Gunfire erupted in the food court at Eastland Mall as members of the Hidden Valley Kings gang attempted to mow down drug dealer Juan Lawrence while shoppers at the troubled mall ducked for cover.
Later that night, still hot on Lawrence's trail, cars full of HVK gangsters traded shots with Lawrence by car, weaving in and out of traffic."There was a rolling shootout going up North Tryon Street," U.S. District Attorney Kevin Zolot told the History Channel. "They were literally driving down a main thoroughfare in Charlotte and shooting at each other. It was almost like the Wild West."According to the documentary currently airing on the History Channel about Charlotte's Hidden Valley Kings gang, after Lawrence crashed his car, gang members carrying guns hunted him street by street, at times running through people's homes. They eventually caught up to him and executed him with a high-powered rifle.high-ranking members of the Kings were eventually busted though a joint effort by the police and the FBI in 2007 was widely reported here. But the sheer size, organization and murderous tendencies of the 500-member gang laid out in the documentary was a largely untold story locally. The gang was described by police officers as having the potential to be among the biggest money makers in Charlotte with a lucrative drug trade run out of the Hidden Valley neighborhood that gang members at times protected with mounted machine guns and AK-47s.

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Jackie Tran, whose deportation saga began in 2004, had his appeal denied Friday by the Immigration and Refugee Board.Tran is "disappointed" with the decision, and is considering taking advantage of his 15 days to appeal."That's something that we're definitely looking at,"said Ram Sankaran, Tran's lawyer.In the latest step of a process that has been ongoing for five years, the board concluded that Tran--whose full name is Nghia Trong Nguyen-Tran -- is a member and associate of the FOB Killers gang, referred to as FK, a factor that was held against him in the decision."His ongoing association with the members of this gang is not demonstrative of rehabilitation. It also undermines the credibility of the appellant and his witnesses' evidence regarding the genuineness of his effort to rehabilitate," reads the decision from board member Renee Miller.Tran denies belonging to the criminal gang, but admits to social contact with members.Tran's family and girlfriend have asked that he remain in Canada because he provides for them financially and acts as a link to the outside world for his mother, who speaks little English.But their pleas did not outweigh other factors, the board ruled."The benefit to the mother and sister in having the appellant remain in Canada must be weighed against the danger to the public, the seriousness of the crimes and the degree of his rehabilitation. Although the appellant himself is not a danger to the public -- as there is no evidence that he has continued his serious criminal activities which are dangerous to the public--his mere presence in Canada creates a secondary danger," wrote Miller."There is a risk that another attempt will be made on his life, while in public, creating a risk to other innocent people."Tran can still appeal Friday's decision to federal court to argue an error was made in law or fact.Tran, 26,was born in Vietnam and came here at 13, becoming a permanent resident of Canada in 1993.Tran has previously been convicted for cocaine trafficking and assault with a firearm.He has testified he started selling crack cocaine shortly after dropping out of Crescent Heights High School, where he met several known gang members, according to a transcript. He denies having gang affiliations, but said he knows people in gangs.The board notes 13 of Tran's friends or associates have either been shot or stabbed, three of them fatally. There have been two attempts on his life.Tran narrowly escaped becoming a casualty in February 2005,when gun-men from different cars shot at him as he left his girlfriend's house.After surviving another assassination attempt in 2007, Tran still refused to co-operate with police --who offered him protection--or divulge any information about the shooters.Although Tran denies ties to gangs, he admitted having dinner with the mother of two identified gang members the night before he testified at his appeal hearing. He also admitted that parents of identified gang members visited him when he was in custody in 2008.Given Tran's admissions and evidence presented by police, Miller wrote: "I conclude that the appellant is a member and associate of the FK."Calgary police say they are pleased with the board's decision."As you know, the Calgary Police Service holds the view that Mr. Tran continues to present a risk to public safety," said Acting Supt. Guy Slater.
"As long as he is present in our community, that risk will be present. We look forward to the day where that is no longer an issue."Slater said because they have identified Tran as a player in the city's gang feud, police are keen to see him out of the country for good."We are committed to ensuring public safety and we are steadfast in our pursuit of those who threaten it."Police and other agencies will continue monitoring Tran's whereabouts. He must abide by conditions placed on him by the Canada Border Services Agency.
Sankaran said his client was"disappointed" to hear of the decision.
"We take issue with certain findings," said Sankaran, pointing specifically to the reference to ongoing associations with gang members and to the police department's gang membership criteria.
Asked how Tran supports his family, Sankaran said the man has worked as a glazier for a few years.Although Tran has been portrayed as a humble worker providing for his family, last fall someone posted a $20,000 bond for his release after he was detained for missing a hearing date.His removal from the country will be carried out by the Canada Border Services Agency once all his legal options have expired."We're committed to enforcing this removal order as soon as possible," said spokeswoman Lisa White.The border agency is also working on a separate deportation order based on his association to organized crime and final submissions are due May 1.

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John Phillip Hernandez was one of the main members of an organization of 23 people who purchased 339 weapons in a 15-month period. At least 40 of these weapons have been recovered in Mexico and three have been found in Guatemala, according to court documents.Hernandez was sentenced after pleading guilty in July to one count of making a false statement to a federal firearms licensee.Buying weapons is legal in Texas, but the purchaser must fill out a government form that indicates whether the purchaser plans to keep the gun for himself or give it to a third party. Hernandez claimed the guns were for himself.U.S. District Judge David Hittner said Hernandez, 26, merited a stiffer sentence. “The defendant’s actions strengthened the drug cartels by arming them with arsenals that let them continue their criminal conduct,” Hittner said, and led to the killings of eight people in Mexico.

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Matthew "King Red Dog" Robey was sent to prison for ordering younger members of the gang to kill fellow gang member, 19-year-old Luis Quiroz, in December 2007. Quiroz was shot inside his car on Trailwood Lane and later died at UK Hospital. Latin Kings gang member was sentenced Thursday morning to a total of 21 years in prison for his part in a deadly shooting. Two others reputed gang members, Adrian Buenrostro and Isais Manual, were sentenced to three years each for their roles in the crime.

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Black Guerrilla Family smuggled drugs, weapons, cell phones and luxuries into Maryland prisons, where members continued to operate the drug ring.The U.S. Attorney's office announced indictments Thursday against two dozen people associated with the gang.Prosecutors say the 16 men and eight women were members or associates of the Black Guerrilla Family, which is active in prisons nationwide.Prosecutors say those charged include guards and other prison employees who helped smuggle contraband.

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Aurele Brouillete, apprehended last night in an exclusive residence in the tourist town Cabarete, Puerto Plata province (north). Dominican authorities arrested another Canadian member of the Hell’s Angels biker gang allegedly implicated in drug trafficking and murders in his country and who hid in Dominican soil, which brings to three the number of detainees from that country in less than 24 hours.The Drugs Control Agency identified the Canadian as Aurele Brouillete, apprehended last night in an exclusive residence in the tourist town Cabarete, Puerto Plata province (north). Brouillete’s detention occurs just hours after the arrests of the alleged Hell’s Angels Marc Readman and Steve Rainville, also in Cabarete, as part of a simultaneous sweep in Canada, Mexico, France and Dominican Republic against members of the criminal group, on charges of murdering at least 22 bikers of a rival gang.

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Arrested two members of the Sangra street gang suspected in the slaying of two teens and attempted killings of four others outside a Rosemead motel room, authorities said Tuesday. Vincent Casio, 27, of El Monte, and Sean Martinez, 18, of Perris, were jailed in connection with the Saturday shooting at the Knight's Inn motel on Rosemead Boulevard, said Lt. Dan Rosenberg of the Los Angeles County sheriff's Homicide Bureau. Detectives suspect Casio and Martinez attempted to deliver speed or cocaine to a lone partygoer. Someone at the party, which occurred inside a motel room, said something that offended the killers. Detectives suspect Casio pulled out a gun. Then, "(Casio) actually corralled the males (at the party) on the balcony and opened fire," Rosenberg said. Gustavo De La Torre, 27, of Temple City and Angel Guerrero, 15, of Palmdale died at the scene of the shooting, said Jerry McKibben, an investigator with the Los Angeles County Department of Coroner. Three other teenage boys and one 18-year-old man were wounded in the shooting, Rosenberg said.The attack occurred about 2:20 a.m. at the motel which is located at 3633 Rosemead Boulevard, officials said. Guerrero and De La Torre were both pronounced dead at the scene, Pena said. Though there was underage drinking going on at the party, "Everybody appeared to be good kids," Rosenberg said. "They were not involved with gangs." Casio and Martinez were arrested with the help of tips from citizens, Rosenberg said.
Casio has been booked on suspicion of murder, while Martinez, who was a parolee-at-large, is being held for parole violations, the lieutenant said. Both are expected to be charged with murder.
According to court records, Casio and Martinez are each being held without bail.

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Five Wichita gang members guilty of conspiracy to engage in racketeering and other charges.A sixth man was acquitted of murder, racketeering and conspiracy.Those convicted included Jonearl Smith, Lonnie Wade, Corey Cornelius, Darryn Frierson and Calvin Williams.The verdicts were announced Wednesday after 11 days of deliberations in the second federal case against the Crips gang being prosecuted in Kansas under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO.The jury acquitted Jermall Campbell of all but a count of unlawful possession of ammunition after a felony conviction.

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Gregory J. "Lemar" Gibson, 34, of North Willow Street, was ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and to serve five years of supervised re lease upon the completion of his prison term. As part of his plea be fore U.S. District Judge Freda L. Wolfson, Gibson agreed to forfeit $270,000 in drug proceeds to the government. Gibson has been held in custody since his arrest on Jan. 12, 2007. He pleaded guilty on Aug. 28, 2008, to conspiring to distribute and possession with intent to distribute 5 kilograms or more of co caine. He also pleaded guilty to possession of firearms by a previ ously convicted felon. At his plea hearing, Gibson admitted that from as early as December 2004 and continuing until January 2007, he purchased multi- kilogram shipments of cocaine from a Philadelphia man who di rected a distribution ring that transported cocaine from California to Philadelphia. After purchasing the cocaine, Gibson resold it to numerous other individuals in the Mercer County area, he admitted.
Gibson, who had at least one prior felony conviction at the time of his arrest, admitted that he possessed eight firearms and ammuni tion inside his North Willow Street residence. Gibson admitted that he possessed the weapons to protect himself and to safeguard the nar cotics and drug proceeds stored at his residence.

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Curtis Brown, 26, died March 29 in the parking lot of the McDonald's/Circle K on Lake Bradford Road after he was shot during a gun battle between the Holton Street or West Side gang and the North Side gang. The shooting broke out about 4:30 a.m. that Sunday, scattering a crowd of about 150 people.Family members have said Brown, who was not a gang member, was shot in the back of the head at close range. They suspect he was targeted. Leon County deputies said Brown was an innocent bystander.Hundreds of people in the packed sanctuary of the St. Mark Primitive Baptist Church, 5820 N. Monroe St., waved their arms in the air, clapped and danced to the booming gospel music the choir and live band played throughout the two-hour funeral.Several sitting in the pews had to be fanned by ushers as they were overcome with emotion.The grandmother of 15-year-old Michael Jackson, slain in a gang-related shootout on Holton Street more than one year ago, served as an usher.The funeral began with an open casket. Family and friends, many of whom wore white and gold to match Brown's suit and tie, waited in line to walk up to Brown and say their goodbyes. The cover of the funeral programs they were given showed drawings of doves carrying olive branches next to a picture of a tough-looking Brown. He's giving the camera a menacing look, and his shirt appears to say "win or die."The aunt of Brown's 18-year-old brother, Rakeem Edmond, spoke on Edmond's behalf, since Edmond is incarcerated at the Leon County Jail on several charges, including aggravated battery on a law-enforcement officer and fleeing and eluding."If it was his way, he would be here," she said, as the band played "My Heart Will Go On." "He told my daughter, 'If I had to come in handcuffs, I would come.' But they didn't want him to come."
The Rev. Gregory James, who presided over the funeral, said what happened to Brown will serve as a cautionary tale to young people.
"Yes, there's sadness that we're experiencing, but there's joy," he said. "Because if Hump's life is the life that's being sacrificed to bring about peace in our community, putting away violence in the community, then we know that this life was a life glorified by God."
The Rev. Chris Burney urged the young people in the audience to make a better life for themselves."You don't have to follow in the footsteps of your no-good daddy," Burney said. "If you really want to show who you are, get up and go to work, get an education, make an honest living, have respect for one another."

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Monterey County Sheriff's deputy has been released from a Bay Area trauma center after police say a known gang member attempted to kill him.Salinas Police report that just before 8 p.m. Friday, a deputy and a Salinas police officer assigned to the Monterey County Joint Gang Task Force attempted to contact Raymond Campos, a known gang member, in the parking lot of 57 Natividad Road, Salinas.
While the officers were approaching, police say, Campos accelerated his vehicle backwards, knocking the deputy to the ground.
Campos then accelerated forward and the Salinas police officer fired his handgun to protect himself and his injured partner, police said. Campos fled in his vehicle, which police said was located minutes later abandoned in the area of Highway 101 and Market Street. Campos escaped and is wanted for attempted murder of a police officer. The deputy was flown to a Bay Area hospital, where he was treated for a broken collarbone and separated shoulder before being released.

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Arthur Basaldua pleaded guilty this week in New Iberia to attempted murder of Valerie King of Breaux Bridge and Eddie Mackenzie of Youngsville, and to state drug charges from 2004. Sentencing is scheduled June 3.On Wednesday, a federal judge is to sentence Basaldua and eight others indicted with him last year on drug charges. Prosecutors said they were linked to the Cuatro Flats gang of east Los Angeles.He was the first of 5 to plead guilty; the others were convicted Jan. 29.Basaldua admitted one count of continuing criminal enterprise, which carries a minimum 20-year sentence.

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Shootings were planned and executed by members of the Sureno 13 gang, also known as SUR 13.William VanEyck, 24, pleaded guilty to being a felon in possession of a .357 Magnum revolver and using it to commit one of the shootings. He will serve four and a half years in prison.Gonzalo Venegas, 22, the gang’s operational leader, will serve three years and one month after he pleaded guilty to the same possession charge and admitted he frequently drove the vehicle and supplied the weapon to be used.Rigoberto Rubio-Castillo, 22, admitted to taking possession of a stolen Norinco rifle and providing it to Venegas for safe-keeping and will serve four years.
No one was injured in the shootings.

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Jonathan Cabrera, 27, was arrested on charges of murder and attempted murder after he allegedly fired numerous shots striking 20-year-old Rodrigo Vasquez and 31-year-old Samuel Castro last week outside La Escondida, 5524 14th Street W. Vasquez died a few hours later after he was taken to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg. Castro remains in critical condition at Tampa General Hospital. He had surgery Friday. Cabrera told detectives he turned himself in after reading about the shootings in the Bradenton Herald. He went to a sheriff’s office substation located in Oneco to contact authorities.When questioned about the shootings, he said he didn’t pull the trigger.At about 1 a.m. April 4, there were about five men inside the nightclub, including Cabrera, Castro and Vasquez, who were acquaintances. Cabrera allegedly became upset with one of the men because he did not like one of the people in the bar. He reportedly kicked the chair of Albert Morales, who he was upset with, and said, “Let’s take it outside,” according to the report. Morales and Cabrera went outside to fight in the parking lot, with people in the bar following. The five men began walking to their cars parked next door at Value Pawn. Cabrera went to a gold Nissan Maxima and emerged with a firearm. He reportedly opened fire, striking two of the men and several buildings, then left, the reports said.Cabrera told detectives he had nothing to do with the shootings and left after the argument. He told authorities he has no idea who the Maxima belongs to. Vasquez’s death marks the 11th homicide in Manatee County this year. Six of those cases remain without arrests. Last year, there were a total of 17 homicides. Cabrera, who is a documented member of the SUR-13 gang, was arrested twice for attempted murder in gang related cases in 2002 and 2006, according to documents. In both cases, the shootings were against a rival gang.In this latest case, the shooting is believe by detectives to involve gang affiliates. Castro is friends with Cabrera, according to Castro’s relatives. The men also share criminal history together, according to documents. Castro and Cabrera were in a white Mercedes Benz when Cabrera reportedly fired 10 .40 caliber shots at another vehicle in a drive-by gang shooting in 2002, according to documents. A man in the other car was shot in the ribs, according to the warrant charging Cabrera with attempted murder in 2002 filed by Bradenton Police Department. In another case, in 2006 Cabrera allegedly fired a shotgun at a rival gang member in Eastside Crips, according to the warrant.The State Attorney’s Office declined filing charges in the previous cases because witnesses were not cooperative and there was not enough evidence.

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Steed Dennis, 30, of Wichita Falls, pled guilty in February to one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm and is scheduled to be sentenced in June. On January 9, 2009, Dennis was stopped in his vehicle by a Wichita Falls Police Officer. The officer, who knew Dennis to be a known member of Puro Lil Mafia of Wichita Falls, and a convicted felon, was in possession of a .22 caliber firearm in his vehicle. According to documents filed in Court, the Officer also observed Frederick Trujillo, also a known member of Puro Lil Mafia, in the back seat of the vehicle.Dennis Bachman, Chief of the Wichita Falls Police Department, said, “These arrested persons have posed a danger to the city for some time. We're happy to support the Safe Streets Task Force with the cooperation of all agencies involved. We expect these partnerships to continue and believe the result will be safer communities in Wichita Falls.”
In one indictment, Edward Buck Izaguirre, Miguel Antonio Martinez and Joe McDonald are charged with conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine. In addition, Izaguirre is charged with one count of possession of a controlled substance with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm during and in relation to a drug trafficking crime, and two counts of felon in possession of a firearm.Other separate indictments returned this week charge Jessie James Greek with two counts of felon in possession of a firearm. Andrew Cecil Harris, Jose Skinner, Anthony Merito, James Frederick Trujillo, and Jason Grantham are each charged with one count of felon in possession of a firearm. In addition, Harris, is charged with one count of felon in possession of ammunition.In other separate indictments, Hugo Lopez is charged with one count of possession of a firearm by an illegal alien. Betty Bustillos is charged with two counts of making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm. Wesley Swick is charged with one count of possession of a stolen firearm or ammunition.An indictment is an accusation by a federal grand jury and a defendant is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless proven guilty. However, upon conviction, the felon in possession of a firearm, felon in possession of ammunition, possession of stolen firearm or ammunition, possession of a firearm by an illegal alien, and making a false statement during the purchase of a firearm counts each carry a maximum statutory sentence of 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, upon conviction. The conspiracy count carries a statutory sentence of not less than five nor more than 40 years in prison, upon conviction. The possession of a firearm during and in relation to a crime of violence charge carries a mandatory five year penalty, to run consecutive to any other imposed sentence.

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West Drive Locos, now with about 60 members, takes its name from a main north-south street through a tough neighborhood in the middle of the city.Police say the gang's reputed founder, Emilio Avalos, came to the desert from the San Fernando Valley shortly before the gang's founding.“He brought some of the background and knowledge of the L.A. gangs he knew out there to form the gang as we know it today,” Monis said.Avalos, 31, is currently jailed awaiting a May murder trial for the Dec. 19, 2001, drive-by slaying of Marine Cpl. Henry Lozano, 20, in Desert Hot Springs. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.Lozano was dating Avalos' ex-girlfriend. As Lozano left his girlfriend's home on Third Street, Avalos was lying in wait in a car at the corner, police say. As Lozano turned to head north on Palm Drive, slowing for a drainage channel in an intersection, Avalos allegedly pulled alongside Lozano's Ford Focus and riddled it with gunfire.The Marine's death shocked and outraged the community. Though Avalos was suspected, police were unable to pin the case to him.At the urging of Lozano's parents, then county deputy district attorney Rod Pacheco pushed to reopen the Lozano murder case in 2006, which led to the arrest of Avalos.
“The West Drive Locos gang is very heavy into murder,” said Pacheco, who took office as district attorney in 2007.“They're very, very dangerous. That's a gang we talked about going after from the beginning.”But they're not alone.Police say Desert Hot Springs and the surrounding area is now home to at least six gangs. And the conflicts and rivalries between them have left city residents in the crossfire.Desert Hot Springs for years has had among the highest per capita violent crime rates for cities of under 100,000 population in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, according to statistics kept by the FBI.Auto thefts in Desert Hot Springs were up 13.6 percent in 2007 compared to 2006.“Auto theft and dope-dealing are two of the primary things gangs do to sustain themselves,” Police Chief Patrick Williams said.“We have to turn a corner, and that's through getting these violent crooks off the street.”By the fall of 2007, West Drive Locos gang members were brazenly making their presence known in a city neighborhood's centerpiece.Park becomes a base for crimeGuy J. Tedesco park opened with fanfare and a rededication ceremony on Sept. 22, 2007. Desert Hot Springs city officials had put $3 million into renovations at the park, bordered by east and west Arroyo Drive.The park fast became a popular spot for kids to bicycle, skateboard and play basketball; for parents to barbecue as their smaller children played on the new playground equipment.West Drive Locos members also discovered the sparkling new park. Within weeks it became the the gang's “corporate headquarters, for all intents and purposes,” Daniels said.The gang spray-painted its graffiti on the park's sign, forcing city officials to spend days scrubbing it away.
“That pissed me off,” Daniels said.Worse problems were soon to come.
On Nov. 17, 2007, a teenager jumped out of a car on Flora Avenue west of the park. He ran to the park's edge, a semi-automatic pistol in hand.He fired 13 rounds at seven people seated at a picnic table, then ran back to the car, which sped away.One intended victim was unharmed. He would tell police nothing. Another victim, likely shot, also left the scene. Police found a blood trail, nothing more.Monis, who served as a Desert Hot Springs police officer in the 1990s, said he wasn't surprised that the shooting victims were uncooperative.“If you're an active gang member and you're ratting on someone — even if it's a rival gang member — it's looked upon as you being a snitch,” he said. “And in the gang world, once you have a snitch label on you, you're in trouble.”It is a classic example of how gang violence escalates.
A drive-by shooting elevates the shooter's status within his gang, and the gang's reputation among the gang community. And the victims, individually and as a gang, are “punked,” having their status decreased, said Chuck Cervello, a senior D.A. investigator. He was the lead case agent and gang expert for Team DHS.
“Now you not only have to get even with that gang; you actually want to get one up on them,” Cervello said. “That's why a lot of times the violence tends to increase.“The whole reason why they do what they do is for this misled perspective of respect. They want to earn respect, and in their world, that's how they get it.”The city's multimillion-dollar Tedesco Park investment in a struggling neighborhood was intended to bring the community together and provide a place for positive activities.Within weeks it had instead become a base for crime, intimidation and terror.“It scares me to death to have this go on right outside our front door,” said Flora Avenue resident Elizabeth Cunningham the day after the 2007 park shooting. Cunningham lives fewer than 100 yards from Tedesco Park with her three children.
Gang members surrounded the house. Inside they expected to find a rival gang's drugs and money.They shot their way in.More than 30 shots were fired, police later determined, both inside and outside the house in a neighborhood between Ironwood Drive and Two Bunch Palms Trail.Blood spattered the walls and pooled on the floor, but police found no one inside.The violent scene unfolded at 4:30p.m. in the middle of a residential neighborhood in the fall of 2007. No one — not a single neighbor — called 911.Desert Hot Springs City Manager Rick Daniels, on the job for about six weeks, said that's when he realized the pervasiveness of the gang problem in his community, and how citizens were gripped with fear.“The people are afraid to call the cops; they're afraid to put a stop to this,” he said. “And there are bullets flying around in residential neighborhoods.”The West Drive Locos street gang had a three-year head start on police in Desert Hot Springs. The gang formed in 1994; the city police force in 1997.The great economy and affordable housing that brought a population boom to the Coachella Valley in the 1990s also brought criminal street gangs.“The Coachella Valley gang scene is very heavily influenced by the entire L.A. area,” said Ryan Monis, a senior investigator with the Riverside County District Attorney's Office and part of Team DHS, the investigators and prosecutors who carried out the eight-month gang mission.
“As people moved out here because of the housing prices compared to Los Angeles and Orange County, obviously you bring some of that (gang) element with you,” he said.Desert Hot Springs, with the valley's lowest rents, pervasive unemployment and poverty, was fertile ground for gangs to flourish.The West Drive Locos, now with about 60 members, takes its name from a main north-south street through a tough neighborhood in the middle of the city.Police say the gang's reputed founder, Emilio Avalos, came to the desert from the San Fernando Valley shortly before the gang's founding.
“He brought some of the background and knowledge of the L.A. gangs he knew out there to form the gang as we know it today,” Monis said.
Avalos, 31, is currently jailed awaiting a May murder trial for the Dec. 19, 2001, drive-by slaying of Marine Cpl. Henry Lozano, 20, in Desert Hot Springs. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.Lozano was dating Avalos' ex-girlfriend. As Lozano left his girlfriend's home on Third Street, Avalos was lying in wait in a car at the corner, police say. As Lozano turned to head north on Palm Drive, slowing for a drainage channel in an intersection, Avalos allegedly pulled alongside Lozano's Ford Focus and riddled it with gunfire.The Marine's death shocked and outraged the community. Though Avalos was suspected, police were unable to pin the case to him.At the urging of Lozano's parents, then county deputy district attorney Rod Pacheco pushed to reopen the Lozano murder case in 2006, which led to the arrest of Avalos.“The West Drive Locos gang is very heavy into murder,” said Pacheco, who took office as district attorney in 2007.“They're very, very dangerous. That's a gang we talked about going after from the beginning.”But they're not alone.Police say Desert Hot Springs and the surrounding area is now home to at least six gangs. And the conflicts and rivalries between them have left city residents in the crossfire.Desert Hot Springs for years has had among the highest per capita violent crime rates for cities of under 100,000 population in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, according to statistics kept by the FBI.Auto thefts in Desert Hot Springs were up 13.6 percent in 2007 compared to 2006.“Auto theft and dope-dealing are two of the primary things gangs do to sustain themselves,” Police Chief Patrick Williams said.“We have to turn a corner, and that's through getting these violent crooks off the street.”By the fall of 2007, West Drive Locos gang members were brazenly making their presence known in a city neighborhood's centerpiece.Park becomes a base for crime.Guy J. Tedesco park opened with fanfare and a rededication ceremony on Sept. 22, 2007. Desert Hot Springs city officials had put $3 million into renovations at the park, bordered by east and west Arroyo Drive.
The park fast became a popular spot for kids to bicycle, skateboard and play basketball; for parents to barbecue as their smaller children played on the new playground equipment.West Drive Locos members also discovered the sparkling new park. Within weeks it became the the gang's “corporate headquarters, for all intents and purposes,” Daniels saidThe gang spray-painted its graffiti on the park's sign, forcing city officials to spend days scrubbing it away.
“That pissed me off,” Daniels said.Worse problems were soon to come.
On Nov. 17, 2007, a teenager jumped out of a car on Flora Avenue west of the park. He ran to the park's edge, a semi-automatic pistol in hand.He fired 13 rounds at seven people seated at a picnic table, then ran back to the car, which sped away.One intended victim was unharmed. He would tell police nothing. Another victim, likely shot, also left the scene. Police found a blood trail, nothing more.Monis, who served as a Desert Hot Springs police officer in the 1990s, said he wasn't surprised that the shooting victims were uncooperative.“If you're an active gang member and you're ratting on someone — even if it's a rival gang member — it's looked upon as you being a snitch,” he said. “And in the gang world, once you have a snitch label on you, you're in trouble.”It is a classic example of how gang violence escalates.A drive-by shooting elevates the shooter's status within his gang, and the gang's reputation among the gang community. And the victims, individually and as a gang, are “punked,” having their status decreased, said Chuck Cervello, a senior D.A. investigator. He was the lead case agent and gang expert for Team DHS.
“Now you not only have to get even with that gang; you actually want to get one up on them,” Cervello said. “That's why a lot of times the violence tends to increase.“The whole reason why they do what they do is for this misled perspective of respect. They want to earn respect, and in their world, that's how they get it.”
The city's multimillion-dollar Tedesco Park investment in a struggling neighborhood was intended to bring the community together and provide a place for positive activities.Within weeks it had instead become a base for crime, intimidation and terror.“It scares me to death to have this go on right outside our front door,” said Flora Avenue resident Elizabeth Cunningham the day after the 2007 park shooting. Cunningham lives fewer than 100 yards from Tedesco Park with her three children.A recent study showed Desert Hot Springs needed 38 to 42 officers to effectively police the city. Going into 2008, the police department had 19 able bodies.As gang violence and crime escalated, officials began squeezing the budget to increase police staffing.Williams also worked on collaborative initiatives with other agencies, including county gang and drug task forces and having the California Highway Patrol increase traffic patrols.The efforts took the number of police patrol vehicles on the streets in the city to an all-time high.That didn't sit well with the West Drive Locos.On the night of May 26, a Desert Hot Springs police officer followed a BMW along Cactus Drive, believing a wanted gang member was inside.According to police, near First Street the car slowed. Alleged West Drive member Francisco “Poncho” Salcido got out and fired on the officer as the car sped away.The officer fired back, but neither was hit.Salcido escaped, but was arrested two days later following a police manhunt.Police at the time continued the search for another alleged West Drive member wanted in another shooting incident, Anthony “Clumsy” Paez.Two days after Salcido's arrest, officers in a California Highway Patrol vehicle on May 30 on Cactus Drive spotted a car with three young men inside, none wearing their seatbelts. The officers at the time didn't know that one of the occupants was Paez.The CHP officers followed the car as its path became more erratic. As the gang members tried to speed away into the night, the officers pursued.Two passengers in the car leaned out the windows with shotguns and fired on the CHP officers, who returned fire.One of the car's occupants, Alexis Melendrez-Acosta, 18, of Desert Hot Springs was shot in the head during the exchange of gunfire. He was pronounced dead at Desert Regional Medical Center the next day.
Paez and a 15-year-old boy ran from the car into a house on Via El Rancho, just south of the city.The gang members continued to trade gunfire with police from the home. The standoff ended hours later, about 4 a.m., when the pair gave up after tear gas was fired into the building.Paez was treated for multiple gunshot wounds. He remains jailed awaiting trial for attempted murder of a peace officer, felony grand theft auto and felony evading police.The juvenile, Edgar Antonio Flores, now 16, is being tried as an adult on two counts of attempted murder.Within a one-week period, West Drive Locos gang members had been in three gun battles with police.“It was extremely disconcerting,” Mayor Yvonne Parks said.
“Gangs were getting out of control. They were getting arrogant. It was in-your-face gang activity.“There was a realization something had to be done.”She wasn't alone.“When the shootings started happening on the officers,” Daniels said, “that's when I thought, ‘This has just escalated to where no one is safe.'”

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Red Scorpion Gang Leaders are Jonathan, Jarrod and Jamie Bacon
These 3 brothers are believed to be in the top ranks of a drug-trafficking group which has running links to the Red Scorpions. In the last few months hey have been targeted by the UN gang, who they used to align with. Jonathan, 27, has survived two attempted murders, including one in the driveway of his parents’ Abbotsford home in 2006. Other gangsters tried to kill Jamie, 22, on Jan. 20 during a shooting at a Abbotsford intersection in the middle of the day.
Somphavanh Chanathabouala Chanathabouala was charged in Victoria alongside a 16-year-old youth for murder and attempted murder after a shooting outside the Red Jacket nightclub killed Truong and left two wounded. Chanathabouala’s younger brother, Kevin, is a known Red Scorpion drug dealer who, used to live in the same condo where the Surrey Six were killed
Dennis Karbovanec, associateKarbovanec was the target of a gang hit on New Year’s Eve, however thanks to his bullet-proof vest he lived to tell the tale. He is currently facing several weapons-related charges. In 2007, his close friend Jonathan Bacon turned over 114 sticks of stolen dynamite, a grenade, seven handguns, two shotguns, a file and an Uzi submachinegun to Abbotsford police as part of a plea bargain for Karbovanec.
Kevin LeClair, associate 26-year-old LeClair was shot and killed in a violent daylight shooting at an IGA in Langley Feb. 6. Kevin was alleged to have played a key role in both trafficking and money laundering within the Red Scorpions Gang. The day before he was murdered, he was seen having coffee with Jonathan Bacon in Port Moody.
Jimmy (Grover) Lee, associate Lee operated a crack house from which he sold meth, other drugs and used tires. He was gunned down last October. He was associated with UN members in North Surrey through the meth and crack trade.
Konaam Shirzad,Shirzad attempted to get even with a teenager in 2005 who testified against him in court by having another RS Gang member, Nam Hoang, take care of him. The hit went wrong when Hoang’s shooter hitting the wrong Lynn Valley home. Shirzad and Hoang pleaded guilty to mischief endangering life for their involvement.Some known members and associates include: Kyle Daniel Ali, Ashley Marie Apolinario, Hishem Bennink, Raphael Jose Blanco, Justin Houchen, Mark Andrew Hubahib, Mario Kraljevic, Tommy Tung Nguyen, Homayon Rafieyan, Aleksander Reljic, Kurtis Schmidt and John Romar Supena.

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'Fat' Freddie Thompson, Dublin gangster was spotted at a District Court sitting in the city this week where he accompanied a young defendant, who is himself facing serious charges.The accused, in his late teens and from south Dublin, is believed to have 'hired' Thompson as security during his court appearances, after an incident a number of weeks ago in which he was attacked with a knife -- in court."Freddie was riding shotgun for this kid," said a source."It looks like Fred has gone into the bodyguard business," the source added.The young man, who is free on bail despite the serious nature of the charges he is facing, had a narrow escape as he waited for his case to be called. Another man pulled a knife and attempted to stab him, but was apprehended by gardai and removed from the court.Gardai believe that members of the young man's family contacted Thompson to ask him to appear in court this week as 'security', to intimidate other criminals and offset any attacks.Thompson (28) duly appeared at the court and stood beside the youngster, while the teen waited for his case to be called yesterday. The accused cannot be named for legal reasons.
Crime boss Thompson, who is known to head a Crumlin-based gang, then left the court after the hearing.
"Freddie just stood beside the young lad and let it be know that he was with him. The kid is in trouble with other people from his local area and the knife attack in court was obviously a pretty serious matter."The guards in court were joking that Freddie must be hit by the recession if he had to hire himself out as a bodyguard."The incident was Thompson's second court appearance this week, following his own arraignment last Monday on public order charges. He is accused of threatening behaviour and failing to comply with the instructions of a garda.The charge was brought over an alleged incident which occurred on Aungier Street the previous evening. The court heard that Thompson replied, when charged, "I just want to apologise to the guard".Despite his involvement in underworld activity, Thompson's previous convictions are for relatively minor offences.

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James Kyle (Jamie) Bacon, a member of the Red Scorpions gang, was charged Saturday in B.C.'s worst gang slaying.
His co-accused, Cody Haevischer, appeared in court Monday to face charges in the deaths of six men who were gunned down inside a Surrey apartment in October 2007.Bacon is charged with one count of first-degree murder in the death of Corey Lal, and one charge of conspiracy to commit murder in Lal's death.On Oct. 19, 2007, Lal, his brother Michael Lal, Ryan Bartolomeo and Eddie Narong were shot in the head in a targeted hit. The four men who had ties to the drug trade were killed along with Chris Mohan and Ed Schellenberg, who happened to be in the apartment building the night of the murders.Crown counsel Wendy Dawson on Tuesday asked Justice Jean Lytwyn for a direct indictment, which would skip a preliminary hearing and push the murder trial straight to B.C. Supreme Court.
Bacon is scheduled to appear in court again on May 15.The 23-year-old was also in court facing weapons charges along with his older brother, Jarrod Bacon, amid top security.

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Gilbert Sanchez was taken to Kern Medical Center, where he died as a result of his injuries. Homicide detectives arrived and continued the investigation. As information began to be developed, members of the Sheriff’s Gang Suppression unit were called in to assist in the investigation. Two men were identified as being involved in the killing of Sanchez, the KCSD reported.They were identified as Angel Cruz and Jerry Mendoza.Both are believed to be members of a local criminal street gang. Both men were located and arrested without incident, the KCSD reported.Two weapons believed to be used in the homicide have been recovered, the KCSD reported.Angel Cruz, 19, was booked into the Kern County Jail on the following charges: murder, robbery, conspiracy, and participation in a criminal street gang.
Jerry Mendoza, 18, was booked into the Kern County Jail on the following charges: murder, robbery, conspiracy, and participation in a criminal street gang

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