith a second time that same morning, this time recording the conversation without telling the detective. Washington is a two-party consent state, meaning that everyone involved in taped conversations must be told they're being recorded.Bernstein acknowledges this, but says the law has an exception where threats are involved. No charges were filed in connection with the tape.Once Smith figures out he's being recorded, he tells Magnesi that "playing on the telephone ... is a crime."Telling a police detective that you know where he works at is a bigger crime, OK? Being a member of the Hells Angels Outlaw motorcycle gang is even a bigger crime."
Smith has been disciplined twice by the department. In 2005, he was suspended for two days for conduct unbecoming an officer after taunting fans at a Seahawks football game. That same year, he had a verbal altercation with a restaurant employee.In the first instance, he received two days off. The second incident resulted in a letter in his file.

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Trial of Chad Wilson, 32, of Lynnwood, Wash., and John Midmore, 34, of Valparaiso, Ind. will kick off this fall in a Minnehaha County courtroom.The two Hells Angels bikers are charged with shooting at and injuring six members of a rival gang, the Outlaws, at the 2006 Sturgis Motorcycle Rally.To accommodate witnesses, the trial won't start until November. That's the latest in a series of complicated procedural delays that have stalled the trial. But here's a timeline of the events so far.
Two men pull up outside Legion Lake Resort in Custer State Park in the afternoon and open fire on a small group of people, according to witnesses at a campground across the street. Six are injured - five by gunfire - and the men speed away.
The same night, Wilson and Midmore are arrested and charged with five counts of attempted murder. The South Dakota Attorney General's Office identifies the victims as members or associates of the Outlaws and Wilson as a member of the Hells Angels. Midmore was described as a prospect for the Hells Angels. Experts and law enforcement officials say the two gangs have been at war.In the first court action, Custer County States Attorney Tracey Kelley argues successfully that the Hells Angels are capable of coming up with massive amounts of bail money. Bail for Wilson and Midmore is set at $5 million each. Court documents say authorities found a .40 caliber magazine on the floorboard of a truck leased to Wilson, and that investigators collected 16 spent cartridges from the scene.The rally ends without retaliation, as the Outlaws pack up their campground and leave the Black Hills.
Both suspects are arraigned in Rapid City. Wilson is charged with five counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of conspiracy to commit a crime. Midmore is charged with five counts of aiding, abetting or advising attempted first-degree murder and a count of conspiracy. Both plead not guilty in what the judge calls a "free-for-all shooting."The trial of Wilson and Midmore is scheduled for June.
The trial is postponed until Sept. 24 because of an argument over defense requests to have evidence - a gun clip - tested by their own expert.After the trial is again delayed, prosecutors protest Circuit Judge John Delaney's decision, at the request of the defense, to seal documents from an independent test on a vehicle allegedly used in the crime. Prosecutors also object to closed meetings between the judge and defense attorneys. The South Dakota Supreme Court agrees to hear the appeal, further delaying the trial.Arguing before the state Supreme Court, special prosecutor and Beadle County State's Attorney Michael Moore says prosecutors should have been present for the meetings about evidence.The high court agrees with the prosecutor. Delaney's ruling regarding testing of the truck is overturned. A hearing should have been held to allow arguments from both prosecutors and defense lawyers before Delaney dealt with the defense request to examine a pickup that is evidence in the case, the high court said.Retired Judge Gene Paul Kean hears the case as Midmore and Wilson plead not guilty to new, superceding counts: one count of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, five counts of attempted first-degree murder and one count of commission of a felony while armed. Kean rejected prosecutors' requests to include information about previous convictions.The judge rules in favor of a motion to bring the case to Sioux Falls. The trial is scheduled for Nov. 3.

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Chilliwack realtor gunned down in his car late Wednesday was closely associated with the notorious United Nations criminal organization, The Vancouver Sun has learned.
In fact, Mike Gordon, 33, had bought and sold a number of properties for the UN gang's jailed leader Clayton Roueche. Roueche, an accused international trafficker, is scheduled to go to trial in Seattle Sept. 8 on a series of cocaine- and marijuana-smuggling charges. Gordon, who worked for the Surrey office of Best Bet Realty, was shot to death about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday in the 5600-block of Promontory Road in Chilliwack. Chilliwack RCMP said Gordon was known to them and was killed in a targeted slaying. The UN gang has suffered a number of blows in recent months, at the hands of both law enforcement agencies and gangland rivals. Gordon's slaying comes just a month after another UN realtor, Elliott (Taco) Castaneda, was shot to death in Guadalajara, Mexico along with the gang's Mexican connection, Ahmet (Lou) Kaawach. Castaneda had been working for Abbotsford's Homelife Realty, but resigned from his job in June. At his wake in the Fraser Valley city July 25, police searched mourners and seized two guns.

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Open-air drug market in the Englewood area that authorities believe had ties to the Gangster Disciples was shut down, Chicago police said Wednesday.Police conducted 19 undercover crack cocaine buys during a six-month sting that monitored drug sales in a block of West 56th Street between South Elizabeth Street and South Racine Avenue, police said in a news release.Six people were arrested on drug charges during Operation Lackawanna, and police are looking for two people who allegedly sold drugs on the block.Police said it was the 47th open-air drug market that has been shut down this year.

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Five-time Mexican supercross champion was brutally murdered in his home by a biker gang on Monday.Rene Tercero Reyes Aguirre was shot by an armed gang who broke into his home in Juarez, Mexico.Two friends of the 24 year old rider were also murdered in the attack, which followed a series of violent gang-related attacks in the town on Monday that left a total of 11 people dead.The violence raged on into Tuesday, when a further three people were killed.

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violent brawl may have started because the Hells Angels thought a Christian motorcycle ministry was claiming an affiliation with them, according to court documents made public Thursday.
The 52-page search warrant affidavit, filed in Orange County Superior Court, also cites an anonymous tipster who called police shortly after the July 27 brawl and said the Set Free Soldiers were planning a "war party" at an abandoned chicken farm in Riverside County.
One member had readied a "truckload of guns" there, the caller told authorities.
Set Free's leader, Phillip Aguilar, and four other biker ministers were charged with weapons and gang felonies after the fight at a Newport Beach bar that ended in two stabbings. The dust-up prompted police to raid the Set Free Christian Ministries compound in Anaheim, where they allegedly recovered thousands of rounds of ammunition and dozens of guns and knives. They also raided Hells Angels homes in Costa Mesa and Rancho Santa Margarita. Attorneys for Aguilar and the Set Free Soldiers didn't immediately return calls seeking comment on Thursday.
Aguilar, 60, started his counterculture church in 1982 after saying he found Jesus while doing time in the state penitentiary for child abuse. His church, which prides itself on its outreach to criminals, drug addicts and biker gangs, has attracted thousands of members nationwide and operates several drug rehab homes around Southern The brawl began at Blackie's By the Sea, when five Hells Angels met with Aguilar and two other Set Free Soldiers, according to police reports and the affidavit. During am argument, eight other Set Free Soldiers entered the bar and surrounded the Hells Angels, who then began throwing punches. Police have said they believe the Set Free Soldiers initiated the meeting and wanted to ambush the Hells Angels. One Set Free pastor caught fleeing with a bloody knife in his car told police the brawl began when the Hells Angels' leader confronted Aguilar and told him Set Free had been claiming affiliation with the Hells Angels, the documents state.
The Hells Angel leader allegedly told Aguilar they were not authorized to take business from the Hells Angels. Set Free member Glenn Schoeman told police he was afraid the Hells Angels would now be "greenlighted" to kill him and other Set Free members since they had drawn blood in the fight, the documents state. Schoeman has since been charged with a felony count of concealing evidence in the stabbing for allegedly hiding the knife, as street terrorism and gang enhancements.

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Reputed member of West Oakland's Acorn drug gang died early Wednesday from gunshot wounds sustained Tuesday night in East Oakland, police said.
He was identified as Jonathan Gonzalez, 21, whose street name was "Redbone," police said.A 34-year-old man who said he was Gonzalez's cousin was also wounded. His name was not released, and police were not sure if he lived in Oakland or Emeryville.
The shooting happened about 9:53 p.m. Tuesday at a housing project in the 1200 block of 65th Avenue.The older man told police he and Gonzalez were walking back from a store when they were confronted by a man with a gun who began shooting at them. Both men were hit several times by gunfire.Gonzalez died from his wounds at 2:29 a.m. Wednesday at Highland Hospital. The other man was in critical condition at a local hospital.The survivor told police he did not know why the man shot them, nor what he and Gonzalez were doing in East Oakland.One investigator said Gonzalez "may have got caught slippin," a street term for someone who gets overconfident about their safety and is not as careful as they should be.Police said Gonzalez has been seen lately in East Oakland and was arrested Aug. 1 in the 5900 block of Bromley Avenue — a few blocks from where he was fatally shot — on suspicion of selling drugs, but was not charged.Police said numerous people witnessed the shooting, and at least 30 people were present when officers first arrived on the scene. However, so far no one has been willing to talk to police.Sgt. Jim Rullamas said there could be several motives for the killing.Police said there was not enough evidence to arrest Gonzalez in a police roundup of the Acorn gang June 17 that followed a two-month investigation focusing on drug dealing, shootings and other acts of violence linked to the group. More than 50 suspected members were jailed and are being prosecuted.
Police said Gonzalez had been shot at least once in the past and was suspected of but never charged in several gang-related shootings.Police said Gonzalez was ambushed Jan. 31, 2006, by four suspected members of the Lower Bottoms gang, another violent West Oakland group, outside a store at 8th and Adeline streets.Gonzalez was wounded in the arm, but one of the bullets killed Gamel Attayeb, 25, a San Leandro father of two who was about to go into the store. Police described Attayeb as "a totally innocent victim."The four arrested and charged in the shooting were all convicted earlier this year of counts ranging from first degree murder to second degree murder to voluntary manslaughter; all counts included gang enhancement clauses. The gunman got life in prison without parole, another man got 15 years to life, another 24 years and the fourth a 14-year sentence.Gonzalez's killing was Oakland's 87th homicide of the year. Last year at this time, there were 85 homicides.

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The Red Scorpions are considered to be one of the most violent gangs in B.C. and members have been identified as suspects in the slaughter of six people in a Surrey highrise in October 2007.Victoria police say they've dismantled a chapter of the Vancouver-based Red Scorpions gang that aggressively expanded in the capital city's drug trade by threatening other dealers and sometimes giving crack cocaine away for free.Police arrested six people, in their late teens and early 20s, last week and raided a Saanich house -- on Borden Street, near McKenzie Avenue -- they called the base of operations for a burgeoning Greater Victoria "dial-a-dope" operation.In addition to the arrests, police seized $3,000 in cash, $1,000 in cocaine and a loaded sawed-off shotgun, said Const. Colin Brown, a lead investigator.The raid was the culmination of a month-long undercover operation by the Greater Victoria Regional Crime Unit, and Victoria and Saanich police. Plainclothes officers bought crack cocaine from dealers downtown, said Brown."We certainly believe that we've made a dent in this group," said Brown.During the undercover work, police identified 11 people they thought were either members or associates of the Red Scorpions. Six were arrested and face court dates this week. Two are in custody for unrelated charges, and three remain on the loose and are wanted, say police.Those arrested face a variety of drug trafficking and possession for the purpose of trafficking charges. They are to appear in court this week. Victoria police will ask the court to ban some of them from returning to Vancouver Island, said Brown.
The Red Scorpion gang was recruiting members in Victoria by distributing free crack cocaine with a phone number for orders it filled 24 hours a day, said Brown. The Scorpions were also "very aggressive" to other dealers and police were concerned about the potential for future violence, said Brown.
It was established in the Lower Mainland eight years ago by a group of young men who met each other in a youth detention facility and has grown over the years. Many members have a "RS" tattoo on their wrists, neck or shoulders.
Two years ago, several Red Scorpions were arrested in connection with a large crack cocaine "dial-a-dope" operation in Coquitlam, Burnaby, New Westminster and Port Moody. After 10 accused in the ring pleaded guilty, it was believed the Scorpions had been disbanded but police said earlier this year the gang was still active.
Sgt. Shinder Kirk, of the B.C. Integrated Gang Task Force, said he's aware people in Victoria are affiliated with the Red Scorpions, but he didn't know whether they are associates or members.He said many individuals will operate under the moniker of certain groups, such as the Scorpions, in a franchise-type situation in order to intimidate and sell their drugs. "No community is immune; if there's a market for their product, they'll operate there," said Kirk.Police pressure on the Lower Mainland may have played a part in the gang's decision to expand to Vancouver Island, said Sgt. Dave Bown, head of the Greater Victoria Regional Crime Unit

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The investigation into the Columbus Hotel fire is still in its earliest stage, but you can be sure police are well into considering the first thing that was on the mind of a lot of people Tuesday.
The Columbus's reputation as a biker bar led many to assume the fire was gang related -- with one gang striking at the other by torching one of the places some of its rivals were known to frequent.
It had been only two weeks since the last public violent encounter involving the local underworld took place, that being the downtown shootout allegedly between rival factions of the Independent Soldiers.
If people's assumptions are correct and the Columbus fire is the work of gang members, it escalates an already tense situation that has become increasingly and frighteningly public.
Two men, residents of the hotel said to be unconnected to any gang, are feared dead in the charred rubble where only three brick walls still stand.
If the Prince George Fire Department determines arson is the cause, the police investigation takes on a double-homicide element. Those intent on misspending their youth by succumbing to the allure of being a drugged-out minion, a gang footsoldier, might want to consider the grave consequences. They're damned if they do carry out their masters' wishes and damned if they don't.
Among those watching the scene in disbelief Tuesday were several youths with at least a passing familiarity with street life in Prince George. One rode his bicycle downtown to place a resume at the Centre for Learning Alternatives, directly across Second Avenue from the still-smouldering remains of the Columbus. He hadn't heard about the fire by Tuesday afternoon and couldn't believe what he saw.
"It's probably gangs," he said without prompting, getting back on his bike after finding the centre closed for the day because of the fire.
"I was going to meet a guy down here. We were both going to try for (job) placements. He used to be in a gang and I read that he got out.
"They should all do that," he said as he rode off, still clutching his resume.
The young man was close enough to street life to know how things work, but smart enough to know it's a dead end, sometimes literally.
Oh, for more like him.

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A man who was shot by an off-duty police officer during the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally is still recovering from his injuries at Rapid City Regional Hospital, officials reported Sunday.
Joseph McGuire, 33, of Imperial Beach, Calif. who is a member of the notorious Hells Angels Motorcycle Club, was shot at about 1 a.m. Saturday, Aug. 9 at the Loud American Roadhouse, a bar in Sturgis. According to previous reports in the Seattle Times, he had suffered wounds to his stomach and his leg. His condition is improving, as McGuire has been moved from the intensive care unit to a different floor of the hospital.Ron Smith, 43, an off-duty Seattle police officer who is a member of the Iron Pigs Motorcycle Club, an organization of law enforcement officers and firefighters who are also motorcycle enthusiasts, allegedly shot McGuire. According to previous reports, the shots were fired after an altercation started between Smith and several Hells Angels. McGuire has reported to the Seattle Times that he felt as though his life was in danger during the attack.While there has been some speculation that the reason for the fight between the Hells Angels and the Iron Pigs was because the officers refused to remove their motorcycle club “colors” or patches, authorities now think there could be more to the case. Less than a year ago Smith testified against members of the Hells Angels group, a testimony that sent at least four members of the gang to prison on racketeering and attempted murder charges. Authorities have not uncovered any evidence that suggests the Hells Angels altercation was related to Smith's testimony, but officials are not ruling it out as a possibility.Smith has not yet been charged in the shooting. After being detained for questioning Saturday night, he was allowed to return home to Seattle, where he and other officers who were present during the shooting have reportedly been relieved of duty while an investigation continues. A grand jury, which was originally assembled Sunday, Aug. 10, is scheduled to reconvene Aug. 27 at the Meade County Courthouse to hear testimony from witnesses in the bar, law enforcement investigating the case, and others.One of the issues to be discussed is whether Smith legally had a firearm with him while in the Loud American Roadhouse, a popular hangout during the Rally. While state law prohibits off-duty police officers from carrying firearms into an establishment that sells alcohol, a federal law entitled the “Law Enforcement Officers Safety Act of 2004” allows officers to carry firearms at all times, with few exceptions. The law does not allow officers to carry the weapons when they are intoxicated.

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Shots were fired, windows were broken and one person was injured in a gang fight at two Missouri City fast-food restaurants early Saturday.
Police believe the fight started at around 12:10 a.m. Saturday, when members of the "Fab" gang fired shots at "Mash Mode" members at a McDonald's at 1605 Cartwright Road.According to Missouri City Police Department reports, while officers were responding to a "shots fired" call, a dispatcher received a second call saying a window at the restaurant had been shot out. Also, a window was shot out in a car that had passengers inside.When officers arrived, several cars were leaving the area. Police found broken glass in the parking lot, and several .45-caliber and 9mm bullet casings on the ground, reports said.Witnesses at the scene said the shots were fired from a White Ford Explorer. Within minutes, another police officer spotted that vehicle at Murphy and Cartwright roads, and made a traffic stop.
Police Capt. John Bailey said the officer recognized the passenger as a known Fab gang member, and ordered the passenger and driver out of the vehicle. The officer then searched the vehicle and found two handguns under the passenger seat.
He then arrested the passenger, Patrick Morrison, 20, of Missouri City, and charged him with assault with a deadly weapon, unlawfully carrying a firearm and deadly conduct.Meanwhile, police had received a call that shots had been fired at a Denny's restaurant on State Highway 6.Minutes after the call, two other police officers who had responded to a call on an unrelated matter near the 6100 block of State Highway 6 were standing near the street, and turned upon hearing a noise.
Bailey said the two then saw a car driving at a high rate of speed, in reverse. The car slammed into a gas pump at a station at Murphy Road and Highway 6, knocking the pump over. Two men in the car jumped out, and ran into the waiting arms of the two patrolmen.Police determined that the two had been involved in the Denny's shooting, and they were arrested for deadly conduct.The two, Jefon Bogan, 18, and Taurean Riles, 19, both of Missouri City, were transported to Fort Bend County Jail in Richmond, as was Morrison.Bailey said someone was shot in the leg at McDonalds, but it was a graze wound and not serious.The gas pump had an automatic cut-off valve, and gasoline did not spill in that accident.

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20-year-old Alberta woman was shot and killed over the weekend, the unintended victim of a vicious gang war that has claimed a number of lives at a collection of reserves south of Edmonton. Delema Dixon, who also goes by the last name Lefthand, was shot in the head Saturday night when her home was riddled by gunfire on the Samson reserve -- one of four First Nations in Hobbema, Alta. Dixon's mother, Vernadee Applegarth, told CTV News that she believed it was her son -- who is in a gang -- who was the target. It wasn't the first time that their home was shot up in the last few years. Applegarth is now left to take care of her daughter's 18-month-old child. "I'm angry so much that I want to get revenge," she said. Dixon's father, Darren Applejohn, likened living on the reserve to living in a warzone. "It's just like living in Iraq -- terrorist town -- that's how I see it. Bunch of terrorists here," he said. Gun complaints are nearly an everyday occurrence in the region -- one of the mostly heavily policed per capita in Canada. "These types of cowardly acts are hideous, and there are a lot of community members that are fed up with it," RCMP Cpl. Darrel Bruno said. Dixon's death -- the third murder on the reserves since a gun and weapons amnesty was announced only weeks ago -- sparked leaders to meet for emergency meetings on Monday. "People are saying, `What can we do to make it right?'" Roy Louis, an adviser with the Samson First Nation told The Canadian Press.
"It is up to us, the Four Nations people. We need to work together to come up with long-term solutions against the gangs, the drugs and the violence. But our community has to take charge." Leaders announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of anyone responsible for the murders on the reserves. There have been five murders already this year, in a community of 12,000. But Applejohn said that people are afraid to come forward to police, saying they are labelled as snitches or shot at themselves. One of the four First Nations has imposed a youth curfew. The Samson First Nation also approved the destruction of 26 known drug houses.
There are believed to be at least 13 gangs operating in the reserves, fighting for control over the drug trade, which mostly deals in crack cocaine.

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Three of the four men arrested on Wednesday in connection with a seizure of heroin with a street value of about €1.2 million have been charged are appearing in court in Dublin this morning.The men were detained after a convoy of vehicles was stopped and searched as part of a planned Garda operation at 9pm on Kennelsfort Road, Palmerstown, in west Dublin. Local gardaí and members of a number of specialist Garda units stopped four vehicles and discovered six kilos of heroin.
Senior Garda sources told the Irish Times that the men were members of an organised gang based around Crumlin and Drimnagh that had been involved in a gun feud with another gang from the areas. One of the men is regarded by gardaí as the de facto leader of one of the country's most active drugs gangs. Wednesday's arrests were part of a continuing operation targeting the Crumlin-Drimnagh gangs and involved members of the Organised Crime Unit, Garda National Drugs Unit, National Bureau of Criminal Investigation and local gardaí.

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Detectives from the Scotland Yard Central Task Force searched the boy’s home in New Cross, southeast London, and found a 9mm Baikal pistol, two silencers for the gun and a bag of about twenty 9mm cartridges wrapped in a sock in the stairwell.
The boy was being questioned yesterday at the nearby Lewisham police station. The weapon will undergo scientific examination to see whether it is connected to any shootings.The Baikal, produced in Eastern Europe, is now a common choice for gang members in Britain. It is a small, snub, black handgun that looks almost like a toy and weighs only 2lb (900g).It is relatively easy to buy one for about £2,500, and criminals like it because of its accuracy.The weapons start life in Izhevsk, Russia, where they are made for firing teargas pellets and sell for about £20. They are converted to fire live bullets in Lithuania for £140 and smuggled into Britain via Dover.Detective Chief Inspector Peter Beyer, head of the Central Task Force (West), said: “It is deeply concerning that we have a found a child of this age with a weapon that we believe is capable of firing.“We will continue to target anyone who is under the misapprehension that carrying a gun is a good idea. It isn’t – it puts the carrier more at risk of death, injury or arrest.
“Having a gun, even if it isn’t used in a shooting or crime, is being dealt with incredibly seriously by the Met Police.” Senior officers believe that the boy could be one of the youngest people to have been caught with a firearm in London.
A Baikal was used to kill James Andre Smartt-Ford, 16, at Streatham Ice Arena, South London, in February last year, and Philip Poru, 18, was shot dead with a Baikal while sitting in his car with a friend in Plumstead, southeast London, in October.

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