leader of a Mexican Mafia prison gang has been sentenced to life in prison without parole in San Diego federal court. Prosecutors say 31-year-old Salvador Perez was sentenced Friday in District Court, after pleading guilty two years ago to racketeering conspiracy charges. The charges followed a lengthy investigation of San Diego street gangs with ties to the Mexican Mafia. Perez is the last of 35 defendants to be sentenced after that probe. In October 2007, Perez admitted participating in the June 2002 murder of inmate Jabila Barragan in Susanville.
U.S. Attorney Karen P. Hewitt says Perez also acknowledged that the Mexican Mafia engages in murder, attempted murder, drug sales, robbery and money laundering.

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Los Angeles Police detectives are investigating a gang drive-by shooting that claimed the life of 18-year-old Christopher Herrera and wounded another.On Saturday, May 23, 2009, at around 2:50 a.m., Christopher Herrera and his friend, a 16-year-old girl, were walking in the 700 block of South Normandie Avenue in Koreatown when they were approached by an unknown vehicle. Multiple shots were fired at them, striking both of them. The suspects were only described as male Hispanics who drove away after the shooting. Herrera died from his injuries and his friend underwent surgery and is listed in stable condition at a local hospital.The motive for the shooting is gang-related.

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Investigators say while working undercover, they bought the drug ecstasy from Rambo. He then allegedly told them about his wife and how they were able to hide drug money. Police say that is when they began to investigate. Rambo’s wife is 39-year-old Grace Kopacz. She is a law partner with Mokaram Freeman & Kopacz. Their offices are located in the Galleria area, where on Friday afternoon, police came and arrested Kopacz. Kopacz and her husband have been charged with money laundering and are scheduled to appear before a judge in the Harris County Criminal Justice Center this week. Kopacz has also been charged with insurance fraud. The DEA says she recently filed an insurance claim stating that one of her vehicles had been stolen, but she allegedly had arranged for her vehicle to disappear. We don’t know how Kopacz originally met her husband, but he has been in trouble with the law before.
The DEA says he is a member of the Dirty White Boys prison gang, a group that associates itself with the Aryan Brotherhood.

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Elvin Payton, 26, and Beatrice Rosado, 24, both of the 700 block of North Avers Avenue, are both charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of Michael Norton, 55, of unincorporated DuPage County near Glen Ellyn. Rosado also faces an unrelated battery charge.Cook County Criminal Court Judge Adam Bourgeois today ordered them both held without bond. Norton was killed on May 14 around 7 p.m. at his store in the 4700 block of West North Avenue, according to police.The corner store uses an address of 1555 N. Cicero Ave.Although police said that the slaying was related to a robbery of the store, residents of the building and neighbors had said Norton was threatened by gangbangers after he evicted a woman from the building, which he owned, about two weeks before his slaying.Today, Asst. State’s Atty. Joy Tolbert Nelson said Rosado, who apparently had the lease on the apartment, was evicted two weeks before the slaying, along with Payton, who lived with her.Payton is an admitted member of the Latin Styler street gang, according to court records.
A witness saw Payton and another man enter the store, lock the door and later leave, Tolbert Nelson said. As the two left, they removed masks that covered their faces and Rosado was seen at a van in the area about the time of the slaying, Tolbert Nelson said.Police officers responding to a robbery call found Norton, with his hands and feet bound, face down on floor, shot once in the back of the head.
The two were arrested after a police radio band alert saying they were wanted in connection with the slaying. After their arrest, both were identified in lineups and gave statements, Tolbert Nelson said. Payton admitted to participating in the robbery and shooting of Norton and Rosado admitted to being involved in the slaying, Tolbert Nelson said.Defense attorneys provided no employment information on Payton but said he stayed home and watched a child the couple had had together and Rosado’s three older children.Payton appeared in court in a red hoodie, and Rosado wore a black-and-white striped jacket.Daisy Rodriguez, Rosado’s mother, said her daughter was “terrified” of Payton. “He made her do this,” she said.Her family said Rosado and Payton had been together for about two years.

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Three dots,tres puntos in Spanish represented: the three words Mi Vida Loca. My Crazy Life.The tattoo is often seen on the hands of members of MS-13, the gang known internationally as La Mara Salvatrucha.The police gang unit began to log its contacts with the man, Jose Adolfo Aldana-Ramirez, an immigrant from El Salvador. Officers noted his clothing and his companions, some of whom were MS-13 members alreadydocumented by the unit.This month, Aldana-Ramirez pleaded guilty to participating in a criminal gang, a charge that state lawmakers enacted 10 years ago to crack down on gang crimes.Since then, the charge has been used in 116 felony cases in Franklin County, including 25 times against juveniles, a review of court records shows.Though not used frequently, the law has helped lock up some of the 1,000 or so gang members in Columbus, police and prosecutors say. It carries a sentence of up to eight years in prison.''That's a pretty big hammer to hit somebody with,'' said James Sandford, a Columbus police detective who specializes in the MS-13 gang.Defense attorneys, on the other hand, say the law is vague and prejudicial.The American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio thinks that it unfairly skews enforcement toward urban areas, education director Shakyra Diaz said. The risk for guilt by association is great and could land innocent people on watch lists, she said.
To establish a person as an active gang member, police use criteria such as dress, hangouts, associates and the person's own admissions.''It starts out as something that simple,'' Sgt. Chantay Boxill of the Columbus police gang unit said of Aldana-Ramirez's tattoos. After Boxill's unit began keeping track of him, police obtained a threatening voice-mail message that Aldana-Ramirez had left for a rival: ''You'll realize the Salvatruchas. No one laughs at the MS-13.''When Aldana-Ramirez was caught with a loaded .38 under his driver's seat in August, the gang unit also charged him with participating in a criminal gang.Ramirez pleaded guilty to carrying a concealed weapon and the gang charge on May 13 in Franklin County Common Pleas Court and was sent to prison for four years. When he is released, he will be deported.Though Aldana-Ramirez pleaded guilty, he got his dot tattoos at age 15 and denies being a member of MS-13 today, his attorney, Joseph L. Mas, said.
Mas also questioned whether the gang law is constitutional.''We usually find a police officer or a task force that studies a community and then brings charges,'' he said. ''Then, they act as their own witnesses to support the existence of a gang. . . . I don't think the appeals courts have had an ample opportunity to study the matter.''Both the Franklin County Court of Appeals and the U.S. Supreme Court have upheld gang statutes. At least 18 states have anti-gang laws.''It's been helpful,'' Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O'Brien said. ''But often we face a situation where we know he's a gang member, he knows he's a gang member, and the police know he's a gang member, but we can't prove it in a court of law.''
Usually, he said, gang members are tied to other crimes so prosecutors don't need to rely on just the gang charge to obtain a conviction.In 2002, Ohio added the so-called gang specification, in which more prison time can be imposed by a judge for any felony if the offender commits that crime while participating in a criminal gang.

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Cortez Brown “killing machine,” sentenced the admitted Gangster Disciple to death.

On Friday, a different judge in the same courthouse — citing “staggering” and “damning” new evidence — overturned Brown’s murder conviction and ordered a new trial.

Cheers erupted in the courtroom, and Brown clenched his fists as Judge Clayton Crane sided with Brown’s attorneys, who said their client confessed to murder in 1990 only after being beaten by detectives working under former Chicago Police Cmdr. Jon Burge.In making his ruling, Crane said he was at a disadvantage because all three of the detectives who originally interrogated Brown took the stand this week, only to invoke their Fifth Amendment right not to testify.“My advantage is I have some additional evidence as to the behavior of some, if not all, of the detectives in this case,” Crane said. “That evidence is staggering. That evidence is damning.”Crane did not cite specific evidence and declined to elaborate after his ruling. Brown’s attorneys referred to “massive, massive documentation that these particular detectives were corrupt.”“This is a wonderful victory, not only for [Brown], but for the entire human rights movement and the entire movement against police torture in this city,” said Flint Taylor, one of Brown’s attorneys.
Victoria Safforld, Brown’s 18-year-old daughter, said, “I’m just real happy because I ain’t never had the chance to be with my father. ... I stay with a positive attitude because my daddy always stays with a positive attitude.”It was unclear Friday if Brown will be retried. He remains in the Cook County Jail. Illinois State Attorney General Lisa Madigan’s office is handling several cases that include allegations of police brutality overseen by Burge.“Our goal all along has been, and continues to be, to ensure that justice is served by carefully reviewing the merits of each of these [Burge-related] cases,” said Robyn Ziegler, a Madigan spokeswoman. Ziegler said Madigan’s office has not yet made a decision about the next step in the Brown case.Brown says he is innocent. He contends detectives beat him with their fists and a metal flashlight, forcing him to confess to the 1990 gang-related murders of Delvin Botler and Curtis Sims. Brown was initially sentenced to 35 years for Botler’s murder.He was later convicted and sentenced in 1992 to death for Sims’ murder.Former Gov. George Ryan commuted Brown’s death sentence to life in prison.
During this week’s hearing, prosecutors told Crane that if Brown was truly beaten, he would have had marks on his body and he would have reported the abuse much earlier. Prosecutors described Brown as an admitted gang banger who can’t keep his stories straight.On Friday, Crane said Brown — who testified about the alleged abuse this week — was “not a good witness,” and said he has changed his stories about how he was allegedly beaten.But Crane also said he paid particular attention to the fact that none of the detectives who interrogated Brown would answer questions on the witness stand.

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"(Varrio Hawaiian Gardens) gang members take pride in their racism and often refer to the VHG Gang as the 'Hate Gang,'" the main indictment states. "VHG gang members have expressed a desire to rid the city of Hawaiian Gardens of all African-Americans and have engaged in a systematic effort to achieve that result by perpetrating crimes against African-Americans."Latino street gang has waged a racist campaign to eliminate black people from a Southern California city through attempted murders and other crimes.
Five indictments charged a total of 147 members and associates of the Varrio Hawaiian Gardens gang, and federal and local agencies arrested 63 of them by early Thursday, U.S. Attorney Thomas P. O'Brien told a press conference.O'Brien asserted it was "the largest gang takedown in United States history," but he did not immediately elaborate. The indictments detail attempted murder, kidnapping, firearms, narcotics and other charges related to attacks by the gang, which primarily operates in Hawaiian Gardens, a city of about 15,000 people in southeastern Los Angeles County. The indictment alleges a string of attacks on black residents, including a shooting into a home with eight people inside. The indictment does not say if anyone was hit. In another instance, two gang members allegedly chased a black man, yelled a racist epithet at him and then beat him with a garden rake. The same man was later repeatedly stabbed by two gang members, according to the indictment, which charges them with his attempted murder. In the 2000 Census, the latest data available, Hawaiian Gardens was roughly 73 percent Hispanic and 4 percent black. The city was incorporated in 1964 and, according to local lore, was named after a bamboo snack shack built in 1927. The indictments mark at least the second time in less than two years that federal authorities have alleged that Latino gang members in Southern California attacked black residents because of their race. In 2007, agents arrested dozens of members of the Florencia 13 gang in South Los Angeles and said the gang had, in some instances, killed black people purely because of the color of their skin. The extent to which race is driving the area's gang conflicts last year sparked an argument between the region's two top cops, Los Angeles County Sheriff Lee Baca and Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton. Baca said racial bias was a significant factor in gang crime while Bratton, pointing to statistics showing cross-racial crime to be rare, downplayed any tension.
The investigation of the Varrio Hawaiian Gardens gang has been under way for almost four years since the June 2005 murder of Los Angeles County sheriff's Deputy Luis Gerardo "Jerry" Ortiz. Jose Luis Orozco, a member of the gang, was sentenced to death in 2007 for the killing. Ortiz, 35, died as he searched for Orozco, who had shot and wounded a man while he did yard work. Orozco was later found guilty of attempted murder in that case. "Following the murder of Deputy Ortiz, the Sheriff's Department sought federal and local assistance to help destroy the Hawaiian Gardens gang," the U.S. attorney said. Florencia 13 and Varrio Hawaiian Gardens aren't the only Latino gangs linked to racial attacks. In 2007, four members of The Avenues, a gang from the Highland Park area northeast of downtown Los Angeles, were convicted of hate crimes for killing a black man in what prosecutors called a campaign to drive blacks from that neighborhood. Authorities have also announced a crackdown on the 204th Street gang following the killing of a 14-year-old black girl. Earl Ofari Hutchinson, an author and racial commentator, said racial bias among gang members is high in transitioning neighborhoods where black residents are moving out and Latinos are moving in. "There is a deep-seated animosity between some Latino gangs and African-Americans," he said. "There is no way around it, it is driven by racial animus."

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Jorge Andrade faces a sentence of life in prison after being found guilty Wednesday of murder and committing a felony while an active participant in a street gang.
Prosecutors say the 25-year-old Andrade and two fellow gang members kidnapped, then fatally shot 16-year-old Innocente Barrera in August 2004. They say Andrade then ordered that Barrera be left in a car and the vehicle set afire. The two alleged accomplices are awaiting trial.

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A judge has sentenced 28-year-old Riel Mitchell to eight years in prison for the arson death of 14-year-old Nathan Starr. Mitchell, who was originally charged with second-degree murder, pleaded guilty to manslaughter last week in the midst of his preliminary hearing. Starr died of smoke inhalation after the Mountain Avenue home he was staying in was set on fire Dec. 4, 2007. A second accused, 17-year-old Dylan Atkinson, pleaded guilty to manslaughter earlier this year and was sentenced as an adult to seven years in prison. Mitchell claimed -- and the Crown was in no position to disprove -- that he accompanied Atkinson and another male to the home with the intention of confronting or assaulting a man Atkinson said had previously beaten him. Defence lawyer Zaheel Zaman told court Mitchell was intoxicated and "couldn't rule out whether there was a discussion as to an arson happening." "The tragedy cannot be measured here," said Judge Wanda Garreck. "This was a crime fuelled by anger and retaliation ... without care for who was home at the time." Mitchell was given double credit of 35 months for time served, reducing his remaining sentence to 61 months. The sentence was a joint recommendation of the Crown and defence. Crown attorney Brent Davidson told court at an earlier hearing the case against Mitchell was weak and circumstantial and that Mitchell stood a good chance of being acquitted had the matter gone to trial. Atkinson and Mitchell -- both members of the Indian Posse street gang -- believed rival gang members were selling drugs out of the Mountain Avenue house and decided "some sort of message had to be sent," Davidson said. Gasoline was poured on the front porch and set on fire at about 1:30 a.m. Police patrolling the area saw two males running from the home which was quickly engulfed in flames. The fire blocked the only regular exit from the house as the back door was fortified from the inside. Rather than run after the suspects, the officers remained at the house, helping six adults and four children escape through a window. Starr, a visitor to the home, was found lying on a bed in an upstairs bedroom. Paramedics rushed him to Health Sciences Centre, where he was pronounced dead. "Mr. Atkinson and Mr. Mitchell were callous in their disregard for anyone in that house, not just Mr. Starr," Davidson said. "Because the Indian Posse street gang simply wanted to send a message, Nathan Starr is no longer alive."

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Italian police on Thursday seized millions of counterfeit dollars, an arsenal of weapons and a fake police uniform from a top Cosa Nostra family.
They said the operation indicated the clan was gearing up for a war for control of organised crime in the Sicilian capital.Two sawn-off shotguns, a pump-action shotgun, a .357 magnum revolver and thousands of rounds of ammunition were found stashed inside walls in two Palermo homes.
The ten million of fake dollar bills are believed to have been stockpiled by late boss Gaetano Lo Presti to fund a looming war, police said.There have been several recent sweeps that have provided evidence of moves to claim the Palermo throne from the jailed dons once commanded by ex-boss of bosses Bernardo Provenzano.Provenzano was arrested three years ago after 43 years in hiding.
Cosa Nostra is not thought to have elected a supreme boss to replace him but the Palermo post is up for grabs, police say.Thursday's operation was hailed by Anti-Mafia Commission member Carlo Vizzini who said it showed evidence of links with Cosa Nostra in the United States but also ''signs of desperation''.''We want to see poor Mafiosi on the outside and the others in jail under the new toughened high-security regime,'' he said.The former head of the parliamentary Anti-Mafia Commission, Giuseppe Lumia, also praised the police for an ''excellent'' operation.But Lumia, a member of the centre-left opposition Democratic Party, urged the government to crack down harder by making it compulsory for businesses to report Mafia attempts to obtain 'protection' money.He also said police should be able to key into Mafia bosses' bank accounts and other asset records as envisaged by a new European Union directive which Italy has yet to incorporate into law.

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Arrested;
- Randy Tyler, 23, of Merced, a suspected leader of the gang,
- Frederick Mays, 21, of Merced also a suspected leader of the gang,
- Lamont Lavell Andres, 35, of Merced;
- Michael Buddy Barret, Jr., 31, of Atwater;
- Eric Devon Beavers, 23, of Merced;
- Antoine Lee Briggs, 27, of Merced;
- Jaray Julius Jaso, 30, of Merced;
- Sudi Dumaka Johnson, 23, of Modesto;
- Jose Ascencio Magana, 24, of Merced
- Patrick McMurray, 22, of Merced
- Lutricia Marie Moore, 23, of Atwater
- Damien Ricardo Perry, 26, of Merced
- Denicio Taylor Ramos, 22, of Merced
- Mckinley Jabree Sims III, 32, of Merced
- Lester Archie Turner, 24, of Merced; and
- Alejandro Joseph Zavala, 28, of Turlock.Arrested 15 members of the Merced Gangster Crips on charges of conspiracy, drug-trafficking, and weapons sales. "For too long, the notorious and violent Merced Gangster Crips have terrorized Merced with their extreme violence, street drugs and powerful weaponry," Brown said. "A member of this gang brutally killed Merced police officer Stephan Gray in a spasm of violence five years ago. Today, we strike a blow against this vicious street gang and help reclaim the streets of Merced."In January, Brown's office initiated a multi-agency investigation into the gang's criminal activity. Posing as a drug dealer, an undercover officer with the San Pablo Police Department was able to gain the confidence of the gang members and was able to obtain nearly a pound of rock cocaine, over 400 ecstasy pills, half a pound of marijuana and three handguns.The five-month investigation concluded with the Merced County grand jury returning a 31-count indictment against 15 members of the Merced Gangster Crips that charged conspiracy, sale of controlled substances - primarily rock cocaine, ecstasy, and marijuana - weapons sales, and criminal street gang enhancements.During the investigation, agents seized 11 1/2 ounces of rock cocaine, seven ounces of marijuana, 448 ecstasy pills, and six loaded handguns.In April 2004, Merced Gangster Crips gang member Cuitliachuac (Toa) Rivera killed Merced Police Officer Stephan Gray during a routine traffic stop. Rivera was later convicted of the murder and received a death sentence."Having prosecuted the MGC gangster who murdered Merced Police Officer Stephan Gray, I know how dangerous this street gang can be. No one, not even members of law enforcement, is immune. This joint investigation has removed some very ruthless individuals from our streets," said Merced County District Attorney Larry Morse.Agencies involved in today's arrests include: the Attorney General's Office Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement Gang Suppression Enforcement Team, the Merced Police Department, Merced Multi-Agency Gang Task Force, Merced Multi-Agency Narcotics Task Force, Madera County Narcotics Enforcement Team, Madera Gang Enforcement Team, West Narcotics Enforcement Task Force, Drug Enforcement Administration, and agents from the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area.

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United Nations gang member, who was wanted on a Canada-wide warrant for conspiracy to commit murder, turned himself in to authorities Wednesday.Dilun Heng is charged with conspiring to kill Abbotsford's Bacon brothers and their associates in the Red Scorpions gang, according to a news release.Heng is the last person to be arrested after police announced the charges against eight UN gang members and their associates on Friday.Dilun Heng turned himself in to Vancouver Provincial Court Sheriffs. His surrender means Lower Mainland police have now arrested all five of the alleged gang members wanted on charges of plotting to kill the notorious Bacon brothers.
Heng was considered to be armed and dangerous. Police announced Friday that five additional United Nations gang members or associates now face charges of conspiracy to murder Jonathan, Jamie and Jarrod Bacon as well as their associates.Besides Heng, police named senior UN members Daniel Ronald Russell as well as members or associates Soroush Ansari, Yong Sung John Lee and John William Croitoru.
The four were located and arrested shortly after the announcement.New charges were also laid against three other alleged UN members already in jail – Barzan Tilli-Choli, Karwan Ahmet Saed and Aram Ali, who are accused of plotting to wipe out the Bacons.The new charges are related to the May 2008 killing of a car stereo installer who was driving a Bacon vehicle, police said.Jamie Bacon and other associates are in jail awaiting trial on murder charges in connection with the 2007 "Surrey Six" slayings.

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Eight men linked to the United Nations gang have been charged in Canada with plotting to kill members of a rival gang, officials said.The Vancouver Sun reported Saturday the men are accused of planning to kill brothers Jonathan, Jarrod and Jamie Bacon of Abbotsford and other members in their Red Scorpion gang.The newspaper reported that five of the gang members were arrested Friday. Among them is Jon Croitoru, a 43-year-old former professional wrestler known as Johnny K-9, who also is allegedly linked to a double-murder and a police station bombing in Ontario.Authorities said U.N. gang founder Clay Roueche, who just pleaded guilty to trafficking charges in the United States, was also involved in the murder conspiracy, but has yet to be indicted.Prosecutor Ralph Keefer said there is evidence to charge Roueche."Before we decide whether it is in the public interest to proceed with a conspiracy charge against Clay Roueche, we want to await the outcome of his drug charges south of the border in Seattle," Keefer was quoted by the newspaper as saying

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Trial for the leading members and associates of the Aryan Warriors is scheduled to start Monday under heavy security.Federal authorities say members of a white supremacist prison gang are expected to disrupt the federal trial of six members and associates who face racketeering charges.A federal judge last week issued an order to allow prosecutors to keep the names and statements of 10 witnesses from the defense until just before they testify. Prosecutors say threats were made against some of the witnesses and the judge ruled that the gang is capable of carrying out the threats.Prosecutors have said the gang was responsible for manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine and marijuana in Nevada prisons and in the cities of Las Vegas, Reno and Pahrump

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Barrio Azteca Members are said to have been bringing large amounts of cocaine and marijuana into the United States, crossing it in from Ciudad Juarez. The only thing more surprising than their 3,000 members is the way the gang is organized. "They have structure, they have different ranks. They have different command levels. They have the people that give the orders, and then they have the people that carry out the orders" said Robert Almonte, Executive Director, Texas Narcotic Officers Association.

With titles, such as sergeant and lieutenant it was the arrest of the ring's alleged leader, Jaime Velasco-the so called boss-that may make the most impact in bringing an end to the gang. According to a federal court affidavit Velasco would cross shipments over the bridges, and supply the drugs to alleged distributors, Gualberto Marquez and Raul Cabral. The drugs would then allegedly be sent to lieutenant Jose Montes.

Like a well trained army, there is a unique form of communication used by those involved. In conversations intercepted by authorities the members used food to reference narcotics. In an conversation between supposed drug runner Michael Torres and Marquez, Torres said "I got seven onions from this guy... Ruben lent me seven onions... You want me to put one in the oven?" Marquez's reply according to the document is "put one in the oven, just one." investigators translate that to seven ounces of cocaine, and put one in the oven refers to making crack cocaine. "the hold up because you're going on the experience of the law enforcement officers that are monitoring these conversations, and that's not all you have, they have other evidence that's going to come out in court that's going to coroberate the testimony from the law enforcement experts" said Almonte.The experts say the drugs don't say in town long. According to this investigation, the drugs would enter from Juarez into El Paso, then be transferred to midland more than 300 miles away. From their they would be distributed to other us cities. "There is a potential for violence, so that's something else this investigation did. It removed the potential for violence, by removing this drug trafficking organization from the streets of El Paso" said Almonte. Federal officials are still looking for Michael Torres. Those already arrested are scheduled to make their first federal court appearance Monday morning.

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Three people associated with the Latin Kings pleaded guilty in Lubbock federal court. Cecily Dominique Juarez admits to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana. She faces up to life in prison. Eliseo Perez also pleads guilty to conspiracy to distribute cocaine and marijuana. He faces as much as life in prison. And Hiluterio Chavez admits to being a felon in possession of firearms. Chavez had a small arsenal, 14 handguns, some of which were stolen. Court records say it was his job to collect and distribute firearms to other gang members. He faces up to 25 years in prison. All three will be sentenced at a later date.

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Joshua Wheaton, 22, of the 8900 block of South Richmond Avenue in Evergreen Park was charged with two counts of aggravated assault to a police officer with a firearm and two counts of attempted first-degree murder, police News Affairs Officer John Mirabelli said.Four men are expected in court later Monday charged in three separate police-involved shootings that occurred Sunday on the Southwest, Near West and South sides.Adam Hurtado, 21, of the 5900 block of South Fairfield Avenue, was also charged with two counts of attempted first-degree murder, Mirabelli said. Wheaton is suspected of pointing a weapon at police and Hurtado is suspected of driving the vehicle they used during the early morning shooting in the 5400 block of South Homan Avenue, police said early Monday.On-duty officers witnessed a man firing a gun on the street about 2:20 a.m. Sunday, at which time Wheaton allegedly turned and pointed his weapon at responding officers, police said.An officer discharged his weapon, striking Wheaton. He was taken into custody and transported to an area hospital in "stable" condition, according to News Affairs. No other injuries were reported in the incident and a weapon was recovered on the scene, police said.
Police said early Monday that Hurtado and Wheaton allegedly admitted they are affiliated with the Satan Disciples street gang and were “out hunting for some Latin Kings to kill’’ when the incident occurred.The Independent Police Review Authority is investigating the shooting, spokesman Mark Payne said. Wentworth Area detectives are also investigating the Homan incident.In a separate incident on the Near West Side that occurred about 1:30 p.m. Sunday at 1409 S. Throop St., Samuel McClain allegedly pointed a gun at police and police officers fired at him, but did not strike him, police said. McClain, 29, of 1200 block of West 14th Street, was arrested and charged with aggravated assault to a police officer in the Throop incident, which is being investigated by Harrison Area detectives and the IPRA.
In a third unrelated police-involved shooting that occurred Sunday morning on the South Side, Derrick Carr was charged with allegedly pointing a .25 caliber weapon at an on-duty police officer at 8004 S. Union Ave., according to police.
The officer fired, but did not strike Carr, of 8000 block of South Emerald Avenue, according to police, who said Carr was arrested shortly after the incident at 11:12 a.m. at 8010 S. Union Ave. The shooting is being investigated by Calumet Area detectives and the IPRA.Exact charges against Carr were not immediately available.

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UN was founded by Clay Roueche, 34, and several friends in the Fraser Valley in May 1997 and now numbers about 100 members.Insp. Kevin Hackett said the UN is also “closely aligned with other groups in different regions of the country and major centres.”The UN also has national and international connections. The U.S. alleged the gang purchased its own aircraft for cross-border drug runs and was making connections to purchase cocaine directly from Colombian cartels.Kiloh said that like other crime groups, it is no longer “capsulated” and will contract out services like transporting or collections to other gangs with those specialities.
“The network of all the different criminal groups cross over on a regular basis,” he said. “All these groups at different times will rely on other groups.”
But the UN is most distinguished by the violence it has wreaked.“This particular group is, in our view, one of the highest level creators of violence in this area,” Kiloh said. He said the conspiracy to murder the Bacon brothers and associates involves a series of incidents, but would not be specific.The indictment says the conspiracy unfolded between Jan. 1, 2008 and Feb. 17, 2009 in Vancouver, Burnaby, Surrey and Montreal. Other than those charged and Roueche, a mysterious character “known as Frankie” is also mentioned as an unindicted co-conspirator.
“There are numerous attempts, multiple incidents that we would allege have occurred,” Kiloh said of the charge.He said the charges will no doubt be a blow to the UN, but not necessarily its demise.“You can’t take out one part of a large organization and anticipate that the organization won’t continue,” he said. “We believe the gang lifestyle is likely to stay here in Canada. It has stayed everywhere else it has been in the world. It is about how we try to minimize that threat.”

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Two cars pulled up outside the Ranza Club in Royston Road at about 1930 BST on Saturday. The occupants entered the pub and attacked customers. Three men were taken to hospital after they were attacked as they drank in a bar in Glasgow at the weekend.The injured men, aged 58, 55 and 49 were taken to Glasgow Royal Infirmary.
Police said were keen to trace a distinctive lime green Audi they believe was one of the cars involved in the incident. The 49-year-old man was later discharged following treatment. The other two men remained in hospital although their injuries were not thought to be life-threatening. The cars involved were described as a silver coloured Vauxhall Vectra or Astra and an older lime green coloured car, thought to be an Audi. The occupants of the cars were all men, in their early twenties and were wearing hooded tops. "Three men have been left badly injured in this attack and it is imperative we trace the people responsible. "There are shops nearby and I would appeal to anyone who may have been in the area at the time of the attack or who may have noticed the cars to contact us as a matter of urgency. "

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Molotov cocktails were thrown into four homes in Salinas on Thursday night and Friday morning in an alleged gang-related incident, according to police.The first incident occurred just before midnight Thursday when suspects threw incendiary devices into a home in the 700 block of Garner Avenue, police said.Just after midnight Friday, more Molotov cocktails were thrown into three different homes in the 900 block of Acosta Plaza, police said.In both cases, the devices caused minor damage to the home and injured no one.

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