Vallucos gang member wanted on suspicion of running over a motorcyclist

Vallucos gang member wanted on suspicion of running over a motorcyclist in July and then abandoning the injured man.With the help of the U.S. Marshals Service and an anonymous tip, officers arrested Daniel Cuellar about 9 p.m. Friday at the Wells Fargo Bank at the intersection of Trenton and North McColl roads in McAllen, said San Juan Police Chief Juan Gonzalez.Cuellar, who has an extensive arrest history with the San Juan Police Department, was arraigned Saturday on charges of resisting arrest and accident involving injury.Resisting arrest is a Class A misdemeanor punishable up to one year in county jail and a fine of up to $4,000. Accident involving injury is punishable by imprisonment in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice for up to five years or confinement in a county jail for up to year, plus a possible fine of up to $5,000.Cuellar may have tried to drag the wounded motorcyclist into his vehicle, Gonzalez said. The victim, who suffered multiple leg fractures in the collision, told police he could smell alcohol on the man’s breath.
“He was all intoxicated, but we can’t prove that,” the chief said.Investigators had previously searched for Cuellar at several locations in Alamo, Donna, Harlingen and San Juan. The man reportedly had been hiding in various spots, possibly staying with fellow gang members.Police also arrested Cuellar’s brother Friday at the bank on a charge of public intoxication.

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Gary Oxley, 48, from Bexhill, blasted Joseph Oliffe, 35, twice in the back of the head with a .455 calibre Webley Mk I revolver

Gary Oxley, 48, from Bexhill, blasted Joseph Oliffe, 35, twice in the back of the head with a .455 calibre Webley Mk I revolver as he sat drinking coffee.
Oxley then calmly dialled 999, and told an operator: "I have just shot someone. I fear for my life and my family."The Old Bailey heard Oxley owed Mr Oliffe, a father-of-two from Bromley, Kent, and his associates £6,000 in drugs money. Oxley claimed the "gangsters" had threatened the lives of his wife and parents.Prosecutor Oliver Glasgow told the court Mr Oliffe and friend Perry Hunt had arrived at the DA Sandwich Cafe in Court Road, Mottingham, Kent, on March 4 this year.
"They ordered two coffees and a chocolate bar before taking a seat at the window."Cafe owner Ali Gezer sent his employee Mahmut Akin out to get coffee from the shop next door.Shortly after he served the men Oxley walked in.
"He greeted them and they were seen to say hello back to him," the prosecutor said.
"Oxley walked up to the counter as if he was about to place an order, but rather than doing so, he stepped through the gate that separated the cafe and the kitchen.
"To the horror of Mr Gezer, he removed a gun from the waistband of his trousers and initially pointed it at the cafe owner."Fearing he would be shot or robbed, Mr Gezer asked Oxley if he was alright.Oxley ran towards the two men and aimed the weapon at Mr Oliffe's head.Mr Hunt was facing the gunman and ran out of the cafe, but the victim had his back to Oxley and 'was completely unaware of the danger he was in'.
Mr Glasgow said: "Oxley approached him and fired three shots.
"Two struck him in the head and Mr Oliffe collapsed on the table."Oxley then aimed the gun at the retreating figure of Mr Hunt.Following him out of the cafe, Oxley bumped into shocked cafe worker Mahmut Akin. "He was still holding the revolver and appeared to be in shock."He shouted: 'Call the police, I have killed a man', and then ran back into the cafe."Mr Gezer stood paralysed with fear behind the counter, but ran out the back of the cafe when the gunman returned.Mr Glasgow told the court: "The police received a number of calls about the incident, one from Oxley himself."He said he had shot someone, said he was scared for his life, and that the people involved were gangsters.
"He said he had no choice because they had threatened his wife, his mum and his dad. He said he had no choice because the problem concerned drugs and he owed them £6,000."Oxley told the emergency operator the situation was "quite heavy". He also said he had put the gun on the floor and did not want the police to shoot him.
Following his arrest, Oxley refused to tell officers why he had killed Mr Oliffe.
But in his fifth interview he claimed the pair – Mr Oliffe and Mr Perry – had threatened his wife and family and had been round to his home.Whilst in custody he was allowed to make a call to his parents and was overheard saying: "I won't have threats to the family. I have tried to go on the straight and narrow but I won't have that."Oxley, of Hornbeam Avenue, admitted murder. A charge of attempted murder, which he denied, was ordered to lie on the court file.Locking him up for life, Judge Peter Thornton said: "This was a deliberate, calculated and planned act."You killed in cold blood. Whatever the background to this case, whatever the past of the deceased you have taken a life, deprived a family of a loved one and deprived a mother of her only child.
"Friends and family now mourn their loss."The judge said it was accepted Oxley was being blackmailed over a drugs debt.
"The aggravating features of this case are the cold and calculated killing, shooting your victim in the head from behind, clearly intending to kill him.
"Secondly, however bad the background of the case you abandoned the help of the police, took the law into your own hands and killed with a firearm which you acquired and took to the scene.
"There was clearly substantial premeditation in your actions."

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Gangster Manny Buttar was found guilty of assault with a weapon Thursday for smashing a beer glass against a stranger's head

Gangster Manny Buttar was found guilty of assault with a weapon Thursday for smashing a beer glass against a stranger's head as he confessed to killing a rival gang leader.B.C. Supreme Court Justice Kathleen Ker said she accepted the evidence of victim Pardeep (Sunny)Dhillon that an intoxicated Buttar assaulted him viciously in 2006 at a Surrey restaurant after learning Dhillon was a cousin of slain gangster Bindy Johal.And Ker said she believed Dhillon that Buttar claimed he "killed for a living" and admitted to executing Johal, his one-time ally turned rival.
She said the Buttar statement may well have been false drunken rhetoric, but that Dhillon would have no reason to make such a claim unless it happened."It is entirely believable that Mr. Buttar made those comments....I accept without reservation Mr. Dhillon's evidence," Ker said. "I do not believe the denials of Mr. Buttar."Buttar was visibly upset by the verdict which came after a three-day trial last month at the New Westminster Law Courts. He will be sentenced

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Matthew Carpenter, 29, formerly of Albermarle Way, Cambridge and Marlon Robinson, 21, formerly of Ramsden Square, Cambridge were found guilty

Matthew Carpenter, 29, formerly of Albermarle Way, Cambridge and Marlon Robinson, 21, formerly of Ramsden Square, Cambridge were found guilty of conspiracy to supply cocaine. Carpenter, Robinson, Duncan Berry, 24, of Ramsden Square, Cambridge, and Aymon Popo, 25 of Tideslea Path, London were found guilty of conspiracy to possess firearms.Carpenter received 11 years for drugs offences and four years for firearms offences to run consecutively, totalling 15 years.Robinson received seven years for drugs offences and three years for firearms offences, totalling 10 years.Berry received three and a half years for firearms offences, with a 12 month sentence to run concurrently for possession of ammunition. Popo received three and a half years for firearms offences.Carpenter, Robinson and Popo are now subject to Serious Crime Prevention Orders meaning they will be monitored in prison and out of prison once their sentences have ended and will have conditions placed upon them.Three others were found not guilty of any charges.Detective Inspector Craig Harrison said: "This investigation was long, complex and challenging for all involved."The jury heard almost 10 weeks of evidence complicated by the fact that not all defendants were alleged to be involved in all conspiracies

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Brenice Lee Smith was arrested at the San Francisco International Airport

Brenice Lee Smith was arrested at the San Francisco International Airport as he arrived there on a flight from Kathmandu.The 64-year-old is suspected of being part of the Brotherhood of Eternal Love, a Hippie gang of drug dealers and users that was founded in the 1960s. Smith had been living in Nepal posing as a Buddhist monk.
The deteriorating law and order system due to continuous political instability for nearly 13 years, corruption in the bureaucracy that enables criminals on the run to procure passports and other legal documents easily and the open border with India have contributed to a growing number of criminals from other countries heading for Nepal where they can lie low in safety.There are also allegations that some politicians are involved in providing a safe haven to criminals on the run.
Indian don Babloo Srivastava wrote in his fictionalised memoirs that Nepali lawmaker Mirza Dilshad Beg provided safe houses for terrorists from Pakistan and their safe passage from Nepal to Thailand.Beg was murdered near his own residence in Kathmandu in 1998 in what was believed to be gang warfare.Besides terrorists, arms and drug smugglers and counterfeit Indian currency dealers, Nepal is also increasingly becoming a haven for western paedophiles.In 1999, Nepal police arrested French citizen Jean Jacques Haye and British national Christopher R. Fraser for paedophilia and running a child pornography racket internationally. Both ran child care centres in Kathmandu and abused the inmates.Though Haye was deported, he returned to Nepal and lived there quietly till his arrest once again this March when a childcare organisation tipped off police.

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Nathan Harris was told he must serve at least 16 years for ordering the execution of young father Craig Brown

Nathan Harris was told he must serve at least 16 years for ordering the execution of young father Craig Brown on Christmas Eve last year. Mr Brown was shot five times outside the home of his girlfriend Denica Date and their four-year-old son as he unloaded presents. Harris, aged 15 at the time, was spotted at the scene by Miss Date, who later identified him after seeing his picture on the social networking site Facebook. He had set in place the "lethal train of events" that led to the killing after seeing Mr Brown - who he believed to have "dissed" a friend - in the area. The youth, now 16, of Shepherd's Bush, west London, was found guilty of murder by an Old Bailey jury. Judge Richard Hawkins told Harris: "Your part in bringing these men to the scene to bring an end to Craig Brown's life was an important part.
"The loss to Denica Date and her young son cannot be measured." Jeremy Carter-Manning, QC, defending, said Harris's natural father had been in prison for most of the boy's life. He said Harris was "not a leader of men" adding: "He got caught up in the activities of older and more mature people." There was an outburst in the public gallery as Harris was led out of court. A woman shouted: "He didn't do it."
Detective Inspector Kenny McDonald, who led the investigation, said Harris had a "violent tendency" and it was "exceptional" for such a young person to be involved in such serious crime. Video footage posted on YouTube and hand-written rap lyrics found in his bedroom showed the teenager's obsession with guns and violence. Text messages on his mobile phone appeared to show other youths asking him to procure firearms for them. Harris had first come to the attention of police when he was 13-years-old following the murder of 16-year-old Kodjo Yenga in March 2007. He was one of a number of teenagers rounded up by detectives for questioning, although he was never charged with the crime. In December 2007 when he was 14, Harris was alleged to have taken part, with another youth, in the rape of a teenage girl, but was formally cleared following a trial at Inner London Crown Court. A second defendant, 22-year-old Khalid Elsheikh, was cleared of murder but jailed for 10 years for possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life.

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Luis Nava pleaded guilty earlier this year to drug charges, related to both cocaine and marijuana.

Latin Kings street gang came back to Lubbock federal court Friday. Luis Nava pleaded guilty earlier this year to drug charges, related to both cocaine and marijuana.
The 26-year-old also admits his participation in the gang. Nava was sentenced Friday to 22-years in prison for the drug charges. Federal agents tied the gang to a deadly drive by shooting in Big Spring last year using an AK-47. Parts of the gun were found by an FBI dive team east of Crosbyton. Written statements indicate that until the gang was busted, the leader of the Latin Kings in Texas lived in Lubbock.

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Mohammed Fahda, 22,wanted in connection with the March 14 shooting death of Abdul Qadier Darwiche in Sydney's southwest.

Mohammed Fahda, 22,wanted in connection with the March 14 shooting death of Abdul Qadier Darwiche in Sydney's southwest. Investigators allege the killing was linked to feuding families involved in the Sydney drug trade. Fahda arrived at Sydney airport about 3.15pm escorted by Tongan police officers, NSW Police said.
He was arrested by officers attached to the State Crime Command Homicide Squad and taken to Surry Hills police station," police said in a statement. He is expected to be charged later with the murder of Abdul Darwiche at Bass Hill on March 14, 2009.
Mr Darwiche, 37, was killed in a hail of bullets while sitting in his car outside a service station. He was shot in front of his young children allegedly after having a verbal argument with another man. The shooting raised speculation that a long-standing gang feud between the Darwiches and the rival Razzak and Fahda families would be reignited. Darwiche's older brother, Michael Darwiche, has since been charged with planning an attack to avenge the March slaying. He and another man allegedly were found in a car with a pistol, ammunition, maps and the names and addresses of Fahda family members. Darwiche claimed to be en route to a McDonald's restaurant.

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Ray Kanho $4 million worth of confiscations were part of a sentence

Ray Kanho,the Montreal Mafia and various street gang members. And Monday afternoon he watched the small fortune he amassed while drug trafficking with both groups be confiscated by the federal government.The $4 million worth of confiscations were part of a sentence Kanho received Monday at the Montreal courthouse for his activities, uncovered during Project Colisée, an investigation into the Montreal Mafia.As part of a negotiated settlement that took months to complete, Kanho lost his home in Laval’s Duvernay district, a 10-unit apartment building in Montreal and another house in Laval listed under the name of two of his relatives. He also conceded that more than $2.8 million the RCMP secretly removed from his father’s home in Laval, just weeks before he was arrested in Nov. 2006, was the proceeds of crime.“Listen to me. They took everything. I have nothing left,” Kanho was recorded telling an accomplice in 2006 after realizing his money was gone.He incorrectly assumed his sister’s boyfriend stole the money and is believed to have assaulted the man, or had someone else assault him, before the Montreal police arrested Kanho as a precaution and informed him the RCMP took his money.Besides the confiscations, Quebec Court Judge Jean Pierre Bonin sentenced Kanho to a 14-year prison term. With time served factored in he has a little more than eight years left to serve and is required to serve at least have of that before he is eligible for parole.
Kanho admitted to taking part in several conspiracies to smuggle cocaine into Canada, in particular with Giuseppe Torre, a man with ties to the Montreal Mafia also serving a 14-year sentence for crimes uncovered during Colisée.Kanho also admitted to being the man who ultimately was behind the corruption of two customs agents, including Nancy Cedeno, the Canada Border Services Agency agent who was convicted last week of accepting bribes.Besides giving up the $2.8 million and his real estate, Kanho agreed to let the federal government confiscate 72,000 shares he had in Investissement Mondi Inc., the investment arm of a St. Léonard-based construction company.According to a seizure order filed recently, Kanho is alleged to have used Constructions Mondi Inc. to launder his drug money. The company specializes in building single-family units and constructed several in Laval since 2000, including the Duvernay home confiscated on Monday.According to an affidavit filed with the seizure order, Kanho invested more than $180,000 total with the company. After purchasing shares in the company Kanho began receiving $1,000 a week from Constructions Mondi and claimed it was his salary on tax returns. However, while he was investigated in Project Colisée, Kanho did nothing that resembled work for the construction company.On April 13, 2007, the RCMP arrested Dominic Zavaglia, the president of Constructions Mondi. He gave investigators a videotaped statement during which he tried to explain why Kanho was paid $1,000 a week for doing nothing. Zavaglia, who has not been charged with a crime, told investigators that the money was paid to Kanho as a salary to save on tax deductions. But the affidavit, which was prepared after Zavaglia was questioned, the RCMP alleged Kanho’s money was given to Investissement Mondi “as a strategy to launder money.”By agreeing to the confiscation of his remaining shares Monday, Kanho admitted they were bought with dirty money.

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Rejected pleas by gun gang members Kaleem Akhtar, Madasser Ali, of Bradford, Asaid Salim, and Paul Wilson that their jail terms were over-the-top.

Rejected pleas by gun gang members Kaleem Akhtar, Madasser Ali, of Bradford, Asaid Salim, and Paul Wilson that their jail terms were over-the-top. He said the weapons dealt in by the gang had been accurately described as “an assassin’s armoury” and that, under the tough new guidelines he handed down, they might well have qualified for indefinite sentences for public protection. The judge said: “Guns kill and maim, terrorise and intimidate. That is why criminals want them, that is why they use them. “Sentencing courts must address the fact that too many lethal weapons are too readily available, too many are carried, too many are used, always with devastating effect on individual victims and with insidious corrosive impact on the local community.” Ali, 31, of Great Horton Road, Bradford, was jailed for 18 years after pleading guilty to conspiracy. Akhtar, 31, of Abbotsford Road, Chorlton, was jailed for 20 years at Manchester Crown Court last August after he was convicted of conspiracy to possess firearms and ammunition with intent. Salim, 28, of Bedford Road, Firswood, Manchester, received ten years and eight months after admitting the same charge. Paul Wilson, 37, a cage fighter, of Liverpool Road, Southport, purchased some of the weapons from Akhtar for onward distribution and was given 11 years and six months after admitting conspiracy to possess firearms. Another of the cases reviewed and ruled upon in yesterday’s judgment concerned a man who was found guilty of turning replica guns into live weapons linked to more than 50 shootings, including the murder of PC Sharon Beshenivsky One of the guns supplied by Grant Wilkinson, 34, was used during the Bradford armed robbery that led to the death of 38-year-old PC Beshenivsky in 2005, although it was not the murder weapon.

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Raul Esparza struck a deal with San Mateo County prosecutors

Raul Esparza struck a deal with San Mateo County prosecutors on Aug. 18 that allowed him to get out of jail.He wasn't free for long. Esparza was arrested Tuesday after San Carlos police pulled over a car he was riding in that authorities say contained a revolver and baggies they believe were full of cocaine.Esparza, who turned 19 this week, pleaded not guilty on Thursday to three felonies — possession of a narcotic substance for sale, possessing a controlled substance while in possession of a firearm and being a felon in possession of a firearm.The charges stem from a traffic stop on Tuesday on the 1500 block of El Camino Real in San Carlos. A police officer pulled over a car driven by James Kulp-Haggard, 20, at about 10:15 p.m. because its license plate lamp was out, Cmdr. John Reed said. Esparaza was allegedly in the passenger seat.Officers noticed Kulp-Haggard, a resident of Martinez, was on probation. They searched the car and found three baggies of suspected cocaine that weighed a total of 31.9 grams, along with a revolver and ammunition, Reed said. The two men were arrested and booked into jail.The substance in the baggies still needs to be tested to confirm if it is cocaine, Reed said. Esparza, a Redwood City resident, faces up to seven years in prison if convicted on the latest charges, significantly less than the 20 years to life he faced about six weeks ago.
In the previous case, Esparza, his brother Salvador Esparza Jr., and Angel Sanchez — all suspected gang members — pleaded no contest on Aug. 18 to one felony count of engaging in gang activity. Prosecutors said the trio participated in the beating of two men who were sitting in a car in unincorporated Redwood City in May 2008.
As part of a plea agreement, prosecutors agreed to drop charges of attempted murder, assault with a deadly weapon and carjacking in exchange for a 16-month prison sentence. Each of the three defendants had credit for more than 500 days of time served, fulfilling their sentences, though it is unclear exactly when they were released.Raul Esparza and Kulp-Haggard both remained in custody Thursday on $100,000 bail.

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18-year-old man was shot in the leg outside the Biblos club

18-year-old man was shot in the leg outside the Biblos club at Byporten in downtown Oslo. Several witnesses were detained after the shooting, but the lead detective, Find Belle, of the Oslo police told the Dagbladet that the perpetrator is still at large. None of the witnesses are not currently suspects in the case.
"The shooter was a of African descent wearing a leather jacket. That's all we have at the present,' Said Belle. "The shot man is on the operating table at Ullevål hospital, and his status is fine."
The 18-year-old gang member is an acquaintance of the police, said Belle and added that he has an African sounding name. Heavily armed police with K-9 unit arrived to the scene quickly. The shooting took place around 02:25 in the morning. The police found several spent brass at the location.People ran from the scene of crime in panic after at least one shot was fired.

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Ian Alexander Foden, 24, of Gorse Crescent, admitted possession of a firearm and ammunition

Ian Alexander Foden, 24, of Gorse Crescent, admitted possession of a firearm and ammunition at an early hearing. Yesterday he was sentenced to five years in prison at Manchester Minshull Street Crown Court. Acting on intelligence received from the community, police officers executed a warrant at his home shortly after 8am on June 25. A Norinco 9mm self-loading pistol and 19 rounds of ammunition were recovered.
Detective Constable Stuart Brown said: "Possessing a gun and ammunition is a grave offence and one GMP works tirelessly to tackle. "We don't know exactly why Foden had the weapon but it is possible he was storing it for someone else because of his previously unblemished record. "I hope today's sentence sends out a stark warning to those prepared to hide guns and those who use people they think police will not pursue to hide them that we will always act on intelligence given to us. "If you have any knowledge about anyone involved in gun and gang crime please come forward.

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Federal effort against Black P. Stones street gang convictions

David L. Brown, 25, of 2327 N. Delaware St. must spend 10 years on supervised release - the federal version of probation - after he is released from his 244-month sentence.His arrest was part of Operation Rockclimb, a federal effort against the Black P. Stones street gang. Unlike past operations such as Crackshot, which took on the Gangster Disciplines in the mid-1990s, Rockclimb has made extensive use of wiretaps to build cases. More than two dozen people so far have been indicted.
In Brown's case, his plea in June stated he was linked to more than 50 grams of crack cocaine during the two-year conspiracy.The 50 grams of crack is not an indication of how much cocaine was involved during the two years Brown allegedly participated in the conspiracy. Rather, it is a statutory amount used to trigger stiffer sentences.Brown was part of a ring headed by Carlos Williams, 34, who was sentenced to 30 years in prison, and his niece, Tiffany Edwards, 21, who was sentenced to 10 years behind bars on related charges.He bought drugs for himself and others, his plea agreement states.

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G-Shine set of the Bloods

Father of a young Bloods street gang member who died in a November 2007 drive-by shooting in New Brunswick forgave his son's killer at the man's sentencing Friday, going so far as to tell him to keep in touch."If you want to write to me or talk to me on a personal level you can do that," said Kevin Purnell of Somerset to 21-year-old Morgan Brown of New Brunswick.The comments capped an emotional hearing in which Brown apologized to Purnell and condemned the lifestyle that went with the crime."I'd rather be broke and a bum in the street" than continue living that way, he said. "All I can say is I'm sorry."Purnell's son, Dyshon Thompson, 24, was gunned down on Hampton Road on Nov. 5, 2007, in front of children playing touch football under street lights in the gang-ridden public housing complex.Brown and his co-defendant, Shakeira Summers, 22, who pleaded guilty to attempted murder in the case, were members of the G-Shine set of the Bloods. A dispute between G-Shine and members of NHB or Neighborhood Bloods, Thompson's set of the gang, sparked the killing.
"This was a classic gang rivalry," said Manuel Sameiro, assistant Middlesex County prosecutor.Brown was firing an AK-47 from the window of the drive-by car and Summers was using a handgun, prosecutors said.The case was marked by the interrelations of victims and shooters and their families. Purnell, who has coached youth football in New Brunswick for nearly 20 years, is friendly with Summers' relatives and appears to have coached Brown when he was a child.Brown's attorney, William Fetky of New Brunswick, argued for a lenient sentence, based on Brown's limited criminal record. Judge Dennis Nieves, while citing Brown's sincerity and remorse, rejected that.
Brown was sentenced to 20 years in prison, part of a negotiated plea with the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office. He must serve 85 percent of it, or about 17 years, before he becomes eligible for parole.

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Member of John Gilligan's drug gang was a key player in the 'Park West Bloodbath'.

The criminal, aged 35 and from Ballyfermot, sustained a hand injury in the 20-man melee which led to the murder of British gangster Jason Lee Martin last Sunday.
The Herald understands the man, who is a gangland enforcer and has a number of previous convictions, sustained a bite wound to his hand in the fight at Park West Road.Gardai have identified him as being present at the scene, with a relative. It is understood he may have been friendly with Martin, and had been a criminal contact of the Briton for a number of years.The Ballyfermot man was a close associate of both John Gilligan and Brian Meehan in the 1990s, and was regarded by gardai as a central member of the Gilligan crime gang, the outfit behind the murder of journalist Veronica Guerin.He is not believed to have had involvement in the journalist's murder, despite his friendship with killer Brian Meehan.After the jailing of Gilligan and Meehan in the 1990s, he operated on his own, and is also suspected of carrying out attacks on criminals who owed him protection money.
He remains a target for the garda Organised Crime Unit in southwest Dublin.
Gardai are investigating whether the Ballyfermot man helped Jason Lee Martin hide out, after the Manchester criminal left the UK eight weeks ago. Martin was wanted for questioning over the kidnap of a building contractor in Lancashire, on August 1 last.Days before that incident he had been arrested on suspicion of assaulting a woman in the city. She withdrew the allegations, but the Herald understands Martin told his family he was leaving the UK for Spain following that arrest. He is believed to have spent eight weeks hiding in Dublin, where he attended the Bernard Dunne fight in the O2 last Saturday night with a group of Ballyfermot criminals.
The group returned to Hennigen's bar on Park West Road, where a fight between two men took place in the car, which led to around 20 others brawling. Martin sustained a fatal stab wound, and another man, in his 20s from Tallaght, was seriously injured.
Gardai have issued an appeal for taxi drivers who were in the area at 1.50am last Sunday to contact them.

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Hermandad de Pistoleros Latinos,Brotherhood of Latino Gunmen

Floating trunk stuffed with a headless torso found while fishing in Galveston Bay six years ago, it didn't take long for authorities to figure out the dead man was the Houston captain of a Texas gang aligned with Mexico's Sinaloa Cartel.On his back, his name was tattooed in Old English script. On his hip, was inked a likeness of a .45-caliber handgun, the sure-fire call sign for a gang whose Spanish name translates as Brotherhood of Latino Gunmen. What took much longer was an investigation, sparked in part by intelligence information that the killing was an inside job, payback for skimming drug profits. Within the past week, that investigation has resulted in the sentencing of 24 gang members and associates on drug and money laundering charges.The probe underlined Houston's positioning as a hemispheric hub for smuggling illegal drugs into the United States. It also shed light on how a lesser-known prison-born gang distributed drugs for Mexico's best-known gangster, Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman, who heads the Sinaloa Cartel and made the Forbes list of billionaires.“They certainly were a prolific drug-trafficking group as evidenced by the dollars involved and the drug quantities involved,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy Braley.Records do not show whether any of those in custody offered insight into the killing in exchange for leniency, but the gang remains in the cross hairs of the law. Police contend that after being shot, Ranferi “Tiny” Arizaga was taken to a Houston apartment where he was dismembered. His head, torso, arms and legs were tossed separately into the bay where the Gulf of Mexico was supposed to swallow them.“It is their way of sending a message,” said Lt. Tommy Hansen, of the Galveston County Sheriff's Office, who noted beheading is a common terror tool in Mexico.Although the Sinaloa syndicate is known to operate in Houston, the city is considered the turf of El Chapo's rival, the Gulf Cartel.
Some of those who were busted in the gang investigation had criminal records; some did not.Court documents, testimony and interviews indicate a wide-ranging conspiracy that looped between Laredo and Houston:Among those snared was a car wash owner; a former semi-pro basketball player; a bowling alley employee; a soft-drink truck driver; the owner of a tattoo parlor; and the mother-in-law, wife and a maid of one of the gangsters.Perhaps the flashiest gangster of them all was Pedro “Master P” Gil III, who got 25 years, records show.Gil, who was born in Laredo and left school in the ninth grade, made a fortune moving cocaine to Houston, where it was bound for New York, Tennessee and other states. As part of his plea, Gil forfeited up to $6 million cash, nine cars, assorted Laredo real estate, and an array of jewelry, including a Rolex watch with 50 diamonds.Gil and his wife were high rollers in Las Vegas, having charged nearly $100,000 on a credit card in 2007. How much cash they dropped is unknown.Millions of dollars were stashed in the names of family as well as a maid who had a Laredo bank account. Gil's lawyers had no comment.Court documents indicate the gangsters were taken down by members of their own organization who betrayed them by wearing hidden recording devices. Members of Hermandad de Pistoleros Latinos, as the gang is called in Spanish, are in the organization for life, experts said.down to soldiers.Going against them means death, but hits must be sanctioned and leaders attend meetings known as High Mass.
“They don't kill just for the heck of it,” said Sig Sanchez, head of the prison system's gang department. “They are like many other groups: They have their constitution, they have rules and regulations they have to follow.”Sanchez called them “thugs and killers — a bunch of people that don't belong.”

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Gangster shot dead

Senthilvelavan alias ‘Kurangu’ Senthil (27) of Vilathisamuthiram in Nagapattinam district had dropped-out in the second-year of the engineering course he was doing from Annamalai University, Chidambaram.Senthil, who was involved in minor offences, threatened a merchant from Madurai in 1999 and had demanded for money. Later he led the gang formed by his close accomplice ‘Manalmedu’ Sankar, who was also shot dead in an encounter.In 2007, Senthil was notified as a prime accused in the murder case of Tiruvarur district DMK secretary Poondi Kalaiselvan and was lodged in the Central Prison here.However, Senthil who had come out on bail was reported absconding for about a year.Inspector General of Police, Enforcement and IG (in-charge) of Central Zone, J K Tripathy, told reporters that Ammapettai police inspector S Karthi keyan made inquiries with another inmate, Vijay alias Anand. He allegedly revealed that Senthil and his aide Natarajan had planned to murder Poondi Kalaiselvan’s brother and the present Tiruvarur DMK Secretary, Poondi Kalaivanan and Ammapettai DMK union secretary Suresh, IG added.Anand also informed Karthikeyan that the duo was hanging around Tiruchy, Coimbatore and Chennai.Based on this information Karthikeyan and head constable Sridharan visited Tiruverumbur on Friday.When the cops spotted Senthil riding a motorcycle, they chased him. After Senthil’s motorcycle skidded at Ganapathy Koil in Vengur he is alleged hurled a countrymade bomb at the police personnel, which failed to go off. Meanwhile, another country-made bomb, a country-made pistol and two cartridges fell down from Senthil.However, he reportedly took out an aruval and allegedly assaulted Karthikeyan, injuring him on the left shoulder. When he also tried to assault Sridharan, Karthikeyan fired two rounds at Senthil and one of them hit him in the head and other on the chest.The police took Senthil to the Tiruchy GH where he succumbed to his injuries. Karthikeyan and Sridharan were admitted at the GH.

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Manny Buttar told a restaurant patron that he killed for a living and had gotten “rid” of gangster Bindy Johal

Manny Buttar told a restaurant patron that he killed for a living and had gotten “rid” of gangster Bindy Johal, B.C. Supreme Court heard Tuesday.Pardeep Dhillon recounted the night that he was left bleeding and dazed after Buttar allegedly began pummeling him in a Surrey restaurant.Dhillon said Buttar and two friends offered to buy a round at the India Kitchen Restaurant on Nov. 6, 2006 after learning Dhillon and the restaurant owner had the same last names as Buttar’s two pals.He said he was making small talk with the trio, who were strangers, when he asked Buttar what he did for a living.“He said ‘I kill people for a living,’” Dhillon told Justice Kathleen Ker, saying he began to laugh because he assumed Buttar was joking.He said Buttar repeated that his profession was hit man.“I said I had a cousin and he used to do the same thing, but he is dead now,” Dhillon replied, saying he told Buttar his cousin was Johal.“Mr. Buttar was very upset.”Dhillon said Buttar began punching and slapping him as he urged the man to “remember” his name.“He mentioned that ‘I got rid of him and I can get rid of you,’” Dhillon testified.No one has ever been charged in the December 1998 execution of Johal, an admitted cocaine trafficker gunned down at a Vancouver nightclub.But Buttar’s younger brother Bal confessed to The Vancouver Sun in 2004 that he had arranged the hit on Johal even though he was working under the gangster in the “Indo-Canadian Mafia” at the time.Vancouver police have described Manny Buttar as the leader of a mid-level drug trafficking gang that has been involved in a violent conflict with two rival groups on the city’s south slope in recent years.The undercover probe dubbed Project Rebellion has led to dozens of arrests of members of all three gangs this year alone.Buttar is facing three charges related to the 2006 assault — including assault with a weapon, uttering threats and using an imitation firearm.
His co-accused, Tirathpal Dhillon, pleaded guilty to assault as the trial opened in New Westminster on Monday.Pardeep Dhillon said he saw his namesake pull a gun out while Buttar continued to beat on him. “The magazine fell out and I was able to kick it,” the victim testified. “Mr. Dhillon looked like he was scared … . It was almost like he wanted to scare me and he did.”Under cross-examination, Dhillon admitted he was an alcoholic with convictions for assault, impaired driving and breaches of probation.Buttar’s defence lawyer Karen Bastow suggested that Dhillon’s account “seems incredibly unlikely.She said no one would admit to a stranger that he had committed murder.“So Manny Buttar says ‘I am a killer and I capped Bindy Johal.’ Is that what happened?” she asked“Yes,” replied Dhillon.She also said it was unlikely he had the fortitude to kick a clip away while he was being slapped and punched.“That’s pretty fancy footwork Mr. Dhillon for a guy that is not part of the life,” Bastow said.She suggested someone else punched Dhillon and Buttar was not even near the booth where the attack occurred.But Dhillon strongly disagreed, pointing to Buttar as his attacker several times.
Also Tuesday, a waitress at the restaurant who called 911 claimed she saw Buttar — not his associate — with the gun.Rosie Nand’s emergency call was played in court in which she could be heard saying “there is a big guy beating another guy … he is bleeding but I think he is okay.”

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Ternae Ramone "Bud" Hatten a self confessed member of the Gangster Disciples gang.

General Sessions Court Judge Clarence Shattuck bound aggravated robbery and aggravated kidnapping charges to the Grand Jury against Ternae Ramone "Bud" Hatten, 23, of 1724 E. 17th St.Judge Shattuck also doubled Hatten's bond, that he said was set too low by a magistrate. Prosecutor Rex Sparks had asked that the bond be tripled, saying Hatten had repeatedly threatened the alleged victims in the case against testifying against him.Dionee Parker said she and her husband were driving in their Cadillac Escalade around on July 25 when they came to a four-way stop at Bennett Avenue and South Kelly.She said they were approached by several men with guns, who ordered them out of the vehicle and into an apartment at 2200 Bennett Ave.
She said she saw a large amount of marijuana in the residence and said it was "foggy" and had a strong smell. She said Hatten was one of the men who held a gun on her and took $200 from her husband, Joe, as well as $1,300 they had in the vehicle. She said the men also took their house key, two cell phones and her husband's wedding ring. She said they asked that the ring not be taken, saying they had just gotten married.Ms. Parker said Hatten kept asking if they had any items at their house and wanted to be taken there. She said she was taken back out to the vehicle and Hatten tried to get in one side, but the door would not open. She said another man had one leg in one of the doors when he dropped something. She said she took the occasion to speed off.She said she drove nearby and spotted her husband walking down the street.Joe Parker gave a similar account. He said he was made to lie down on the floor in the kitchen.He said after his wife was able to drive off, he was told to "walk out like nothing happened."He said he has not gotten any of the money back.Hatten admitted having marijuana, crack cocaine, digital scales, baggies and other drug items in the residence, that he was renting at the time.But he said he knew Joe Parker and that Parker had come over to get some marijuana. He said it was another man in the residence - A.J. - who had pulled a gun on the couple.
Hatten had a separate drug case bound to the Grand Jury.Prosecutor Sparks said his record includes aggravated robbery, aggravated assault and a first-degree murder charge. Rodriquez McGlocton was also charged in the case.Hatten said he was playing dice at the residence with McGlocton and A.J. at the time of the incident.

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Jackson has members of four major gangs that are known worldwide - the Bloods, Crips, Gangster Disciples and Vice Lords

Joe Richard Poston, 24, and Robert Benjamin Seats, 28, died of gunshot wounds after a shoot-out in the parking lot of J-Mumbly's, at 903 Hollywood Drive in the Hollywood Shopping Center. Police believe the men shot each other during an argument that began inside the club.
Police have confirmed that two Jackson men killed in a Sunday morning shooting in a nightclub parking lot were affiliated with rival gangs, the Vice Lords and Gangster Disciples.But police have said they are still investigating whether the shooting was gang-related and whether it was connected to another shooting near another nightclub the same night.
Seven others - three women and four men - were injured in the incident. Another man was wounded earlier Sunday night in the area of the Sesame Street Lounge, at 411 Railroad St.In another possible gang-related incident Wednesday, about 150 students at North Side High School gathered in a hallway.According to a Madison County Sheriff's Office report, students told Principal Jan Watson that a Vice Lords leader and a Gangster Disciples leader were making peace between the rival gangs when a crowd gathered.Willis said police have seen an uptick in the last year in assaults and robberies of individual gang members involved in selling drugs.Many of those crimes are not reported, but police hear about the crimes through intelligence from reliable informants, Willis said. Police also corroborate the information when they interview people who are in custody on other criminal charges.
Jackson has members of four major gangs that are known worldwide - the Bloods, Crips, Gangster Disciples and Vice Lords, Willis said. Police are also aware of some local gangs, which are frequently established by teenagers in middle school and older. Those gangs may eventually die out, and others are started.




During the 1990s, Jackson saw a major spike in gang violence, with 19 homicides in 1993. But in recent years, police have said gangs are keeping a lower profile.



Willis declined to estimate how many people are part of gangs in Jackson, saying he could not give an accurate number.

"We do not come into contact with every gang member," he said. "All gang members do not get arrested. All gang members do not admit their affiliation, nor do they reveal any indication that they are in a gang."

'A lot of work to do'
Mayor Jerry Gist called the recent shootings "distressing" and "disappointing."

"It indicated we still have a lot of work to do," Gist said. "We knew we had a gang presence, but gang activity had been more passive in the last years, so this is very disappointing."

Gist said he still believes the changes suggested by the crime task force in recent years have the city headed in the right direction. He cited new officers added to the police department and progress made by the Gang Unit.

There has been a lot of effort to educate younger people about the dangers of gangs, Gist said.

"The problem is those already in gangs; it is almost impossible to escape once you are in," Gist said. "People also need to understand that gang activity is part of every community in this nation."

When asked about reducing the number of the guns on the street, Gist said he did not think much could be done.

"There are not a lot of ways to crack down; you can always get weapons," he said.

No guns were recovered at the crime scene Sunday morning, and police are still investigating how many guns were fired.

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Member of MS-13, a feared criminal gang, was captured in Hitchcock early this afternoon.

Member of MS-13, a feared criminal gang, was captured in Hitchcock early this afternoon. The Police News learned that undercover police who had intelligence the man was heavy armed, possibly with an AK-47, was hiding in Hitchcock. Lawmen from the Gulf Coast Violent Offender's Task Force accompanied by Hitchcock Police made the arrest at an apartment on Jackson Street.The man is said to be wanted on a multitude of criminal warrants from various parts of the country. He was being taken to Galveston to be arraigned by a federal magistrate. He was to then be taken to jail in Houston.Officials did not identify the man for intelligence reasons.
MS-13 is a criminal gang that originated in Los Angeles and has spread to Central America, other parts of the United States, and Canada. The majority of the gang is ethnically composed of Salvadorans, Hondurans, Guatemalans, and Nicaraguans.
Their activities have caught the eye of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), who in September 2005 initiated wide-scale raids against suspected gang members, netting 660 arrests across United States. ICE efforts were at first directed towards MS-13, in its Operation Community Shield. In May 2005, ICE expanded Operation Community Shield to include all transnational organized crime and prison gangs. ICE's Operation Community Shield has since arrested 7,655 street gang members. In the United States, the gang's strongholds have historically been in the American Southwest and West Coast states.
Membership in the U.S was believed to be as many as about 50,000 as of 2005.
MS-13 criminal activities include drug smuggling and sales, arms trafficking, auto theft, carjacking, home invasion, assault, aggravated assault, assault on law enforcement officials, drive-by shootings, contract killing and murder.
The United States Marshals Service (USMS) oversees the nation's regional fugitive task forces, including the Gulf Coast Violent Offender's Task Force. The purpose of regional fugitive task forces is to combine the efforts of federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to locate and apprehend the most dangerous fugitives and assist in high profile investigations.Task Force members involved in today MS-13 arrest were from the Galveston County Sheriff's Office, FBI, U.S. Marshal's Service, and Galveston County Precinct 8 Constable's Office.

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Monroe Ezell is one of the ranking members of the Hoover Criminals 74

Monroe Ezell is one of the ranking members of the Hoover Criminals 74 a South Seattle gang Ezell is a marked man. At 21, Ezell is one of the ranking members of the Hoover Criminals 74, a South Seattle gang affiliated with the Los Angeles–based Crips. Members of the Valley Hood Piru (a Blood-­affiliated gang), and other Seattle gangs, want him dead.Ezell has a rap sheet with charges for robbery and drug possession, and law-­enforcement sources say he is a suspect in a handful of drive-by shootings around Seattle. According to Seattle Police Department search-warrant records, Ezell was also a suspect in the murder of 15-year-old Quincy Coleman—a known Deuce-8 gang member with apparent ties to the Valley Hood Piru—who was gunned down outside of Garfield High School on Halloween 2008.Last month, Ezell was nearly killed outside of the King County Youth Service Center, presumably by a rival gang member, possibly in retaliation for Coleman’s murder. No arrests have been made

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15 taxi firms in Scotland are controlled by organised crime gangs Network Private Hire has been linked to the city's McGovern crime clan.

Mr MacAskill said: "Where organised crime infiltrates legitimate business, like the taxi and private hire trade, we will take action. We won't allow hard-working cabbies to be driven off the road by crooks and gangsters." Legislation was brought in this year to force taxi booking offices to obtain licences. Police checks of premises and records are being introduced. Mr MacAskill's pledge came only days after NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde was warned off giving a £2million taxi contract to Network Private Hire - which has been linked to the city's McGovern crime clan.
The firm was raided in 2004 as part of a money-laundering probe that could see McGovern in-law Russell Stirton lose £5million under proceeds of crime laws.
Last year Glasgow City Council suspended the licence of CS Cars, run by jailed crime boss Jamie "The Iceman" Stevenson's wife Caroline.Legislation introduced earlier this year will see taxi booking offices having to obtain licences for the first time. The police have also been given full powers to carry out checks of company premises and booking records.Although all cab drivers must secure a licence to take to the road, there has never been proper regulation of taxi operators and firms, which have been unveiled as fronts for money-laundering, drug-dealing and prostitution.Taxi industry leaders say the new measures will allow tough action to be taken against rogue private-hire drivers and companies that flout laws banning drivers picking up fares on the street or touting for business at ranks.Mr MacAskill said: "There has traditionally been much less control over private-hire firms than black-cab operators, which have generally served our cities well. Basically, anyone could set up a cab company from their front bedroom or garage and there was little that could be done to monitor them."He added that he wanted to send a "clear message" to organised criminals that there was no room in the industry for those who want to use taxi and private-hire car firms as a "front for illegal activities".
"We won't allow hard-working cabbies, who borrow from the bank to mortgage their home to buy a cab and make a living, to be driven off the road by crooks and gangsters," he said.It emerged earlier this year that police believe at least 15 taxi firms in Scotland are controlled by organised crime gangs.Private-hire businesses in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee and beyond are said to have been infiltrated by underworld figures using cars to ferry drugs, prostitutes and enforcers. Frank Smith, Edinburgh's new taxi licensing inspector, said: "It is up to the police to work with the council to ensure the new regulations are enforced. I aim to ensure the existing high standards in the industry are maintained and, where opportunities arise, are improved upon."

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Raul Madrigal stares and extends a defiant middle finger, apparently at feds hunting him.

Raul Madrigal stares and extends a defiant middle finger, apparently at feds hunting him.“He is kind of taunting us,” said Brian Ritchie, who leads the violent crimes and gangs task force for the FBI's Houston division, which has been trying to capture him for months. Authorities contend Madrigal, 29, is a key member of the fast-growing Tango Blast — the largest gang in the city — and that from 2007 to 2009, he helped the Gulf Cartel pump millions of dollars worth of marijuana and cocaine into Houston and the surrounding area.Fleeing to Mexico follows a Texas border crime tradition, but also speaks to what Washington sees as a growing threat posed by partnerships between Mexican drug cartels and U.S. gangs.Assistant Attorney General Lanny Breuer testified before Congress last week that the Department of Justice plans to step up investigations of the ties as part of a strategy similar to what was previously used to take on the mafia and other international syndicates.
Madrigal apparently made so much money that authorities intend to seize $18 million in assets in the case against him and 13 other defendants charged with trafficking under Operation Broken Star.They've already seized nine of Madrigal's bling cars, including a Bentley sedan, two BMWs and two Maseratis. All look showroom clean and remain parked in a heavily secured storage facility until they are sold at auction.
A 6.5 carat diamond ring also was taken as drug proceeds, as was a customized three-wheel T-Rex motorcycle, complete with ostrich-skin seats and an LCD monitor.
Authorities won't say whether they expect to see Madrigal in handcuffs anytime soon but note he's likely in a dangerous country where he can't stand alone. “He has probably aligned himself with some people who offer the protection he deserves and has earned,” Ritchie said.In Houston, the conspiracy is alleged to have started months after U.S.-born Madrigal was released from his second stint in a Texas prison, where agents speculate he reinforced dubious connections. Authorities said Tango Blast is an appealing partner for traffickers because it has many members and is spread out across the state. Other more traditional Latino gangs, such as the Mexican Mafia and the Texas Syndicate, also work with the cartels, according to a recent law enforcement report. “People are so worried the cartels are going to come over here, but they have these people at their beck and call,” said Pat Villafranca, an FBI spokeswoman in Houston.The cartel has the drug supply while the U.S. gangs know the streets, have the contacts and can blend in.“They get these guys to do their dirty work,” said Rick Moreno, a Houston police homicide investigator who has mapped out local gang connections to cartel murders, kidnappings and other crimes.
Among others charged in the conspiracy is Saul Salinas, the brother of a trafficker gunned down here in 2006. The case was recently solved and the suspects await trial.
“Madrigal hooked up with all these people he met in prison and out of prison,” the FBI's Ritchie said. His biggest connection was Mario Gonzalez, an accused cartel member and fugitive. Madrigal is charged in a conspiracy to move at least a ton of weed, but he is believed to have used a network of stash houses to sell about 5,000 pounds a month, enough to roll more than 3 million joints every 30 days.Even if Madrigal, who has a list of prior criminal offenses, again sees a courtroom, there is no guarantee of conviction. Four times he's had charges against him dismissed, and he wasn't charged in the death of a rival killed in a shootout. He was convicted twice and went to prison, once for theft and again for drug dealing.In the meantime, Madrigal's taunts give authorities motivation, said a veteran state law enforcement officer. “Old-school gangsters ... would never draw attention like that,” he said.

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Independent Soldiers street gang second-in-command is scheduled to be sentenced after pleading guilty in April to charges stemming from his dealings

Thomas Crawford is scheduled to be sentenced after pleading guilty in April to charges stemming from his dealings with a pair of undercover cops in January 2007.
At that time, the now-27-year-old was believed to be second-in-command in the local chapter of the Independent Soldiers street gang.He has since claimed to have left the gang, but Mounties say he sold four ounces of cocaine, a .357-calibre handgun and a box of bullets to a pair of undercover cops posing as mid-level drug dealers.
Alleged Independent Soldiers boss Jayme Russell was also charged following the investigation, but pleaded not guilty to a lone drug-trafficking charge.
Earlier this year, a judge found Russell guilty following a trial in B.C. Supreme Court and he was handed a two-year sentence in a federal penitentiary.It's not yet known which charges Crawford pleaded guilty to, but the firearms charge carries with it a mandatory one-year jail sentence.Crawford was released on bail shortly after the January 2007 transaction, but has been picked up by police a number of times for allegedly breaching his conditions.Last summer, he was arrested and later pleaded guilty to threats charges after leaving a number of intimidating messages on the cellphone of an acquaintance.Earlier this year, he pleaded guilty to breach charges after he was caught out past his curfew with a pair of men — one of whom is alleged to have gang ties — who were allegedly brandishing handguns in a pair of local restaurants.During a bail hearing last year, Crawford claimed to have left the Independent Soldiers and said he is in the process of having his gang tattoos covered up.

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Wanted Guadalupe Ceja on a warrant charging him with Murder.

Wanted Guadalupe Ceja on a warrant charging him with Murder. Detective Mark Pollio reports that on February 11th 1996 in the late evening a gang related murder occurred in the 600 block of Stambaugh Street. Numerous members of a criminal street gang chased down and caught a rival gang member. Those persons beat the victim until Lupe Ceja then allegedly approached and shot the victim numerous times while he lay on the ground. The persons who had beaten the victim were subsequently identified, arrested and convicted for their part in the murder. The shooter, Ceja, was identified but never arrested.

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Ascot Vale slaying:Geoffrey Leslie Armour, 43, pointed to his injuries as he entered court but then crouched behind a wall

Geoffrey Leslie Armour, 43, pointed to his injuries as he entered court but then crouched behind a wall, apparently trying to protect his identity.As sketch artists worked furiously to catch an image of Armour, his defence counsel objected to any publication of sketches or photographs of him, arguing identity could be a key issue in the case.Police, who will set up an information caravan near the site of the slaying to canvass for additional witnesses, supported the objection. It was felt that if images of Armour were made public they could influence witness decisions.
Police are still searching for another alleged hitman and the getaway driver from the Ascot Vale slaying.Magistrate Dan Muling agreed to a suppression order on Armour's image, ruling that the publication of his image would risk contaminating witnesses' evidence.Mr Muling set Armour's next court date for September 9, the day co-defendants Judy Moran and Suzanne Kane are also due back in court. There was no application for bail.Judy Moran, 64, and Suzanne Kane, 45, who is Armour's defacto wife, appeared in court on Wednesday on charges of being accessories after the fact of the murder. Both women were also refused bail.

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Des "Tuppence" Moran Gangster has been shot dead in a busy Melbourne street

Police said a man in his 60s was shot and killed in a suburb of Australia's second city shortly after noon, but refused to confirm media reports the victim was Des "Tuppence" Moran, the member of an infamous Melbourne crime family.
Gangster has been shot dead in a busy Melbourne street, sparking fears of a resurgence in an underworld war that has so far claimed around 30 lives, reports have said.Australian 'gangster' shot dead in Melbourne notorious gangster has been shot dead in a busy Melbourne street, sparking fears of a resurgence in an underworld war that has so far claimed around 30 lives, reports have said.
Police said a man in his 60s was shot and killed in a suburb of Australia's second city shortly after noon, but refused to confirm media reports the victim was Des "Tuppence" Moran, the member of an infamous Melbourne crime family.
Moran's brother Lewis and his nephews Jason and Mark were all killed in Melbourne's drug gangs war that raged from 1995 to 2004 and was dramatised in Australia's hit "Underbelly" TV series.The Age newspaper reported that Moran was killed in an execution-style hit, quoting ambulance officers saying he had suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head and witnesses saying three men had fired at him.
A witness named Joan said the shooting occurred on a busy street with children nearby."I was across the road from where it happened, at the post office and I just heard all these gunshots," she told commercial radio."I'm really angry because there were lots of kids and what-not, going about their business. It's a really busy shopping strip... there were people everywhere."Another witness, Han Tarkeek, told national news agency AAP that Lewis Moran's wife, Judy, arrived at the scene within 15 minutes of the shooting screaming "Dessy, Dessy."Moran survived an attempted assassination in March, when a balaclava-clad gunman fired at him while he was sitting in a car. The bullet lodged in the steering wheel.The incident follows this month's shooting of a Sydney businessman with close links to the city's notorious Kings Cross area. Fadi Ibrahim was shot five times and remains in hospital fighting for his life.

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Parinder Singh Adiwal was sprayed with gunfire in the underground parking lot of his Burnaby high-rise

Parinder Singh Adiwal was sprayed with gunfire in the underground parking lot of his Burnaby high-rise about 10 p.m. Tuesday.RCMP Cpl. Alexandra Mulvihill said the shooting “appears to be a targeted hit and has all the earmarks of being gang-related.”“Investigators will spend today continuing to speak with witnesses and to start to piece together the information they have,” she said. “It is the Burnaby RCMP's intention to be as factual and accurate as possible with the information we release. For this reason, aside from what has already been released, there will no further updates on this file until late this afternoon.”Several Vancouver police and Burnaby RCMP cars were outside the hospital throughout Wednesday morning. Officers could be seen coming and going to the hospital, as well as friends and relatives of Adiwal.Adiwal and his twin brother Mike have held leadership roles in the Independent Soldiers gang. And they have also been associated over the last year to Barzan Tilli-Choli, the de facto leader of the United Nations gang now in jail charged with conspiracy to kill Abbotsford’s Bacon brothers.Another close associate of the Adiwal twins has been Sandip Singh Duhre, who was identified last Friday as the target of a foiled murder-for-hire plot.Just in March Peter Adiwal told a Port Coquitlam judge that he was forced to hold drugs while inside the Fraser Regional Correctional Centre while serving a kidnapping sentence.He pleaded guilty to a single count of cocaine trafficking and got a nine-month conditional sentence.
Correctional officers found seven grams of heroin, 0.5 grams of cocaine, 129 grams of marijuana, two tablets of ecstacy and various steroids hidden throughout Parminder Adiwal's cell, including in Kraft Dinner boxes and other food packages, on July 11, 2006.Adiwal told the guards he was only holding the drugs for another inmate and wasn't selling them himself.Adiwal's lawyer Peter Wilson told the court that his client had no choice because “it's a different world in jail. I was asked in circumstances where I couldn't really say no and he just happened to be kind of holding the ball at the time when the items were discovered,” Wilson said. "He just happened to have it in his possession at the time when it was discovered by authorities."Both Adiwal twins pleaded guilty in October 2005 to a brutal drug-related kidnapping in which the victim was rescued by police who had been clandestinely following the twins in another multiple-murder investigation.

Peter Adiwal told the kidnapping victim that he would kill him and dump his body in Richmond near the spot where two of the man's friends had been found bound and shot in 2001

Sukhjit Singh Basi, who was grabbed late on the evening of Feb. 12, 2003, begged his captors for a glass of water after he had already been bound and beaten over several hours.The twins were among the subjects of a multi-million dollar investigation by the former Indo-Canadian Gang Task Force that involved months of wiretap and surveillance designed to collect evidence in a series of unsolved slayings.But the investigation ended prematurely and dramatically when police overheard Basi's moans and cries and broke down the Burnaby apartment door to rescue him.
Court was told that Peter Adiwal was particularly brutal with Basi, hitting him several times, binding his arms and repeatedly threatening to kill him.
In a Feb. 11, 2003 conversation captured on a listening device police had planted in the apartment, Peter Adiwal blamed Basi for stealing 68 kilograms of marijuana from a friend and then pointing the finger at Adiwal.Adiwal is heard on the wiretap saying 'kick him in the throat' and when Basi starts weeping, Adiwal said 'he's breaking. I told you guys. I told you he'd start crying, didn't I?"

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Chief suspect for Ireland's biggest ever tiger raid has left the country

Chief suspect for Ireland's biggest ever tiger raid has left the country but his €5.8m haul remains untouched.Gardai now believe that the man, in his late 30s and from Dublin's north inner city, is hiding out in Britain, and have liaised with UK police in efforts to trace his whereabouts.He emerged at the chief suspect for the College Green robbery in the 48 hours after the crime, when suspects for the raid were observed entering the home of the man's sister on Dublin's northside.Detectives believe that the man planned the robbery with the assistance of a family-based north inner city crime gang, who are themselves related to a well-known armed robber.
The mastermind has been involved in armed robbery for the past 20 years, and first came to garda attention following a number of raids in Munster in the 1990s. He is regarded by officers as volatile when confronted but otherwise calm in the planning of his crimes.He has a number of previous convictions and his immediate family have also been involved in crime in the past. A close relative shot and injured a man during a raid.According to garda intelligence sources, neither the man, nor the other members of the College Green gang, have attempted to move the haul of cash which they are suspected of stashing in the hours after the raid on February 27 last. The robbery, which was Ireland's biggest ever haul from a tiger raid, was pulled off when bank worker Shane Travers was forced to take cash from a vault at the Bank of Ireland, College Green, hours after his girlfriend and two members of her family were held up at their Co Kildare home.No one was injured in the raid, which ended when Mr Travers dropped off the cash at a designated point in Clontarf. The raiders are believed to have moved the cash to an as-yet-unknown location on the city's northside immediately afterwards.Some of the money was then moved, and €1.8m of the cash was later recovered.Gardai suspect that the money was taken to a location in north Dublin, and is likely to have remained there ever since. A number of individuals suspected of involvement in the robbery have been placed under heavy surveillance since the incident and have "laid low" as a result, sources say.

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67-year-old Rosario Gambino arrived at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport on a flight from Miami.

67-year-old Rosario Gambino arrived at Rome's Leonardo da Vinci airport on a flight from Miami. Wearing a gray jumpsuit and looking frail he sat in a wheelchair as he was escorted out by police officers.Gambino, an Italian-born New Jersey resident, was considered a top mobster in the New York-based crime family led by his late cousin Carlo Gambino.In 1984 he was convicted in a multi-million-dollar conspiracy to sell heroin in southern New Jersey and sentenced to 45 years in jail.Gambino was linked to the "Pizza Connection" probe, which broke a $1.6 billion heroin and cocaine smuggling operation that used pizzerias as fronts from 1975 to 1984.He was released in 2007 and transferred to an immigrant detention center in California to await expulsion, Italian police said in a statement. It was not immediately clear why the sentence had been reduced.Gambino has been wanted in Italy since 1980 on separate drug and Mafia-connected charges, and he is expected to face trial. Calls to a lawyer representing him in Italy were not answered Saturday afternoon.
Before being transferred to a Rome jail, Gambino was served the original 1980 arrest warrant signed by Giovanni Falcone, one of Italy's top anti-Mafia prosecutors.
Falcone was killed by the Sicilian mob in a 1992 bomb attack, and Gambino's return coincided with the anniversary of the murder, which was being commemorated across Italy. Salvatore "Toto" Riina, then the Mafia's boss of bosses, was arrested in 1993 and later convicted with others of plotting the hit.

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Andre D. Trott a high-ranking member of the Bloods street gang, but have declined to say whether the killing was gang-related

Cadre Williams, 31, of Georgia, hung himself with a sheet in a high-security cell in the jail.Cicchi said Williams was found by jail staff in his one-man, locked cell, but declined to release further details, saying the investigation is continuing.Earlier authorities called his death an apparent suicide and gave no details.Cicchi said Williams showed no signs of being troubled when a psychologist did a face-to-face interview with him a day earlier."He presented no suicidal ideations during the interview," Cicchi said.Cicchi said the investigation has shown there were no violations of the jail's procedures when Williams was dealt with.
Security in William's unit, known as C-Pod, is the highest at the jail.Williams, who had an extensive criminal record in Georgia, was charged May 8 with killing Shakir McCray, 31, of Roselle. McCray was shot several times the morning before outside the Hearthwood development on Boice Drive in North Brunswick.Authorities said Williams confessed to the murder after being captured in Edison not long after the slaying occurred. He faced life behind bars without the possibility of parole if convicted.
Another man charged in the murder, Andre D. Trott, 29, of Bermuda, remains in the correction center in lieu of $1.5 million bail.Prosecutors called Trott a high-ranking member of the Bloods street gang, but have declined to say whether the killing was gang-related. They have not released a motive.

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Kenneth Lavon Jones, 34, is charged with possession of a firearm

Kenneth Lavon Jones, 34, is charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, possession of marijuana with intent to distribute and a parole violation.
A gang intelligence unit with the Barrow County Sheriff's Office received a tip about Jones' alleged affiliation with the gangster disciples. Deputies set up surveillance and interview witnesses before a SWAT team moved in early Monday morning. Police found Jones in possession of a loaded .40 caliber pistol and marijuana, Sheriff's Office spokesman Investigator Matt Guthas said.
"Given the threat that criminal street gangs pose to the community, (the Sheriff's Office) has committed to rigorously pursuing gang members and gang-related activity," he said.Gwinnett police assisted by providing a narcotics-sniffing K-9 unit, Guthas said.

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Bobby Speirs sentenced at Manchester Crown Court .

Mr Justice Griffith Williams sentenced Bobby Speirs, 41,to serve a minimum term of 23 years in jail at Manchester Crown Court today.Bobby Speirs, 41, showed no reaction as he was convicted of his part in organising the bloody Brass Handles pub shootout in Salford three years ago. Speirs believed he had the 'perfect alibi' when he went to the game between Manchester United and Newcastle United at the time of the horrific shooting. He was watching the game from an executive box as he organised the 'hit' during half-time.He was using mobile phones to oversee a plot to send two gunmen to the pub and carry out a 'planned execution', according to the prosecution. The gunmen went into the pub and opened fire, wounding two victims in a volley of shots one Sunday afternoon in March 2006. But the 'hit' backfired as the would-be assassins were overpowered by other people in the pub. It is thought they were disarmed and shot dead with their own guns.
Speirs was instrumental in planning the operation and kept in touch with two others involved by mobile phone leading up to the shootings. Within days, Speirs fled to Spain but he was extradited several months later. Speirs, who at the time lived in Butterstile Avenue, Prestwich, pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to murder but was unanimously found guilty after four hours of deliberations by the jury.
Two others, Ian McLeod, an infamous Manchester gang leader, and Constance Howarth, had already been convicted at an earlier hearing of roles in the murder plot.
The two would-be assassins, Richard Austin, 19, and Carlton Alveranga, 20, died after being shot in the chest. They had gone to the pub on the Langworthy Estate to kill but ended up losing their own lives. Among the customers in the Brass Handles at the time were David Totton and Aaron Travers, who were said to be the 'possible' targets. The gunmen went to the pub with McLeod while Howarth was inside acting as a 'spotter' to point out the victim or victims. Mr Totton and Mr Travers were seriously injured as shots were fired but survived. Some customers fought back and Austin and Alveranga were disarmed and shot during the botched assassination.
No-one has ever been brought to justice for the murders of Austin and Alveranga. Speirs was trapped by police thanks to so-called 'cell site analysis' which plotted the movements of mobile phones associated with the defendant and others involved in the plot. He was tracked down in Benidorm. Speirs will be sentenced at Manchester Crown Court on Thursday.

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Dilun Heng, 26, wanted on a Canada-wide warrant

Dilun Heng, 26, wanted on a Canada-wide warrant since being charged last Friday with plotting to kill the Bacon brothers of Abbotsford.Seven others also charged in the massive conspiracy case have already made their first court appearances and will be returning to Vancouver Provincial Court on June 9.On Tuesday, four other accused -- Ion (Johnny K-9) Kroitoru, Daniel Ronald Russell, Soroush Ansari and Yong Sung (John) Lee -- squished into the prisoners' box at Vancouver Provincial Court for their first appearance after the charge against them was laid Friday.Last month, two other UN members and one associate - Barzan Tilli-Choli, Karwan Ahmet Saed and Aram Ali - were also charged with plotting to kill Jonathan, Jarrod and Jamie Bacon and their Red Scorpion associates.Prosecutor Ralph Keefer said he intended to proceed by direct indictment, meaning the case will move straight to B.C. Supreme Court, bypassing the preliminary inquiry process.Several plainclothes police officers sat in courtroom 101 Tuesday for the brief appearance. Four sheriffs crowded into the small prisoners’ box along with the four accused.Outside court, Ansari’s mother turned her back without saying a word when a Vancouver Sun reporter asked about the charges against her son.Another son, Sasan Ansari, was convicted of manslaughter last fall for stabbing his friend to death in the parking lot of a West Vancouver country club.Kroitoru’s spouse also refused to comment.“I’m not married,” she said in response to a Sun reporter’s question about her husband, a former professional wrestler and biker boss well-known to police in Ontario.But on a twitter page registered to a Tracy Kroitoru, a woman has posted several comments about being almost due with a baby daughter and references to her husband “ex-wrestler Johnny K-9.”“Pregnant, but wishing I could ride on the back on my man’s pro-one chopper,” Tracy Kroitoru wrote April 28.The murder conspiracy case is believed to be one of the largest in B.C. history with eight defendants charged on a single indictment.And the arrests of senior members of the notorious UN gang have been hailed by police as a major victory in their fight against gang violence.
And UN founder Clay Roueche may still be charged, both police and the Crown have said. He is so far listed in the case as an unindicted co-conspirator along with someone identified only as “Frankie.”The conspiracy is alleged to have unfolded between Jan. 1, 2008 and Feb. 17, 2009 in Vancouver, Surrey, Burnaby, as well as in Montreal.

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Dave Courtney Gangster, actor and author has been made bankrupt owing the HM Revenue & Customs, an estimated £250,000.

Dave Courtney Gangster, actor and author has been made bankrupt owing the HM Revenue & Customs, an estimated £250,000.The published author, whose books include Dodgy Dave’s Little Black Book and The Ride’s Back On is understood to owe an estimated £400,000 to creditors.It is believed the taxman called time on Courtney’s debts and applied for the insolvency order against him. It is believed the case could focus on the book rights that Courtney retains his main asset as a way of settling creditor’s debts.Courtney had a small part in the 1990 film The Krays, and supplied the security at Ronnie Kray’s funeral. He is also reported as being the inspiration behind the character played by Vinnie Jones in the Guy Richie movie Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.Papers lodged on the Individual Insolvency Register show that Louise Brittain, head of personal insolvency at Baker Tilley, has been appointed the bankruptcy trustee in Courtney’s case. The papers reveal he will not be discharged from bankruptcy automatically until 18 February 2010.Courtney’s registered address is a house in south east London, known as Camelot, decked out with union jacks and a large knuckle duster on the gate.

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Sivajodi Anantharaja, 41, organised the brutal retaliation after his cousin was injured by the 'East Side Boys' based in East Ham.

Sri Lankan gang master in Britain who led revenge attacks against two rivals that left one man dead and another disabled has been jailed for at least 24 years.
Sivajodi Anantharaja, 41, organised the brutal retaliation after his cousin was injured by the 'East Side Boys' based in East Ham.The first victim Mathiraj Mathiyaparanam, 24, was repeatedly slashed on the head and arm with a samurai sword in a shop in broad daylight.When he survived, the gang ambushed and killed Maheswaran Kaneshan, 26, in the street using an axe, swords and a cricket bat.
Anantharaja fled to Sri Lanka after the murder in January 2004 and returned to the UK last year. He was convicted of murder and attempted murder by an Old Bailey jury and jailed for life with a minimum of 24 years behind bars.His follower Sivaprakasam Rajeskanna, 34, was convicted of the murder and jailed for life with a minimum of 14 years behind bars.Fellow gang leader Sivaungham Sivakumar, a 35-year-old businessman known as 'The Master', is already serving a life sentence for his role in the same attacks

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Rafael Alvarez, Wander Espinal, Danny Joel Rodriguez and Carlos Hilario, all born in the Dominican Republic, have been charged with murder

Manhattan District Federal prosecutor Robert Morgenthau yesterday announced the indictment of four Dominicans on five charges of murder carried out by hit men in the Dominican Republic, and whom for years trafficked drugs across borders using New York as their base. The official said Rafael Alvarez, Wander Espinal, Danny Joel Rodriguez and Carlos Hilario, all, said Morgenthau, born in the Dominican Republic, have been charged on 25 counts of murder, conspiracy, money laundering and conspiracy to distribute cocaine in New York. He said the accused hired several hit men to murder five Dominicans in Santiago (north) and San Francisco (northeast), to consolidate their criminal ties with drug traffickers and eliminate their rivals.
They were all living in the United States without legal documents, an Immigration official said in the press conference, adding that they are being held in local jails, but once they serve out their time, "papers will be given them but to be deported to their country and that is obviously going to take a few years."
If found guilty, Alvarez and Espinal face up to 20 years in prison and possible life imprisonment, whereas Rodriguez and Hilario could face 1 and 20 years in jail, respectively.

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Arrested Larry A. Pina, 17, of New Bedford over the weekend

Reputed Monte Park gang member is charged with being an accessory to a shooting earlier this month near New Bedford District Court and the Hastings Keith Federal Building, reports the Standard-Times.Police arrested Larry A. Pina, 17, of New Bedford over the weekend after witnesses said they saw him with two other suspects running from the scene.On May 1, witnesses reported hearing multiple gun shots in the downtown area. Three unoccupied cars were struck by bullets. Police found six shell casings. There were no reported injuries.Witnesses said they saw three black, teenage boys running from the scene. One of the suspects was described as having short hair and was seen walking into the McDonald’s on County Street.

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Vinh Truong is out on $25,000 bail.

Police arrested Truong on Wednesday, charging him in connection with a shooting in Sandstone on New Year's Eve 2007.In the incident, disguised gunmen walked up to a jeep and opened fire on two men who both survived.The Calgary Sun reports, one of the men who escaped injury in that attack was Matthew Chubak. Police had pegged him as an associate of the "Fresh off the Boat" gang.Chubak was killed in January. The charges against Truong come on the heels of four men accused of attempted murder after a shooting in Chinatown last November.purported gang member charged in connection with a New Year’s Eve 2007 shooting has been released on bail.Justice of the Peace Will Shiplett today agreed to free Vinh Truong pending trial on two attempted murder charges and an allegation of discharging a firearm with intent to endanger life.Shiplett agreed with defence lawyer Charlie Stewart to release Truong on a $25,000, non-cash bail, providing his parents post a surety to ensure his attendance in court.Crown prosecutor Brian Holtby opposed Truong’s release, arguing his detention was necessary for the protection, or safety of the general public.
Truong was arrested Wednesday and charged in connection with a Dec. 31, 2007, shooting in Sandstone, where disguised gunmen walked up to a Jeep and opened fire, riddling it with near two dozen bullets.One of the two men who escaped injury in the attack was Matthew Chubak — said to be an associate of the Fresh off the Boat gang — who was slain this past January.Chubak was also one of the targets of an alleged attempted murder last Nov. 16, in Chinatown, when four men in a car were shot at.
The other man who escaped injury in the Sandstone shooting is said to be a gang associate who was shot while with gangster Roger Chin at a Falconridge gas bar about two months later. In July 2008, 23-year-old Chin was gunned down in a deadly drive-by on Centre St. N.Although police have made many recent inroads in the fight against gangs — seizing drugs, firearms and ammunition as well as keeping tabs on them while they are in the community pending upcoming court charges — arrests for more serious crimes are relatively rare.The charges against Truong on the heels of four men being accused of attempted murder after a November 2008 shootout in Chinatown.That case is still before the courts.Truong returns to court on June 11, when Holtby is supposed to present Stewart with Crown disclosure

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Ian "Blink" McDonald's Mercedes has been torched while parked outside his house in the Hogganfield area of the city.

Ian "Blink" McDonald's Mercedes has been torched while parked outside his house in the Hogganfield area of the city.The attack happened shortly after 1am yesterday, while Mr McDonald was being held in police custody for an alleged nightclub brawl on Friday. He is due to appear in court today in connection with that incident.The firebombing of the car - registration number "B1LNK" - comes just days after the career criminal survived two attempts on his life.May 8, army explosives experts defused a gas canister hidden beneath the same black Mercedes.Then, just four days later, three men ambushed Mr McDonald, 48, near his mother's home in Provanmill while he was walking his dog. The attackers leapt out of a car and pinned him to the ground, slashing his cheek and ear and attempting to cut his throat.The extent of Mr McDonald's injuries saw him undergo three hours of plastic surgery, but last week he shrugged off the attack as the work of "daft wee boys".But a source revealed last night he is seething with those responsible.The source said: "People are trying to send Blink a message that they are not happy. In public he remains defiant but behind close doors he is raging and even more so now after this."

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Andre Francis Remekie was stopped May 8 at a Langley gas station

Andre Francis Remekie was stopped May 8 at a Langley gas station by the uniformed component of the task force.“He was checked along with a well-known Lower Mainland gang associate,” Kirk said. “And he was found to have a warrant out of Edmonton for trafficking in cocaine.”The Vancouver Sun has learned that Remekie was with Sandip Singh (Dip) Duhre, a former associate of the late Bindy Johal who had been living out of province since two attempts were made on his life.Duhre and his brother Balraj were both targeted in shootings twice in 2005, with Balraj being wounded in a Vietnamese restaurant in east Vancouver.Sandip escaped injury when his car was sprayed with gunfire at a Surrey convenience store in May 2005, but his friend Dean Mohamed Elshamy was killed.In July 2005, both Balraj and Sandip were shot at as they drove through east Vancouver. Their bullet-proof sedan saved their lives.The fact such a connected B.C. gangster was in the presence of an accused trafficker from Alberta shows the networking ability of Metro Vancouver gangs, Kirk said.“We are fully aware that groups operating in this province have interprovincial connections,” he said.Kirk said the IGTF is going to use whatever means it can to make those involved in gangs accountable for their actions.“The use of Con Air to send this accused person to Alberta highlights the creative methods we are employing,” Kirk said.He said Remekie’s warrant was originally only for the Edmonton area, but police there agreed to extend it to B.C. so the accused could be arrested and sent back.Remekie, 28, was charged in Fort McMurray in 2004 with trafficking crack cocaine and possessing proceeds of crime.He was also charged with trafficking in Edmonton in 2000 after he and three associates were stopped in vehicle in which police say they found pot packaged for sale, a sawed-off shotgun, cash and several cellphones.Con Air was started by the Vancouver Police Department to fly accused criminals back to the jurisdictions in which they were facing charges. The program has since been adopted by other police departments and received an operating grant from the provincial government.

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Mauricio Diaz, 33, the known leader of the Puro Lil Mafia

Mauricio Diaz, 33, the known leader of the Puro Lil Mafia ( PLM ), a violent criminal street gang that operated in Wichita Falls, Texas, was indicted today by a federal grand jury in Dallas, announced acting U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. Diaz, has been in custody since his arrest on April 8, 2009, when members of the Wichita Falls Police Department SWAT Team and FBI agents executed arrest and search warrants for Diaz at his residence on Redbud Lane in Wichita Falls. A detention hearing is scheduled for Diaz in U.S. District Court in Dallas on May 11, 2009, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Wm. F. Sanderson, Jr.On April 8, 2009, law enforcement arrested eight of 12 alleged PLM members that were indicted the previous day by a federal grand jury in Dallas on federal weapons and/or narcotics charges. The remaining four defendants were already in state or local custody on related charges. The defendants have pled not guilty to the charges and are scheduled to be tried in Wichita Falls in late June 2009.During the search of Diaz’s residence last month, officers noted a strong smell of marihuana throughout the house and located Diaz, along with his wife and two children. Officers also located a digital scale, with what appeared to be marihuana residue, in the master bedroom. On the top of the dresser, next to the scale, was a box of plastic sandwich bags which are commonly used to package illegal narcotics. In a top drawer of the dresser, officers found two large Ziploc bags containing approximately three grams of marihuana. In the next drawer, officers found a loaded Smith and Wesson .38 caliber special revolver and a box of ammunition wrapped in a gray bandanna; more ammunition was found in the kitchen pantry. According to documents filed in court, PLM members often carry or wear gray bandanas to signify their membership in the gang. Officers also found a digital pocket balance on a shelf in the closet; balances are commonly used in drug transactions.Outside the residence, two surveillance cameras were found pointing toward the front yard and street. There was a small television on the floor in the living room that displayed the camera views. The surveillance system was in good working order. According to court documents, such extensive video surveillance is also commonly used to protect places where drugs are kept.The indictment charges Diaz with one count each of possession with intent to distribute marihuana, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and being a felon in possession of a firearm. The maximum statutory sentence for the drug offense, upon conviction, is five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime carries a mandatory five year penalty, to run consecutive to any other imposed sentence, and a $250,000 fine. The maximum statutory sentence for being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The indictment also includes a forfeiture allegation which would require Diaz, upon conviction, to forfeit his residence on Redbud Lane, as well as the firearm, to the government.Mr. Jacks praised the excellent investigative efforts of the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement ( ICE ), the U.S. Marshals Service, the Wichita Falls Police Department, the Wichita Falls County Sheriff’s Office, the Wichita Falls City Attorney’s Office and the Wichita County District Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Taly Haffar and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Hector M. Valle are prosecuting the case.

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Jeremi “J-Shasta” Chaplin, 22, earned a reputation of robbing drug dealers and shooting up parties and clubs

Leaders Jeremi “J-Shasta” Chaplin, 22, earned a reputation of robbing drug dealers and shooting up parties and clubs beginning when he was 17. Other leaders were identified as Antonio “Tiger” Williams, 20; Reginald “Young Smoke” Lewis II, 23; Courtney “Chicago” Frierson, 19; Sharodd “Ville” Mitchell, 20; and Darien “D” Flowers, 19; and Vincent “Poppa” Byrd, 23. Seven men arrested in the past two years were the leaders of a violent street gang that wreaked havoc in Duval, Clay, Volusia and Leon counties.The men, all tied to Westside neighborhoods off 103rd Street, have been charged in the past few weeks under a state law that allows gang members to be prosecuted as members of a criminal enterprise. They are accused under the Racketeering Influenced Corrupt Organizations statute of committing crimes, ranging from robbery to car theft, for the gang or benefit of the gang.
Police and prosecutors said with 204 felonies and 221 misdemeanors under their belts, business was good. And information released Tuesday about the men and their gang give one of the most detailed accountings of such violence ever made public in Jacksonville.
The men face a maximum of 60 years in prison in the RICO case. They are being held on $1 million bail.Rutherford said another 17 gangs with 221 members are operating in the city. He called RICO a “big hammer” that he intends to use to eliminate those groups.The 18-month probe was labeled Operation 103rd St. CHB. It was named after a part of the gang known as the 103rd Street Certified Head Bustas. Offshoots include the 103rd Street Savages or the 103rd Street Trap Boyz, arrest reports said.The gang began operating in 2004, made up primarily of people who grew up on the Westside around 103rd Street and Interstate 295, police said. Many attended Nathan B. Forrest High School, where the gang was started.Members began earning credibility by stealing cars from car lots and rental car agencies, petty hustling and selling drugs. Those who stole nicer cars than others were given more credibility. Those with the most money earned respect from gang leaders, who often split the proceeds of crimes, the arrest reports said.Members who robbed people on the street for gold jewelry wore it to build credibility. Younger members who wanted to earn respect volunteered to commit drive-by shootings. No shooting victims were included in arrest reports and Rutherford did not refer to any murders connected to the gang.
Members had shirts made with CHB logos and made CDs under a CHB label. Lyrics glorified drug dealing, robbery and shootings. Several gang members were named in the songs.About 36 people were directly part of the gang, while another 40 were from affiliates, some known as Buck Block and Sherwood, arrest reports said. Gang members range in age from 18 to 24. They had a common hand sign and tattoos, including “103rd Street,” “CHB,” “Get Money,” “Hot Boy” or “MOB.” They also often wore camouflage clothing.Members bragged and blogged about their viciousness on social networking Web sites such as MySpace.com. Their feuds included run-ins with other gangs from neighborhoods in Lackawanna, Sweetwater and the Eastside. Those incidents included shootings, fights at nightclubs and subsequent retaliation.On Tuesday, police displayed one of the gang’s T-shirts with a picture of smiling members flashing gang signs. The lettering around the picture read: “If It’s Gangsta Then We All In.”

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$1 million cash-only bail was set today for the Latin Kings street gang member Joseph "King Megs," Moreira

$1 million cash-only bail was set today for the Latin Kings street gang member who was arrested in Maryland last week by U.S. marshals after being on the run since a 2005 murder on a Jersey City Heights street corner. The marshals used a taser to subdue Joseph "King Megs," Moreira, 29, formerly of Marshall Drive in Hoboken, when they arrested him last Friday night in Prince Charles County, officials said.Moreira was returned to New Jersey Thursday night and yesterday made his first appearance in court on charges he gunned down Juan Batista, 26, on Oct. 18, 2005, on the sidewalk outside a Palisade Avenue barbershop, officials said.Central Judicial Processing Court Judge Richard Nieto informed Moreira of the bail, but also told the defendant he would be held without bail because there is a detainer on him for a violation of parole and a detainer related to a Family Court matter. Moreira appeared via video link from Hudson County jail in Kearny.A tip on the Latin King's whereabouts led to a monthlong investigation by the Hudson County Prosecutor's Office.Prosecutor Edward DeFazio said when Moreira was arrested he "was refusing to admit who he was and didn't want to be cuffed and after not complying with the authorities, he was tased and taken into custody."On the night of the 2005 shooting, Moreira got out of a car, approached Batista, and said something to him before opening fire, officials said. The victim was shot multiple times in the head and back, but managed to run a few steps before collapsing, officials said. The motive for the shooting was a prior beef between the gunman and victim, investigators said.Today, Moreira spoke privately for some time with Public Defender Don Gardner using the phone in the video conferencing room. Afterward, Gardner said he would note the matter they discussed, but he did not disclose what the conversation pertained to.
The case against Moreira will now be presented to a grand jury seeking indictment.

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Ger Dundon senior member of the notorious McCarthy-Dundon criminal gang was back on the streets of Limerick last night.

senior member of the notorious McCarthy-Dundon criminal gang was back on the streets of Limerick last night.Ger Dundon (22) returned to the city yesterday after being freed from the Midlands Prison in Portlaoise at lunchtime.Mystery remains over the exact circumstances surrounding his release, but a prison source said he had served his full sentence.Earlier this week, Dundon's barrister argued that his client should have been released on April 7 last as he had served 10 months for more than 30 motoring and public orderoffences. Dundon was locked up for 59 days from July 5 last to September 2, but was released pending appeal.His appeal, which was heard on October 24, was unsuccessful and a bench warrant was issued for his arrest after he failed to appear before the court. He was eventually imprisoned last November.Last night Dundon was at his home on the southside of Limerick celebrating his release.

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