Man was wounded in the stomach Wednesday evening in a suspected gang-related shooting, police said.The victim, a 23-year-old Pittsburg man, was getting gas at a station in the 1900 block of Auto Center Drive when two vehicles occupied by a group of four to five men pulled up and started an argument with him.Antioch police Sgt. Diane Aguinaga said the victim, an associate of the Norte street gang, ignored the group taunting him, which she said consisted of associates of the rival Surenos street gang.At some point during the exchange, one of the Surenos opened fire, striking the victim in the abdomen, and the group drove away.The victim was taken to a local hospital and is expected to survive, Aguinaga said.Police did not have detailed descriptions of the group but said the vehicles were described as a white 1990s-model Toyota pickup truck and a Lincoln Town Car with 20-inch rims.

Read More...

Ramond Andrew Lawrence, 17, of Portland was arraigned in juvenile court Friday on a murder allegation in connection with one of the two New Year's Eve shooting deaths in Gresham. He's being held on $250,000 bail. Gresham police found two 18-year-old men dead late Wednesday after being alerted to people running through an apartment complex and firing guns just before 8 p.m. Gresham officers found Darius Jerrel Perry, 18, of Portland lying in the street by the Barberry Village Apartments, in the 200 block of Southeast 188th Street. As police canvassed the neighborhood, they discovered the body of Willy Lewis Butler, 18, of Portland behind a nearby apartment complex. Investigators suspect Butler fatally shot Perry, and then Lawrence shot and killed Butler, said Sean Riddell, a Multnomah County deputy district attorney. Butler was a half brother to a murder suspect, Latwan Brown, 30, who is wanted in Cross' killing at the North Portland church last month. Detectives found an empty revolver near Butler, suggesting he may have fired all six rounds. Police suspect Perry had fired at least one shot at Butler, striking him in the leg before he was killed. Lawrence is suspected of firing a .45-caliber handgun; eight to 10 .45-caliber casings were recovered at the scene, Riddell said. Detectives do not expect any further arrests in the double homicide case. Lawrence was arrested Thursday night. All three teenagers are known gang members and were on parole supervision by the Oregon Youth Authority, meaning they had spent time at MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in the past for juvenile offenses, officials said. Perry had prior convictions for unlawful possession of a firearm; Butler for unlawful delivery of cocaine and possession of a stolen vehicle. Lawrence had been paroled in October after he had been in custody for assault, discharge of a firearm and disorderly conduct, according to Karen Andall, an assistant director at Oregon Youth Authority.

Read More...

Dexter Roman, 25, of 618 West 142nd Street, Manhattan, was found guilty last month on two counts of Murder in the second degree in the deaths of Carlos Arauz, 18, and Laurice Arthur, 19, members of the street gang GMC or Get Money Click.Acting State Supreme Court Justice Michael Sonberg sentenced Roman to consecutive terms of 25 years to life imprisonment for each of the murders rendering Roman ineligible to apply for parole until he has served a minimum term of 50 years in state prison.
Arauz was shot and killed on December 29, 2005 on a walkway at the Melrose Houses outside 321 East 151st Street. Roman walked up to the deceased and shot him at least five times with a 9MM handgun. The victim was taken to Lincoln Hospital where he was pronounced dead less than an hour later. The fatal shooting was the result of a dispute between the two young men which Arauz believed had been resolved a week earlier. Witnesses testified that a truce that had been brokered a week prior to the murder was a ruse to encourage the deceased to lower his guard and enable Roman to get close enough to execute the ambush killing.After Arauz was murdered, Arthur, his closest friend, began wearing sweatshirts designed as memorials to Arauz. The shirts displayed a photographic image of Arauz and the text RIP Ckali GMC. On January 17, 2007, Arthur was wearing one of the sweatshirts when Roman and an accomplice followed him into a bodega at 694 Courtlandt Avenue and shot him with a .22 caliber handgun six times in the face. Arthur died at Lincoln Hospital several hours later.Last October, Roman’s accomplice in murdering Arthur, Christopher Bright, 21, pled guilty to one count of manslaughter and was sentenced to 24 years imprisonment. Another defendant, Carlos Lora, 22, pled guilty in August 2007 to one count of hindering prosecution. He was sentenced to up to six years imprisonment. Lora admitted to hiding both murder weapons in his home for “safe keeping.”

Read More...

Man wanted by Tukwila police and another man wanted on a felony warrant were arrested Sunday night after police were called to a possible drive-by shooting in South Seattle.The shots were reported in the 10300 block of 51st Avenue South at the address of a known gang hangout, according to a Seattle police report released Wednesday.Before the shots-fired call that came in about 1:30 a.m. Sunday, an officer wrote that he saw at least 20 people – "many of them known gang members" – hanging around that block and on South Creston Street.A witness told police a man with a black baseball cap and red sweatshirt was firing shots in front of a house. Another witness said shots were fired from a handgun into the house, according to the report.Police were told the shooter was in a white minivan, and officers detained five people in a van matching the description.As officers arrived, "several vehicles were leaving the area, and numerous people were leaving the area on foot," according to the report.No firearms were found on any of the five people detained, but officers found a spent 40-caliber shell casing and a bag of marijuana on the sidewalk near where the suspects were standing.The suspect matching the description of the shooter had a Tukwila police warrant for his arrest. Another man in the vehicle, 19, had a felony warrant for his arrest and was booked Sunday into King County Jail.

Read More...

December 23 at approximately 5:00 p.m., an off-duty Montgomery County Police gang officer was in the area of the Westfield Wheaton Shopping Centre, located at 11160 Veirs Mill Road in Wheaton. The off-duty officer saw what he believed to be members of two rival gangs (later identified as Bloods gang members from Prince George’s County and MS-13 gang members with connections to the Washington Metropolitan area) exchanging words and preparing to fight. He was calling for and 4th District Central Business District (CBD) officers were rapidly responding just as gunshots rang out.

Two suspects from the Bloods gang pulled out guns and fired multiple shots at members of the MS-13 gang. A 20-year-old male MS-13 gang member from Silver Spring was shot in the shoulder and suffered non-life-threatening injuries and is recovering from those injuries.

During the course of the incident, a vehicle, with two women inside and unrelated to the incident, was used as cover, and shots went through that vehicle’s windows. Glass breakage injured the two females, who are recovering from their injuries. Officers pursued the suspects into Macy’s and ultimately into a main level dressing room where it was determined that an accidental discharge of a suspect gun occurred. No one was injured from the discharge. Further investigation revealed that the suspects were able to leave the store through an emergency exit within part of the dressing room. Two guns were recovered from the dressing room; one of which had been reported stolen from another Maryland jurisdiction. Security video obtained after the shooting showed one group of gang members following the other across the parking lot outside of the Macy’s department store. Video also showed four suspects (later determined to be Taylor, Davies, Lee(AKA Graves), and Kinard) entering the shopping center followed by officers in pursuit.

On December 26, photographs of the suspects were distributed to the media showing a suspect in a yellow jacket. After that description was publicized through the media, an individual called police on December 27, 2008, and information was provided that led detectives to recover the yellow jacket, which contained bullets, in a stairwell in the mall. Suspect Lee(AKA Graves) was identified as the suspect wearing that jacket.

On January 2, 2009, Maryland and Delaware State Police were involved in a pursuit of a vehicle with three suspects who were believed to be involved in a series of burglaries that had occurred on the Eastern Shore. The vehicle crashed, Lee(AKA Graves), Kinard, and Quick were arrested, and a handgun was recovered in the vehicle. On January 5, 2009, Montgomery County Police detectives learned about the arrest of Lee(AKA Graves) and traveled to Delaware to interview all those arrested after the pursuit. It was learned that Quick assisted the group of males involved in the shooting by providing transportation for them to flee from Maryland. It was also learned that Kinard was involved in a series of burglaries with Quick in Howard and Prince George’s counties, and instigated the confrontation between the Bloods gang members and the MS-13 gang members at the shopping center that night. It was also learned that this was a random encounter between the two gangs, but that the Bloods gang members went to the shopping center parking lot with the intent of shooting someone. On January 6, 2009, members of the 4th District Special Assignment Team and the Repeat Offender Section assisted in locating and taking the last two outstanding suspects, Taylor and Davies, into custody. Taylor was identified as the ringleader of the Bloods gang members at the parking lot the night of the shooting and gave the order to shoot. Davies and Lee(AKA Graves) both fired at the MS-13 gang members.
Montgomery County Police detectives want to acknowledge the assistance of the following law enforcement agencies: Maryland State Police, Delaware State Police, the town of Del-Mar Police Department, and the Howard County Police Department. They would also like to thank members of the Media for their assistance.

Read More...

Prosecutor Noah Phillips laid out the case against three alleged members of an Oak Park gang implicated in at least one homicide, several shootings and a nightclub disturbance last summer that sent patrons running in fear from Cafe New Orleans in Old Sacramento.All three defendants were held to answer by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Allen H. Sumner after the preliminary hearing. Each faces lengthy prison time if found guilty. The case is one of 98 the Target Team has put together since January 2007. It has taken aim at 64 alleged gang members and 42 parolees. More than half the cases have been resolved by pleas or trials, Sacramento County prosecutors said, to the disfavor of defendants who have been socked with average prison terms of six years."It's not uncommon to find gang members rolling around with loaded firearms," said Phillips, the Sacramento County deputy district attorney who heads the Target Team. "That is something that we see commonly and something we're trying to address proactively. The theory is, the only reason you have a gun is that you plan to use it."Wednesday's case involved Quentin Frank Carthen Jr., 27; Deon Edward Hampton, 21; and Mack Henry Williams III, 20. Each faces gang association charges.
Prosecutors filed two gun counts against Hampton; cocaine transportation against Carthen; and felony evasion against suspected wheelman Williams.The three were driving at 2:30 a.m. Sept. 21 on East Parkway when sheriff's Deputy Lizardo Guzman saw them make an illegal U-turn, he testified Wednesday.When he got behind them on Florin Road, they turned onto Stockton Boulevard, Guzman testified, and sped up to 55 mph.Williams then turned too sharply on 66th Avenue and crashed into a curb.According to testimony, Hampton crawled out the passenger-side window and fell to the ground, dropping a pistol. Deputies chased him down in a nearby apartment building. They took Williams and Carthen into custody without incident, other than the discovery of cocaine on Carthen.Under most circumstances, the charges would have been terribly serious for any of the defendants. But according to court records, Carthen had just been paroled on a drug conviction; Hampton was on probation for gun possession; and Williams was out on bail, awaiting sentencing on drug and gun convictions.Plus, Phillips said, all three were "validated" members of the Oak Park gang called Ridezilla, a subset of the Oak Park Bloods that started out as a rap group but has since picked up the gun. Ridezilla, authorities say, formed about 2001 and has crossover links to other Oak Park subsets, including the Fourth Avenue Bloods, whose members have been accused, convicted or killed in three recent high-profile murder cases.Another alleged Ridezilla member, Denishio Demmetrius Collins, 26, is about to go on trial in Sacramento Superior Court on a murder charge in the accidental shooting of a member of the gang while they allegedly were out on a revenge shooting.In putting the complaint together against Wednesday's three defendants, Phillips sought to establish that their crimes were all carried out for the benefit of Ridezilla.At the center of the case, and what established it as a "target" prosecution, was the presence of the gun.Sheriff's Detective Nick Goncalves testified as an expert Wednesday that there's no better way to establish standing on the street than possession of a firearm."The ultimate thing in gangs is respect – each one of them is a walking ambassador to their gang," Goncalves testified. "And having a gun is the utmost in respect."After the hearing, defense lawyers disagreed with the District Attorney's Office "target" approach that could give Hampton and Carthen up to nine years, eight months in prison and Williams a maximum sentence of six years."I think it's kind of overbroad," said Roosevelt O'Neal, who represents Hampton. "It's just sweeping people off the street, putting people away for a long time. In a normal case, if you're carrying a gun, it's sometimes a misdemeanor.""Let's try the case on the facts, not somebody's speculation," said Williams' attorney, Arturo Reyes.Phillips said "target" prosecutions are here to stay."You want to chip away at the gangs," he said. "You start pulling them out of the mix, and then the gang mentality will go away."

Read More...

Alleged Mexican Mafia member convicted in May of conspiring to kill a veteran gang member was denied a new trial on Tuesday by a Pomona Superior Court judge.
Julio Ponce Felix Jr., 35, was accused by prosecutors of arranging details of the hit and supplying the gun to be used to kill Frankie Buelna, 61.
The gang believed Buelna, a fellow Mexican Mafia member, was conducting criminal gang activities outside his authorized neighborhood, prosecutors said. Prosecutors charged Felix and three other alleged gang members in the plot to kill Buelna, which was foiled in 2005 by Pomona police who were monitoring phone conversations between the men. Buelna was later shot and killed in November 2006 at Characters Sports Bar in downtown Pomona. The 2006 killing remains unsolved, and investigators said they are unsure whether it is related to Buelna's gang activities. All four men charged in the initial conspiracy were in jail awaiting trial at the time of the killing. Felix's defense attorney on Tuesday argued that Felix deserved a new trial because some evidence presented to the jury should not have been. Attorney Charles Uhalley said a police investigator testified during Felix's trial that Buelna had been killed, a fact that the attorneys and the judge had agreed would not be presented to the jury. Judge Robert Martinez apparently disagreed that the testimony in question, as well as other aspects of the trial cited by the defense, prejudiced the jury enough to warrant a new trial. Felix is set to be sentenced Jan. 15. He has two strikes from prior convictions, Uhalley said. Two of the other men charged in the conspiracy were also convicted in May. Ricardo Polanco, 26, has been sentenced to 50 years to life in prison. Arthur Garcia, 38, who prosecutors say was the highest-ranking gang member involved in the plot, has been sentenced to 55 years to life in prison. The fourth defendant, 49-year-old Darryl Castrejon, is still awaiting trial. He is next due in court Jan. 27.

Read More...

Arrested a Finks member and two woman over an alleged amphetamine trafficking racket in the western suburbs.The bikie, 47, and a woman, 35, of Devon Park, a suburb sited between Torrens Rd and Churchill Rd, were arrested in an underground carpark at Arndale Shopping Centre yesterday.Police said they had just completed an illicit drugs sale to a Prospect woman, 45, when Crime Gangs Task Force officers pounced.About 380 street deals of amphetamines were seized, police said.All the accused were bailed to appear in court later.The Devon Park couple are expected to appear in Adelaide Magistrates Court next month while the Prospect woman will face Holden Hill Magistrates Court in April on charges of trafficking and possession of amphetamines.

Read More...

Manitoba Female correctional officer caught on videotape fondling a gang member under a table; a female correctional officer caught having sexual contact with another gang member inside a storage closet; and a female correctional officer caught smoking marijuana while on duty.Forrester said changes are being made to improve the screening of potential new hires, bolster security measures behind bars and provide additional training to correctional officers."We're always trying to tighten the criteria, to ensure people who shouldn't be working in our system do not work in our system," he said."As long as there are inmates and as long as there are gangs, there will be efforts to turn our staff. This is going to continue on as long as there are jails."A source who works in the community with gang members said they personally witnessed one young man deliver a bag of marijuana to one of the now-fired female Headingley correctional officers in early December.
A corrections employee said two of the three women fired had been involved in drug smuggling for inmates. He accused jail management of "sweeping these criminal acts under the rug" by refusing to tell the public or even other employees about what had happened. Another former employee, who has since moved to another department in corrections, said Tuesday she also witnessed several examples of drug smuggling and inappropriate sexual contact between guards and inmates."I realized that this profession breaks even the most hardened person. It corrupts people in the sickest ways possible. The ‘bad' guards are not nearly investigated enough, nor disciplined enough, and the ‘good' ones pay the price for it," the employee said.

Read More...

Vincente Christopher Moreno, 22, of Santa Cruz died Saturday in Santa Cruz's first homicide of the year. Police have arrested two Watsonville men, one 17, one 19, they believe were involved in the slaying. Both will be arraigned today.Through tears Monday, Otis-Taul recalled the evening's events. She said she and Moreno were sitting on a Santa Cruz Metro bus about 11 p.m. Friday night when they were approached by two men.Otis-Taul said the unidentified 17-year-old suspect, who was arrested shortly after the stabbing, was on the bus when she and her boyfriend got on. At another stop 19-year-old Martin Holguin got on, according to Otis-Taul.
"Martin got on the bus and he threw up gang signs to my fiance," Otis-Taul said. "My fiance just laughed at him, he didn't even look his way."The couple exited on Morrissey Avenue, heading toward the Valero gas station on Soquel and Frederick Street. At the next block, the juvenile and Holguin got off, Otis-Taul said. The couple was crossing the street at Soquel and Frederick when the two men chased after Moreno, yelling gang slurs at him and hitting him. "I tried to pull both of them off of him. When I tried to pull Martin off, the other guy stabbed him and took off and was like let's go'. But before he left he jumped on his head, kicked him in the ribs."According to Otis-Taul, Moreno was still alive when he was transported to the hospital. "I was just talking to him and telling him to talk to me," Otis-Taul said. "He was still breathing for awhile but all of a sudden his eyes went back into his head."Otis-Taul said Moreno was in surgery for an hour but died about 2 a.m. Saturday. Police arrested the 17-year-old Friday night near Capitola Road and Soquel Avenue. Holguin was arrested about 3 a.m. Sunday at a campsite along the Pajaro River. Using a thermal imaging infrared camera from the Monterey County Sheriff's Department helicopter, the Santa Cruz Street Crimes Unit was able to locate and search the campsite during the night.Holguin was booked on suspicion of the homicide and is being held on $1 million bail and will face additional gang enhancement charges, according to Santa Cruz police. The juvenile was booked into Juvenile Hall on one charge of homicide, and will be charged as an adult. "I was just devastated. I proposed to him on New Year's Eve," Otis-Taul said. "He was a very sweet guy."
Otis-Taul said she met Moreno two years ago, when they lived on the same street in Santa Cruz. Only two houses separated them, when Moreno decided to introduce himself.
"I was walking on the street one day and he was with his buddies when he popped his head over the fence and we kind of went from there," Otis-Taul said.Moreno did landscape and carpentry work in Santa Cruz, according to Otis-Taul.According to police, the attack is considered gang-motivated. Moreno and Otis-Taul were both wearing red. Moreno was wearing a red belt with the letter N, commonly associated with a rival gang of the two suspects, police said."Without question, the motive of the attack was gang-related," Santa Cruz police spokesman Zach Friend said. "Whether the victim's gang affiliation was perceived or real does not take away from the fact that these two suspects brutally attacked someone simply for wearing a different color."

Read More...

Brick City Boys is not a street gang, Jesse Oliver III said.“It’s a family,” he said.
Officer Mike Clardy told Anderson Municipal Court Judge Ken Mattison Tuesday that Oliver had been arrested after a long-term investigation into drug activity, and that Oliver is the founder of the gang. Clardy also recommended that a high-dollar property bond be set for Oliver.Mattison agreed with Clardy’s recommendation, ordering Oliver held in custody in lieu of a $50,000 property bond.
According to records at the Anderson City Jail, Oliver is charged with two counts of possessing marijuana with intent to distribute. He also is charged with two counts of possessing marijuana with intent to distribute within close proximity to a school or park and two counts of distributing controlled substances to someone younger than the age of 18.

Read More...

, Jamaica is deploying soldiers to two neighborhoods where gang violence has driven roughly 200 residents from their homes.Prime Minister Bruce Golding says the government will continue to step up police and military operations in the Gravel Heights and Tredegar Park neighborhoods near the capital, Kingston.
Monsignor Richard Albert says an unknown number of soldiers arrived Saturday and occupied some of the roughly 100 abandoned homes. Residents of both neighborhoods had fled with their belongings in early December, blaming clashes between the One Order and Clansman gangs.Police have arrested more than 100 people and scores of residents have already returned.Gang takeovers of poor Jamaican communities are fairly common.

Read More...

The violence between gangs is one of the principal causes of death in the province along with killings related to organized crime and drugs.
Four people were injured in shooting incidents that in the Justo Arosemena Avenue area. Witnesses said that individuals attacked a group of people who were talking on a corner, without any warning or provocation.

Read More...

Gang crime in west Belfast, a gang is being blamed for an aggravated burglary in the area during which a couple in their 50s were threatened at gunpoint and told that their son was being held hostage. Four men entered the house in Springfield Park at around 9pm on Saturday night. It is understood some of the men were armed with handguns. The gang claimed they were holding the couple's son and demanded money. The gang left empty-handed and when the couple phoned their son they found he was safe. A short time later a woman in her 30s was pushed from her car as it was hijacked along the Springfield Road. The woman was driving in her black Mitsibushi Shogun when she was flagged down at around 9.30pm. When the car stopped, three men, including the male who stopped her, got into the car. They then travelled a short distance before coming to a police vehicle checkpoint. The men then pushed the woman out of the car and drove off. The vehicle was recovered in the Clonard Heights area about an hour later. Police and army technical officers were at the scene for several hours yesterday to examine the vehicle. It is understood that detectives are investigating a link between the burglary and hijacking.

Read More...

Martin Holguin, 19, surrendered without incident around 3 a.m. Sunday at an illegal campsite along the Pajaro River, according to Santa Cruz Police Capt. Steve Clark. Holguin was booked into Santa Cruz County Jail on suspicion of homicide. Holguin and a 17-year-old boy, who is not being named because he is a juvenile, are being held in connection with the death of 22-year-old Vincente Christopher Morneno, of Santa Cruz. Moreno was stabbed to death Friday night at the intersection of Soquel Avenue and Frederick Street. According to witnesses and police, the three engaged in gang slurs on the bus and then took their argument to the street in a physical fight.
Moreno was stabbed multiple times in the torso and later was pronounced dead at Dominican Hospital. The juvenile suspect was arrested nearby, but Holguin initially eluded police. Street crimes officers early Sunday traced the 19-year-old to the Pajaro River camp, where he was known to hang out. Clark also credited neighbors and the Monterey County helicopter with helping lead police to the suspect. Photographs and infrared images taken from the Monterey County helicopter highlighted the camp's location. Neighbors responding to an automated police request for information also alerted police to clothing and other evidence thought to be valuable in the investigation. Police said Holguin will likely face gang enhancements to the homicide charges.

Read More...

Police say two rival gangs of street-level drug dealers - Fresh Off the Boat (FOB) and the FOB Killers - have been fighting a pitched battle for the past six years that has been driving the city's rising homicide numbers."I think what is relatively clear is the violence we saw in 2008 between these two factions is retaliatory. One incident has, within weeks or months, led to a second incident," Deputy Chief Murray Stooke said this week."We are concerned that this back-and-forth retaliatory conflict will continue in 2009."Just over 14 hours after police were called to an unrelated homicide Thursday - the city's first of 2009 - at least two gunmen walked into Bolsa, a Vietnamese restaurant in the city's southeast - and opened fire at a table in the middle of the room. Police found one man dead, face down, in the parking lot outside, and two more corpses inside the restaurant.One of the victims was identified as Sanjeev Mann, a member of the FOB Killers gang.In December 2008, a deportation hearing was held for Calgarian Jackie Tran, who police have identified as a member of FOB Killers. The hearing provided a rare public airing of the circumstances that led to the deadly gang rivalry.

The two gangs emerged from a group of high school friends who dealt drugs together, but later went their separate ways. Conflicts between the two groups escalated quickly from knife fights to gun battles, endangering bystanders and claiming at least 15 lives in the past six years.In one recent violent episode, a gun battle between city gangsters erupted Nov. 16, 2008 in Calgary's Chinatown. Police said the shooting started when the occupants of an SUV pulled up alongside a car and opened fire, wounding several people. Two of the victims are allegedly associated with the local Fresh Off the Boat gang.Just weeks later, a drive-by shooting on a crowded crosstown highway prompted Calgary police to take the rare step of warning friends, family members and associates of known gang members that they'd become targets of retaliatory attacks."These two groups have escalated to the point now that if you are a member of one of these two gangs, if you're an associate, if you're a girlfriend, if you happen to be in the same vehicle with members from these two groups, you are at risk of being a victim of a shooting or a homicide," said acting Staff Sgt. Gord Eiriksson.Calgary police have identified 400 known gang members and associates who operate within the city.

"What we require to effectively address the issue is police resources," Stooke said.The Alberta government has been paying attention. This past fall, it announced a crackdown on gangs, promising to create four new teams of police officers and crime analysts.
Premier Ed Stelmach said the province will use federal cash to create 83 positions by April to tackle gangs that deal in drugs. He said Alberta will also pay for 100 extra front-line officers - not expected to hit the streets until after next year's budget.But throwing dozens of new police officers at Calgary gangs to suppress the violence won't permanently address the city's growing gang problem, said Mount Royal College justice studies chair John Winterdyk.While gang activity might be displaced for a time by a police blitz, he said, it returns the moment the extra resources dry up. To make real inroads into stopping gangs, police and lawmakers have to better understand the non-Canadian cultures many new gangsters come from - cultures with a widespread contempt for law enforcement stemming from widespread police corruption in their homelands.Economic opportunities also have to be created for young people who often feel disconnected from society and think they have few alternatives but to join gangs, he said.

Read More...

Jamaica is deploying soldiers to two neighborhoods where gang violence has driven roughly 200 residents from their homes.Prime Minister Bruce Golding says the government will continue to step up police and military operations in the Gravel Heights and Tredegar Park neighborhoods near the capital, Kingston.Monsignor Richard Albert says an unknown number of soldiers arrived Saturday and occupied some of the roughly 100 abandoned homes.Residents of both neighborhoods had fled with their belongings in early December, blaming clashes between the One Order and Clansman gangs.Police have arrested more than 100 people and scores of residents have already returned.Gang takeovers of poor Jamaican communities are fairly common.

Read More...

Santa Rosa man who allegedly helped plan the kidnapping and murder of a witness in a Sonoma County gang trial was arrested Tuesday morning, authorities said.The arrest comes nine months after members of the Asian Boyz street gang allegedly drove 24-year-old Vutha Au of Santa Rosa to a beach near Jenner and shot him nine times.
Boonlack Chanpheng, 27, of Santa Rosa was arrested after leaving his house at about 9:30 a.m., sheriff's officials said.Sgt. Dave Thompson said Chanpheng is a member of the Asian Boyz, who allegedly helped plan the crime against Au, and "that puts him as a conspirator to murder and kidnapping."Authorities believe Au was killed so he couldn't testify on behalf of his brother, 22-year-old Terry Au, who has alleged he also was kidnapped and tortured by the same gang when he decided to stop running drugs for them.Quentin Russell, 25; Preston Khaoone, 22; Tyrone Tay, 26; and brothers David Prak, 19, and Sarith Prak, 22, remain held without bail at Sonoma County Jail on murder charges.Thompson said Chanpheng was not at the scene of the killing."He helped orchestrate or plan this out, or was in the planning stages," Thompson said. "That's what detectives were able to uncover."Thompson said detectives from the sheriff's violent-crimes unit pieced together Chanpheng's alleged involvement through searches of phone and bank records, as well as other "investigative avenues.""That's just the way these investigations kind of unfold in some cases," he said.District Attorney Stephen Passalacqua said in a statement Tuesday that his office worked closely with sheriff's investigators.
Officials said both Vutha and his brother Terry had been placed in the California Witness Relocation program and agreed to remain out of the area. But Vutha Au had returned to Sonoma County.Chanpheng faces charges of kidnapping, murder and participating in a criminal street gang.Chanpheng is scheduled to be arraigned on murder charges Friday, and a preliminary hearing for Russell, Khaoone, Tay and the Prak brothers is scheduled for Jan. 20.

Read More...

sister of a man wanted in the Christmas Day slaying of Zedrick Maurice Warner at a family gathering in Jackson said Tuesday her family fears retaliation.
Police say they believe 31-year-old Saheed Davis shot Warner, 39, who was the brother-in-law of Davis’ girlfriend, multiple times outside a relative’s house on Roosevelt Street Christmas evening. Police had issued an arrest warrant for Davis but had not captured him as of late Tuesday.“The word on the street is (Warner’s associates) are going to kill our father,” said Davis’ sister, Shanna Ratliff. “I don’t know why. He had nothing to do with it.”Warner’s widow, LaToya Warner, said she, her children and her family watched Christmas night as Davis gunned down her husband. She said the two had gotten into an argument.“Instead of Saheed handling the situation like a man, he reverted to being a coward,” she told The Clarion-Ledger the day after Warner’s death. “He killed him stone cold.”Ratliff said there has been an ongoing feud between Warner and her brother, though she doesn’t know what started it. Ratliff also said she spoke to her brother the night of the fatal shooting.“Saheed told me Maurice came up into the house and slapped him. He slapped my brother in front of the family,” she said. “I feel for (Warner’s) family, but I don’t think his wife should be calling my brother a coward. To me, he handled the situation like he was supposed to handle it. He handled it like a man. Knowing Maurice’s background, it was kill or be killed.”Warner was a reputed member of the Wood Street Players street gang -though his family denies it - and was a co-defendant in a high-profile 2006 murder trial in which he was accused of killing Carey “Little Man” Bias in 2003. Warner and his fellow defendants - Vidal Sullivan and Anthony Staffney - were acquitted after a key witness changed his testimony. LaToya Warner said she and her husband had moved past that “trying time.”Warner also was a protege of Mayor Frank Melton, who said he first met Warner when Warner was a teenager.During a news conference Tuesday on crime in Jackson, the mayor referred to Warner’s homicide. He said Warner had sold drugs but that he didn’t believe Warner had been dealing in recent years.Warner was never charged in Hinds County with a drug offense.“Hell, no. He was not a drug dealer. He worked,” Marlon Warner, who works in the mayor’s office, said of his brother. “He had his lawn-care business and he did side jobs. He always made sure he made money to take care of his kids.”
Melton also said he is leaning on Jackson police to arrest Davis.“I not only want him, I want the person who is harboring him,” Melton said.The mayor would not say who he thought was shielding Davis from arrest.Deputy Chief Gerald Jones said investigators did not know whether someone is hiding Davis or whether he is moving around the area to avoid capture.The Police Department has requested assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, Jones said.

Read More...

An arrest Tuesday night of a man for a fight that hospitalized a cop sparked a crowd to attack police officers, Chicago police said.About 7:30 p.m., the officer responded to a fight in an alley near a funeral home in the 600 block of West 37th Street, Officer John Mirabelli said. When he approached, he was hit in the face, police said.Other officers arrested a man, and the crowd—suspected gang members attending a funeral nearby—hit police with bottles and fists, police said. Two other cops were hurt, police said.

Read More...