Thirteen members of the 9-Tek Grenades, part of the Bloods street gang, were arrested on organized crime charges.The gang made its money off armed robberies and home invasions for four years. Their crimes were spread all over Central Florida, more than 40 of them. One of them happened a few months ago when a gang member got into a fight with another customer and police found his pockets stuffed with drugs.
The suspects made no secret about their affiliation. The 9-Tek Grenades were part of the East Coast Bloods. They had amassed an arsenal of handguns and assault rifles used in home invasions and armed robberies.But with the arrest of 12 men and one woman, investigators said they've ended the gang's four-year run."The Bloods are a violent criminal gang in this community and had the potential to terrorize any community in northeast Florida," said Dominick Pape, Florida Department of Law Enforcement.The gang literally grew up in the county, with several members starting as juveniles, possibly recruited from schools. They went through initiations to get in. One may have been in Daytona Beach in April, when two men were randomly cut with knives by men wearing red bandanas."The one we arrested today, frankly, is one of the worst we have arrested in our state," said state prosecutor William Shepherd.
The sheriff's office said there would be more arrests, but they had cut the head off the organization. After some denials this year, though, about gang activity in the county, Eyewitness News asked why it took four years to take the gang apart.
"When you talk about why, it takes a long time to build a RICO case, and it shows evident when you look at the bail we're putting on all these people," said Flagler County Sheriff Don Fleming.Not only have the gang members been charged for their crimes, but also on state racketeering charges. The bail the sheriff mentioned is $1 to $2 million for each gang member.

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Roberta Williams,The former wife of gangland murderer Carl Williams, emerged smiling from court after the nine counts of failing to lodge a tax return were quashed.When asked by reporters if she had lodged her tax returns she replied "no, have you?".
Crown Prosecutor Linda Skoblar made an application at the Broadmeadows Magistrates Court this morning to have the nine counts of failing to lodge a tax return between June 1998 and June 2006 stamped out, meaning Ms Williams, 39, was free to go.
Outside court Ms Williams said she was happy with the decision but refused to detail how or why the charges were dropped. Ms Williams appeared in court wearing a white t-shirt with the silhouette of a woman holding a gun on the front. This week, it was reported she had launched a fashion label trading on the notoriety of former husband Carl and featuring his five-digit Victorian prisoner number.The new business has printed 1200 gangland-themed T-shirts under the label name Robya C.R.E.A.M -- standing for Cash Rules Everything Around Me. But angry crime victims' advocates say the shirts glamorise and profit from crime. Crime Victims Support Association president Noel McNamara said the line should be offensive to all reasonable people.
"Instead of trying to bludge on their disgusting pasts, they need to get off their backsides and get a real job,'' he said. But Ms Williams said she would donate some profits to homeless and domestic violence charities and needed the income for a ``getting square'' life of rent, food, supporting her children and one day getting a home loan. "I'm trying to get a real job,'' she said. Ms Williams said she would sell the T-shirts to "friends on Facebook'' and four shops had expressed interest in them. The $50 T-shirts are decorated with slogans such as ``Williams Crew'' and ``Gangland War'' and feature images including bullet holes, handcuffs, a gun, a pile of powder on a scale and a tombstone. The number 35 is shown in reference to the number of years' jail given to Williams for the murders of three underworld rivals, along with his prisoner number, 88986.

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Alton Dewayne "Popeye" Sanders, has been charged with shooting a man on Hoover Road in August. He was jailed in lieu of $532,500 bail.Sanders, 24, of Wabash Street, faces charges of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury, discharging a firearm into an occupied dwelling and discharging a firearm within the city limits.The charges stem from a drive-by shooting at an apartment complex at 1126 South Hoover Road at 11:50 p.m. on Aug. 4. A 22-year-old male who was standing in front of an apartment building was shot in the leg and buttocks by occupants of two vehicles.

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The suspects in a spectacular fire at a Hells Angels compound northeast of Montreal had no ties to organized crime, provincial police say. The Sûreté du Québec said yesterday the men allegedly torched the bunker this month for "personal motives."
The fire at the Sorel-Tracy clubhouse sparked fears of a renewal of violence among criminal biker gangs. However, a Montreal newspaper has reported that a love triangle was behind the blaze, which gutted the first Hells Angels clubhouse in Canada. Three men are in custody and face charges.

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The police are keeping a close eye on 1,800 street gangs, at least 100 of which are involved in serious crimes, report several Dutch newspapers on Tuesday. The figures come from an investigation carried out by RTL news.According to the council of chief police officers, the police cannot deal with all the gangs and need hundreds of extra police to cope with the trouble they cause.Many police forces are concerned at the age of gang members and several report that children younger than 12 are joining, and sometimes even leading, the groups.They are also unhappy that parents are not willing to cooperate with them on alternative punishment and seem happy to pay fines and take their offspring home.Eric Akerboom of the chief police officers council told Radio 1 news on Tuesday morning that arresting the gang members is not enough. 'You also have to do something with the family,' he said.The Rotterdam region has the most street gangs with 193, including 11 which are involved in crime. The Amsterdam police area has 12 criminal gangs, the highest in the country, says RTL news.

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Bandidos bikie gang holds discussions with the family of murdered member Ross Brand about his funeral, messages of condolence and fury continue to flood the gang's website.Supporters from across Australia and as far afield as the US, Finland and Germany have posted their anguish after the gun slaying of enforcer Brand outside the gang's Geelong clubhouse. They include an inmate at Barwon Prison and a member of the United States Marine Corp based in Texas, who wrote "Stay cool brothers".
Some painted Brand as a hardcore bikie, but others revealed a different side.
Convicted criminal Brand, 51, shot in the head by a hitman last Wednesday night, was a father of two young boys and, apparently, a lover of antiques and gardening.
"I will miss fossil hunting, the antiques roadshow and your interpretations of Confucius," one mate wrote. Another said: "I will look after George the cactus for you. I know how much you loved him." On a less gentle note, another mate disclosed: "I met Rosco in Luxembourg 2003 and made one hell of a party that lasted eight days." A lawyer for the Bandidos, Michael Wardell, said yesterday he expected no more statements from the gang. "Now that they've set a couple of things straight from their perspective, they're hoping everything will run its course and the focus will move away from them," he said.
Police are yet to establish if Brand's killer is from rival gang the Rebels or indeed if the slaying is gang-related. But one website visitor warned his assassin: "As for the gutless f---, karma's a wonderful thing. Cut one, we all bleed."

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gangland-style shooting inside a Calgary restaurant early Sunday killed a man and woman who were both in their early twenties, police said. Two other young men were injured during the shootout, which occurred in a strip mall in the city's northeast end. One of the injured is in critical, but stable, condition. "It's believed one or more male persons entered the restaurant, walked directly to the table and committed the crime," said Calgary police Insp. Frank Reuser. He added that police have no suspects, but there were "numerous witnesses." Calgary Police Staff Sgt. Kevin Forsen said the killings carry some of the hallmarks of a gang hit. "Right now it appears to be very consistent with a targeted shooting that involves gangs," he told The Canadian Press. "It was very sudden and there were no precursors that we know of." Forsen added that the investigation is still in its early stages as police work to establish a motive and find out how many shooters were involved. "We're still trying to determine why this would have happened," he said, adding that the victim's identities were also unknown Sunday afternoon. About 30 officers were on the scene early Sunday, interviewing people who watched the shooting.
CTV Calgary's Shelly Makrugin said the neighbourhood has had problems with vandalism and drug dealing, but the strip mall has never seen gang violence. Earlier this month, another shooting at a city restaurant injured four men and a woman.
Local residents living near the strip mall said they were concerned about escalating violence in the community. "We're moving away," resident Jean Tremblay told CTV Calgary. "I'm in the buying process but it's not going to be in this area. I'm going to look for any 'for sale' signs but it's not going to be here. My mind is made up."
Andre Chabot, the local alderman, said the problem of violent crime is affecting the entire city. "We as a city are way understaffed (by police) on a per capita basis, compared to other large municipalities," he said.

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Opening statements are scheduled Monday morning in the trial of two Hells Angels officers accused of conspiring to commit murder.The trial of Remond Akleh and Mark Stephenson is set to take place in Superior Court in Whitby, following a lengthy jury selection process that concluded Thursday. Mr. Stephenson and Mr. Akleh were charged in September of 2006 of plotting with another man to murder a rival. They are also charged with counselling to commit murder.The prosecution case will be presented by Durham Region Crown Attorney John Scott and assistant Crown attorney Mitchell Flagg. Mr. Stephenson is represented by Brian Grys and Mr. Akleh is represented by Glen Orr. The trial will be presided over by Justice Bruce Glass.

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Las Vegas Metro Police arrested seven Mongol motorcycle gang members on a variety of charges out of an estimated 10 to 11 gang members believed to be in Southern Nevada.
Its members and their charges include:
-- Harold Reynolds, known as "Face," 40, of Las Vegas, charged in federal warrants with racketeering influenced and corrupt organizations (RICO) conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine.
-- David Padilla, also known as "Lazy Dave," 36, of Las Vegas, charged in federal warrants with RICO conspiracy, racketeering influenced and corrupt organizations, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine and conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine.
-- Ismael Padilla, also known as "Milo," 33, of Las Vegas, charged in federal warrants with RICO conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine.
-- William Ramirez, also known as "Moreno," 38, of Las Vegas, charged in federal warrants with RICO conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine.
-- Jason Hull, also known as "Big Jay," 33, of Las Vegas, charged in federal warrants with RICO conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine.
-- John Babcock, also known as "Sinister," 43, of Las Vegas, charged in a state warrant with unlawful transfer of a firearm.
-- Gary Lawson, also known as "T.C.," 49, of Las Vegas was taken into custody in California as part of the operation.
"This has effectively dismantled both chapters in Southern Nevada," said Lt. David Logue, head of Metro's intelligence unit. Mongol chapters operated in Las Vegas and Henderson, he said.ro Police said at least nine motorcycles were confiscated, along with five revolvers, a chrome-plated pistol, three shotguns, numerous rifles and semi-automatic weapons. Some weapons and money were on display at a Tuesday news conference, said Bill Cassel, public information officer for Metro Police.
The federal racketeering indictment unsealed in Los Angeles also alleges the name "Mongols," which was trademarked by the gang, is subject to forfeiture.
The massive law enforcement crackdown against the Mongols, dubbed "Operation Black Rain," began three and a half years ago by various agencies, including local police, the U.S. Attorney's Office and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, said Lt. David Logue, Metro Police intelligence chief.
Four agents outside of Nevada went undercover and earned a patch, becoming Mongol members, Logue said.Former national Mongol president Ruben Cavazos was arrested at his home near South Hills Country Club in West Covina, authorities said.
Law enforcement officers served a total of 110 federal arrest warrants and 160 search warrants in Southern California, Nevada, Oregon, Colorado, Washington state and Ohio. Seven of those warrants were served in Las Vegas by members of Metro Police, Henderson and North Las Vegas SWAT teams. No one resisted arrest and there were no injuries, Logue said.Mongol members have been involved in previous criminal activity in Las Vegas.Nine men, two of them Mongol members, were named in a federal grand jury indictment unsealed in April 2004 in Las Vegas on 73 counts of murder in connection with a shootout at Harrah's Laughlin casino at a 2002 gathering known as the River Run that left three people dead. Others involved were from the rival Hell's Angels motorcycle gang, authorities said. The shootout killed Salvador Barrera, Robert Tumelty and Jeremy Bell.About a half dozen people formed the gang in the 1970s because they were banned from joining the notorious Hell's Angels motorcycle group due to their Hispanic heritage. The Mongol gang began attracting members with criminal tendencies as it grew and was then labeled "outlaw" by law enforcement officials.The Mongols tend to recruit younger, more violent people from street gangs, said Thomas L. Chittum III, resident agent in charge in the Las Vegas branch of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

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"Everybody deserves a second chance," he said. "My son lost his."
Detectives believe people are reluctant to provide information about the February 14 death of Leon Huddleston, 26, because they fear retribution by the Mongol Motorcycle Club, whose members are suspected in the slaying. "Any time you have gangs involved, whether it's motorcycle gangs or rival street gangs, it's extremely difficult to get people to come forward because of the fear of retaliation," Los Angeles County sheriff's Detective Steve Lankford, the lead investigator on the case, told the Los Angeles Times in a story posted Saturday on the paper's Web site. Huddleston was shooting pool in a crowded Lancaster bar when he was cracked over the head with a pool cue and kicked repeatedly in the ribs by two men who appeared to be members of a motorcycle gang, authorities said. Huddleston's alleged killers are Norberto Jose Montes, who goes by the nickname "Villain," and Klint Austin Melcer, who goes by "Danger." Montes was arrested along with more than 60 other Mongols during a series of raids Tuesday across Southern California and in Nevada, Oregon, Colorado, Washington and Ohio. Melcer remains at large. The slaying is one of four mentioned in a federal racketeering indictment that included charges of murder, attempted murder, assault, as well as gun and drug violations, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives officials said.
Lankford, the lead investigator on the Huddleston case, said Montes and Melcer were identified as suspects based on a tip implicating the two Mongols from an informant who wasn't even in the bar the evening of the killing. That information was used as leverage to persuade a couple of witnesses to cooperate, he said.
Huddleston, a high school dropout from the Central Valley, was living in Lancaster to serve his probation on a drug conviction, according to his father, who asked not to be named because he was fearful of the Mongols. Huddleston's father said the loss was particularly painful because he believed his son was beginning to turn a corner in his life.

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Snoho­mish County medical examiner identified the girl found floating Tuesday in Lake Ballinger as Britney R. Galindez, 17, of Seattle.She had known links to gangs, Mountlake Terrace police said Thursday. Detectives are investigating the death as a homicide."The lifestyle she led was a lifestyle of gang activity with the attendant drugs and the criminal activity that goes along with the lifestyle," Mountlake Terrace police Sgt. Doug Hansen said.
Galindez had connections with Vatos Locos 13, a street gang that has been active in the north Seattle area, Hansen said.Her MySpace page included text that was an apparent reference to the gang.When police divers pulled her from the water Tuesday, Galindez was wearing a gold-colored belt buckle with "13" on it. The number 13 is commonly affiliated with various Hispanic gangs.The teenager also told Seattle police earlier this year she was harassed by Sarah Black, a notorious MS-13 gang member, Hansen said. Black is now behind bars for her part in a June 11 drive-by shooting in Everett.Galindez apparently told police Black was trying to recruit her to run with MS-13, a gang that has a history of violent confrontation with Vatos Locos, Hansen said.Police do not have evidence that the teenager's death was a result of a gang rivalry, he said.The cause of her death remains under investigation. Officials are waiting for toxicology results, which can take weeks.
Earlier this year, three MS-13 members, including Black, pleaded guilty to the south Everett drive-by shooting that left a rival gang member wounded. Police suspect the shooting was in retaliation for gunfire outside a Seattle mall that hit an MS-13 member.Black, who has gang tattoos on her face, admitted recruiting new members to join the ranks, court records show.Mountlake Terrace detectives are working with law enforcement agencies around the region to collect evidence in Galindez's death, Hansen said.Regional gang task force members and federal immigration agents are being tapped for information, the detective said.Detectives are trying to re-­create the teen's final days and talk to anyone who may have seen her.Galindez was last seen around 7:30 p.m. Oct. 13 headed from the Northgate Transit Center to the Everett area, said Daniel Bittick, her stepfather.Relatives and friends on Monday put up signs and contacted the media, looking for the girl. Witnesses called police Tuesday to report a possible mannequin floating in the water near the Lake Ballinger boat ramp.Bittick, 34, of Bonney Lake, said his stepdaughter never talked to him about gangs."You never think your little girl would be into that," he said.

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"Slow Pain," "Psycho" and "Kapone" operated in a violent, Mission District street gang that shook down drug dealers, punished suspected informants and resorted to murder to eliminate rival gang members, according to a federal indictment unsealed Thursday. The indictment filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco accuses 29 people allegedly tied to the notorious Mara Salvatrucha or MS-13 gang of engaging in murder, attempted murder, drug trafficking, witness tampering, car theft and extortion.Those indicted include alleged senior leaders in San Francisco's faction of the MS-13 gang, which originated in Los Angeles, has ties to El Salvador and is renowned for its savage tactics, federal prosecutors said.Most recently, authorities say, members of the faction, known as 20th Street clique, have been tied to at least five slayings in the city, including the June 22 killings in the Excelsior district of Tony Bologna, 48, and his sons Michael, 20, and Matthew, 16. Police say the killer was trying to avenge a gang shooting from earlier in the day and mistook the Bolognas for rivals.An alleged MS-13 member, Edwin Ramos, has been charged with three counts of murder and has pleaded not guilty.The indictment ties members of the gang to two other San Francisco slayings: the July 31 stabbing death of 14-year-old Ivan Miranda during a robbery in the Excelsior involving an iPod, and the July 11 shooting of Armando Estrada, 30, of Rodeo, at 20th and Mission streets, officials said. Guillermo Herrera, 20, was identified in the federal indictment as the gunman in that killing, which occurred on turf the gang claims as its own.Walter Chinchilla-Linar, 22, and Cesar Alvarado, 18, reputed members of the gang, face federal charges in Miranda's death. Two juveniles, ages 16 and 17, also were charged Thursday in state court with Miranda's killing, the district attorney said.The latest arrests culminated a three-year investigation dubbed "Operation Devil Horns" - a reference to MS-13's gang sign - in which federal authorities set up an export warehouse in Richmond where undercover agents bought several guns and 16 vehicles allegedly stolen by gang members and their associates, prosecutors said. U.S. Attorney Joseph Russoniello, who alternatively referred to the suspects as hoodlums and thugs, hailed the arrests as a major takedown of gang members during a press conference Thursday at which he was joined by San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris and Police Chief Heather Fong. Twenty-two of those indicted face federal racketeering charges, which carry a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole. The other seven are accused of committing 17 separate violent crimes, including one count involving murder, to assist racketeering. Prosecutors will seek "maximum possible penalties so we don't have to play cat and mouse in the future," Russoniello said.
All told, 31 people with suspected ties to the gang have been charged in the recent sweep. Two others were charged separately from the 29 suspects who were indicted. Of the total, 15 were already in custody in separate cases, while three remain at large, federal authorities said. One suspect, John Briez, was arrested in Guam after boarding a flight bound for the Philippines Tuesday evening, said Virginia Kice, spokeswoman for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Briez had more than $10,000 cash on him when he was arrested by federal agents, Kice said.
Most of the arrests were made in raids Wednesday in San Francisco, Richmond, South San Francisco, Reno and elsewhere. The raids were denounced as heavy-handed by immigrant rights groups. Some San Francisco supervisors and candidates for supervisor seats also were critical of the raids. Supervisor Tom Ammiano's office issued a statement saying federal agents brutally attacked a woman during one raid, "causing her to lose consciousness and require hospitalization."ICE agent Mark Wollman disputed that account, saying the woman fainted, was treated by medical personnel already on call, and released.At one Bayview home, Alexander Revelo said agents awakened him at about 6:30 a.m., handcuffed him, and marched him into his yard. Revelo, 22, a former Mervyns sales representative in the process of enrolling in City College of San Francisco, said police searched him for tattoos, seized his computer, left his room a mess and checked his criminal record, which came back clean."Being born here and growing up here, not having a criminal record at all, and I'm handcuffed outside my house in front of my family?" he said. "I don't think they had any right to handcuff me."Russoniello said he was sympathetic to innocent people embroiled in police operations, but agents are going after dangerous "gangsters" and "may not be in the most sensitive or compassionate mode."

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Tran Trong Nghi Nguyen, who goes by the name Jackie Tran, was released Tuesday from the Remand Centre, prompting police to voice concerns of potential violence given his criminal past. Yesterday, Paula Faber, an Immigration and Refugee Board spokeswoman, said an application was made by Canada Border Services Agency for an admissibility hearing. It was set for today but is being rescheduled. The hearing, which applies to permanent residents or foreign nationals, basically means border officials will argue for Tran to be deemed inadmissible to Canada. Faber said it can be argued on grounds an individual is involved in crime, a security threat or contravened Immigration and Refugee laws. The case at the hearing for Tran will be based "on new allegations," presented by the CSBA, she said.
Tran, 26, is a known gang member with an assault and drug-trafficking conviction who was ordered deported to Vietnam in 2004. Sources said Tran walked away uninjured after an attempt on his life in a 2005 shooting in Calgary. He was arrested this past January, hours after failing to turn up at an appeal hearing, at the funeral of fellow-gangster Mark Kim. Tran was held in custody since then because he was deemed a flight risk.
This week, he was released under strict conditions after posting a $20,000 bond. Yesterday, federal Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day weighed in on the case he calls frustrating. "However, rules that have been put in place, again, under a former Liberal regime, along with certain rulings that have set precedent, allow for a significant number of appeals," he told QR77 radio. He said Tran's lawyer has successfully used a "series of regulations and precedents in place to delay" the deportation order. "From the point of view of public safety and our CBSA officers, in situations like this we want to see people deported quickly," Day said. "We want people to have the ability to appeal but we don't want to see our laws abused. We don't want to see Canadians put under threat and under risk."

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Alleged leader of the Blood Mafia Family street gang and who was to be deported yesterday to his native Haiti has received a last-minute reprieve from a Federal Court judge.Federal Court Chief Justice Allan Lutfy ruled late Monday that Valdano Toussaint should be allowed to stay in Canada, given the precarious humanitarian situation in the Caribbean country."We also argued that he committed crimes when he was a youth, and that his age should be taken into consideration," Toussaint's lawyer, Marie-Hélène Giroux, said in an interview.How can you know the consequences of your actions when you're 12?"Toussaint will be 22 next week. He arrived in Canada in 1997 and spent much of his youth in foster care. While he has no convictions as an adult, he pleaded guilty to weapons crimes as a youth.Lutfy ordered the stay of removal until Toussaint's lawyer can appeal the deportation order before the Federal Court.If deported, Toussaint would be imprisoned in Haiti, which has been pummelled by four tropical storms this summer and is struggling to feed its people in the wake of increasing food and gas prices. Unless he had someone bringing him food in prison, he wouldn't eat, his lawyer argued."We've heard from (non-governmental organizations) and reporters there that criminal deportees are imprisoned and forgotten there," Giroux said

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fatal shooting of Gavin McCarthy may not be directly related to a local feud, gardai now believe. However, they suspect McCarthy may have been killed after he allegedly struck a young woman with links to the rival faction in a local feud.
Ballistics officers have carried out tests on a handgun which they believe was used in the shooting in Sheriff Street in Dublin's north inner city. The weapon was recovered in a search of the area by gardai. Experts are now trying to establish if the gun has been used in other shootings and this may help them determine whether members of the feuding gangs were involved in the incident. But detectives are also aware that McCarthy (21) was involved in drug dealing and are looking at the possibility that he could have upset other dealers by attempting to extend his "territory". Forensic tests have also been carried out on several bicycles recovered from the streets around the murder scene after witnesses reported that the killer made his escape by bicycle and then reappeared at the far end of Sheriff Street where he was tackled by a brother of the victim. The gunman's face was covered by a balaclava, but witnesses claim he was aged between 17 and 19 years.
One officer said last night: "Our investigation remains wide open but we are making progress and it no longer seems to be directly linked to the north inner city feud, even if there could end up being a peripheral connection."

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Orlin A. Campos-Cerna, 18, was arrested last year on suspicion of fatally shooting Jose S. Avila. Avila was killed while sitting in his car with Anthony Tirado, a few blocks off Fourth Plain Boulevard. Tirado was not injured. The state and the defense have different theories as to what led to the shooting, but agree that the heart of the conflict was gang affiliation.To help jurors understand a gang member’s mentality, Deputy Prosecutor Tony Golik put Henderson, who works exclusively on Hispanic gang crimes, on the witness stand.Henderson said Sureño members increased significantly in Los Angeles in the mid-1940s, creating a crime wave that funneled Hispanics into a prison system run by white gang members who preyed on Hispanics.The “Mexican Mafia” was created in response to protect its members, Henderson said.
In the late 1960s, there was an influx of Hispanics from Northern California going to prison, and they were harassed by the Mexican Mafia, who looked down on the field workers, Henderson said. Thus, they created “Nuestra Familia,” to protect themselves.
The Sureños fall under the umbrella of the Mexican Mafia, Henderson explained, and Norteños are under the umbrella of the Nuestra Familia.They are rivals in prison and on the street, Henderson said.Within each group, there are different sets, he said. Campos-Cerna belonged to MS-13, or Mara Salvatrucha, a Salvadorian street gang that began in Los Angeles in the 1980s. Henderson said the set has become so widespread, with a presence in at least 42 states, that the FBI created a task force in 2004 just to deal with it. Campos-Cerna moved from El Salvador to L.A. when he was 13 and moved to Vancouver two years later. Court-appointed defense attorney Clark Fridley told jurors during opening statements on Monday that his client moved to Clark County to escape the gang life.But hundreds of gang members are here, Henderson told jurors. Drive around and notice graffiti from Norteños, such as Norte, XIV, or X4 (the number 14 is used because N is the 14th letter of the alphabet); or Sureño tags such as Sur, 13 or X111 (13 for the letter M). Norteños dress in red and Sureños dress in blue, he said, colors picked because they were the choices of bandanas issued decades ago in California prisons.Golik asked Henderson whether a gang member who is wearing his colors in the area of Fourth Plain Boulevard and Evergreen Park is going to get challenged.Yes, Henderson said. When Campos-Cerna was interviewed by detectives last year, he said Tirado and Avila were harassing him, calling him “scrap” and telling him he “don’t bang” and his colors “don’t mean nothing.”
“In the Sureño gang culture, what is he supposed to do?” Golik asked Henderson.
“In the gang culture, you can’t let a disrespect go,” Henderson said. Under cross-examination, Henderson said he had known of Tirado before the Oct. 11, 2007, shootings but had not heard of either Avila or Campos-Cerna.Fridley argues that his client fired in self-defense. “You have no evidence that Orlin Cerna was involved in this incident to make a name for himself?” Fridley asked.

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Pattaya gang member wanted by the police was shot dead while he was riding his motorbike with his girlfriend in Pattaya. Police assume his death was a revenge attack or linked to drug dealing. Banglamung police investigator Pol.Lt.Col. Pon Prasertsri was notified that Toa Naklua,otherwise known as Tao Pachajeen, had been brutally shot at the entrance of Sukhumvit Soi 22 ( Soi Susan Gao towards the old Chinese cemetery), Nongprue, Banglamung, Chonburi. Pol.Lt.Col. Pon Prasertsri and his police team together with the Sawang Boriboon rescue rushed to investigate.
At the scene they found a white Honda Wave 125 I motorbike, Red License no. 19-601, Pattaya which had fallen on top of the deceased body of Mr. Krisada Ponpaipal (22), otherwise known as "Tao Pachajeen", a notorious Naklua gang member, who was living at 260/54 Moo. 2, Naklua, Chonburi. The deceased was wearing a dark blue t-shirt and jeans. Examination the body revealed that Mr. Krisada had one shot under his nose, one to his right rib and two on his back. Police found 11 mm. bullet cases and four bullets on the ground near the body. There were two guns on the dead man's belt, a .38 Thai made model with 6 bullets and a .9 mm with 10 bullets in the magazine. Police also found 8 tablets of Yah Bah in his wallet which police kept as evidence

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Family members laid flowers for Mr Brand at the clubhouse on Thursday and one website condolence from "Jamie" of the Gold Coast described him as "a true stand-up guy, a much-loved friend and brother".Bandido Ross Brand died in hospital on Thursday after being gunned down while leaving the bikie gang's Geelong clubhouse on Wednesday night with three other men.
A second man was undergoing surgery on Thursday to remove shotgun pellets in his buttocks, thigh and arms while the other two escaped injury and later gave their accounts of the ambush to police.A volley of shots was fired from a white twin-cab ute parked outside the clubhouse as the men left it just after 6pm (AEDT), near the corner of Bayldon Court and Leather Street in an industrial area of the Geelong suburb of Breakwater.Bandidos throughout Australia and around the world have sent condolences to the Geelong chapter of the global gang.Among the messages on the gang's website are several stating "God forgives, Bandidos don't."Police said they were keeping an open mind on the motive for the shooting, although it was well known the Bandidos had been in a bloody feud with rival Geelong gang the Rebels for at least two years.Detective Inspector Steve Clark said police were not assuming it was carried out by a rival gang."It's too early at this stage to determine whether the shooting was linked to any outlaw motorcycle groups," Det Insp Clark told reporters."Certainly we don't have a closed mind and have views that the shooting was necessarily done by another outlaw motorcycle gang."We need to review all the evidence we have got and see where it takes us."He said Mr Brand appeared to the victim of a "targeted shooting".Det Insp Clark said Mr Brand, 51, was a "fully-patched" member of the Bandidos and had prior convictions for violence, firearms and weapons offences.His Torquay home had been shot at earlier this year.Det Insp Clark said police were hopeful gang members would help the investigation and not hide behind a wall of silence."We're pleased with the cooperation so far and have no reason to suspect that people won't talk to us," he said.
Security cameras at the club may have captured the shooting but police are yet to view the CCTV footage.The shooting is the second on the Bandidos' clubhouse in the past 18 months and bullet holes from the previous attack are still visible in its roller door.In April, the Rebels' Geelong headquarters was firebombed and, in June, two gunmen shot four Rebels gang members at a nightclub in Adelaide.
he shooting coincides with the announcement of a new Victorian police taskforce targeting street shootings.

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Federal and local authorities in Reno and Las Vegas said Tuesday that 29 arrests had been made in Nevada as part of a multistate investigation of a motorcycle gang.
Five people arrested in Las Vegas on Tuesday were being held on federal charges of racketeering, conspiracy to distribute methamphetamine and cocaine, Las Vegas police said.Police Lt. Dave Logue, head of the department's intelligence section, said arrests and searches had effectively shut down the Las Vegas and Henderson chapters of the Mongols motorcycle club.Authorities said Jason "Big Jay" Hull, 33; David "Lazy Dave" Padilla, 38; Ismael "Milo" Padilla, 33; William "Moreno" Ramirez, 38; and Harold "Face" Reynolds, 40, all of Las Vegas, were in custody pending a Wednesday hearing before a federal magistrate.
Another Las Vegas man, 43-year-old John "Sinister" Babcock, was being held on state charges of unlawful transfer of a firearm.Reno authorities said 23 people had been arrested in the area as part of its undercover investigation, and 14 others had been charged with crimes.Of those, six suspects, most affiliated with the Mongols, were arrested early Tuesday, said Tom Cannon, resident agent in charge of the Reno ATF office.Authorities neither specified charges or identified those arrested in the Reno area, but said more than 6 pounds of methamphetamine and 75 weapons had been seized.The arrests and seizures were part of a multistate roundup of Mongol members arrested under a federal racketeering indictment that included charges of murder, attempted murder, assault, gun and drug violations, a Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives spokesman said.U.S. Attorney Thomas O'Brien in California said he believed it to be the highest number of arrests of a motorcycle gang in the nation's history.Arrest and search warrants were being served across Southern California, Nevada, Oregon, Colorado, Washington and Ohio.Logue said none of the people arrested in Las Vegas were charged with murder. He said Las Vegas police helped the investigation in Nevada and other states by monitoring the activities of ATF agents who infiltrated the group and posed as members.Logue, head of the department's intelligence section, said leaders for the Mongols communicated using e-mail and text messaging, and met during regional and national motorcycle runs."Some would be West Coast runs, some would be national runs, and that's where the different leaders from the different states would come together and talk about business," Logue said.

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Former NSW Crime Commission assistant director of investigations Mark Standen appeared via a video link in the Central Local Court before Magistrate Allan Moore.
The 51-year-old was arrested in June along with alleged co-conspirator Bakhos Jalalaty, 45, after a two-year federal investigation spanning three continents.
Standen was clean-shaven and wore a blue-green prison issue pullover as he appeared on the video link. "I appreciate that, thank you," he told Magistrate Moore when a new court date was set. Standen was remanded in custody until his next court appearance on November 19 when further legal argument will take place or a date will be set for a committal hearing. Jalalaty had appeared moments earlier, also via a videolink, but opted for his face not to appear on the screen. He was also refused bail and is also due to appear before the court again on November 19. Both men have been charged with conspiracy to import a commercial quantity of a precursor substance used to make illegal drugs, conspiracy to supply a large commercial quantity of a prohibited drug and conspiracy to pervert the course of justice.
The police investigation also resulted in the arrest of 12 people in the Netherlands and one man in Thailand

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