New Boys acquitted over Hindley St brawl

Two members of the New Boys street gang have been acquitted of charges over a brawl outside a Hindley Street tattoo parlour in Adelaide.
Vincenzo Focarelli and Michael Jim Syfris were charged with affray over a fight with members of rival Hells Angels members in April last year.
During their trial in Adelaide Magistrates Court, prosecutors produced security vision they said showed Syfris using a chair to hit a man and Focarelli swinging a metal pole at the group.
Focarelli suffered facial injuries, cuts and bruises when he was cornered by about five men who pulled a pole from his hand and used it to beat him.
The prosecution also alleged the vision showed the accused men and an associate limbering up outside the tattoo parlour before they were approached by members of the Hells Angels.
Focarelli's lawyer, Sam Abbott, argued they were not preparing for a fight but looked like a group of relatively-bored men.
He said they were acting in self-defence in what he described as a "full frontal, all-out attack" on his client.
Magistrate Kym Boxall said after viewing the vision he agreed with Mr Abbott.
"I viewed images of Mr Focarelli and Mr Syfris with an associate being attacked by the overwhelming force of 10 men," he said.
"I can't be confident and make any inference that they knew that they were about to be attacked."
He said the prosecution failed to disprove the men were acting in self-defence so he dismissed the charges.
Syfris hugged Focarelli and slapped him on the back after the verdict.
A hearing next month will determine costs.

 

12th OGK gang member sentenced

25-year-old Nakeem Stratton became the 12th Original Gangster Killers, or "Downtown" gang, gang member to be sentenced, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office on Monday.

Stratton, known as "Bayshawn" and "Little Bay" was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Gary Sharpe to 57 months in prison.  Stratton originally faced 120 months, but received 63 months credit for time served.  He will also have five years of supervised release after he completes his prison term.

Stratton's sentence comes after his guilty plea to a racketeering charge in Count One of a federal indictment.  He admitted that he was an OGK gang member and had conspired with others to possess crack cocaine with intent to distribute.  He had also previously admitted that he participated with other gang members in acts of violence.

The OGK gang operated within the City of Albany.

 

South End gang member who opened fire on rivals in West Hill, wounding four victims including three bystanders, on Monday received nearly six years in federal prison

South End gang member who opened fire on rivals in West Hill, wounding four victims including three bystanders, on Monday received nearly six years in federal prison.

Nakeem Stratton, 25, of Albany, known as "Little Bay," a member of the notorious Original Gangsta Killas street gang, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in December to a racketeering conspiracy that included the shooting and conspiring to sell more than 50 grams of crack cocaine.

Judge Gary L. Sharpe sentenced Stratton in U.S. District Court in Albany to 57 months in prison.

Stratton, also known as "Bayshawn," received credit for spending 63 months behind bars for shooting at rivals in the Jungle Junkies street gang in August 2006.

That day, Stratton and fellow OGK gang members rode bicycles into their rivals' territory on First Street and "indiscriminately shot at people, wounding four," federal prosecutors in Albany stated in a sentencing memorandum.

Three bystanders were shot, in addition to a member of the Jungle Junkies. None were killed. Stratton was previously sentenced to 5 years in prison for the shooting.

Prosecutors have highlighted Stratton's role in the longstanding war between gangs in the city's "uptown" and "downtown" neighborhoods. OGK is considered downtown, the Jungle Junkies uptown.

Stratton was among 25 members and associates of OGK charged in a sweeping racketeering case in 2009. He is the 12th defendant in the case to be sentenced.

"(Stratton's) actions contributed to the fear felt by the residents of Albany, literally caught in the cross-fire during the ongoing 'tit for tat' shootings between the rival gang members," wrote Assistant U.S. Attorney Carlos Moreno, who prosecuted the case. "In addition, his actions also contributed to a desire of rival gang members to retaliate for violence committed upon them."

Stratton was first arrested at age 15 and has at least nine more arrests since that time.

His plea agreement noted that in addition to cocaine, Stratton dealt marijuana for the gang, prosecutors noted.

In a memo to the judge, attorney James Gross, argued that Stratton was already paying his debt to society by serving time for crimes that are now part of the conspiracy. He questioned whether his client would have pleaded guilty in those cases had he known it would be used against him in a federal case.

Stratton is the older brother of Nahjaliek "Loc" McCall, who was convicted of murdering OGK-linked Shahied Oliver, 15, at an Arbor Hill birthday party in August 2007. McCall, 15 at the time, was linked to his brother's uptown rivals.

NOTORIOUS Perth bikie Troy Mercanti will be offered police protection from the moment he steps out of prison, amid police claims he is a "dead man walking".

Police say Mercanti, who is due for release from Casuarina Prison on August 2, is a target in the feud between his club, the Finks, and former gang the Coffin Cheaters.

Assistant Commissioner for specialist crime Nick Anticich would only confirm that police considered the bikie a "potential victim" and would "monitor" him, but The Sunday Times has learnt he will also be offered police protection.

"Some believe he is a dead man walking," a police insider told The Sunday Times.

"Not only is he at loggerheads with the Coffin Cheaters, but the problem has got worse since he's been in jail. He's upset the Finks because they've essentially lost their clubhouse.




"How do you square the ledger? It's all about tit-for-tat retaliation."

Another source said there was a good chance Mercanti would move interstate, possibly to South Australia or Queensland, where there is a greater presence of Finks bikies.

Mercanti has been serving a 28-month jail sentence after he was found guilty of assault causing grievous bodily harm to Gregory Fistonich, by throwing a punch that broke the victim's jaw at Geisha Bar in Northbridge in May 2007.

But his sentence was extended after he refused to answer questions from an Australian Crime Commission examiner as part of a police investigation into the theft of thousands of dollars from trust accounts for the daughters of murdered Coffin Cheater Mark Chabriere and his associate Richard Vickers.

Tensions between the Coffin Cheaters and the Finks have been running high since 2008 when Mercanti was bashed and expelled from the Cheaters before he turned to the Finks.

Since then, fears have mounted that the simmering bikie war could erupt into a full-scale showdown.

In October 2008, the war flared when a sniper shot Finks member Stephen Wallace in the shoulder as he rode along Great Eastern Highway, Wooroloo.

Police believe the shooting was a bid to harm Mercanti who was riding in the group.

And last year, Coffin Cheaters and Finks bikies clashed at the Kwinana Motorplex, leaving Wallace with three severed fingers and another Fink, David Marrapodi, shot in the leg.

Mr Anticich said police would speak to Mercanti on his release but he would not comment on any measures or protection that would be offered.

"There is obviously a history of conflict between him and various members and to date that is unresolved," Mr Anticich said. "We are aware of his release and obviously our concern is both with him being a potential victim and a perpetrator. We are trying to monitor it as best we can."

Police would continue to relentlessly track outlaw motorcycle gangs and established criminal networks.

Gang units arrest suspects in Kearns park shootout

Police put several suspected gang members behind bars on Friday during an early-morning raid that took SWAT teams to seven homes in the Kearns area.

The raid stems from a shootout between two gangs at a Kearns park on July 12.

Police say the shootout was prompted by an ongoing feud between the two gangs.

Salt Lake County Sheriff Jim Winder told ABC 4 News he hopes the arrests send a powerful message to gang members. Winder hopes gang members will consider the lives of innocent bystanders.

Witnesses to the July 12th shooting remember kids playing on swings in the playground at the Mountain Man Park on 4935 S. Heath Avenue.

They also remember the joys of summer interrupted by gunfire.

“They were just shooting and running and I was trying to get to my daughter," said one witness.

Police say two rival gangs were shooting it out in the open, leaving the Kearns neighborhood shaken.

Winder said, “They are certainly the gutsiest of the gutsiest, and I mean that in a negative way.”

Early Friday Salt Lake County Unified police officers and members of the Metro Gang Unit fought back.

160 members of law enforcement canvassed the west side of Kearns, raiding homes of two rival gangs.

One neighbor, Elizabeth Starr, told ABC 4 “I am glad police are being so thorough and putting people away that have made those bad choices.”

Unified police made seven arrests, including a 14-year old and two 17-year olds considered to be the main shooters.

“They are the ones that are probably the most dangerous within these two organizations,” said Winder.

The sheriff said he hopes the arrests mark an end to a summer of violence.

According to Winder, the two gangs clashed two other times, including a shootout at a convenience store and a fight the day after the park shooting.

"We believe that it has literally cut the head off this particular problem. Now, will it end it forever? No, but what it does do is send a message that if you go into our communities and engage in this kind of behavior we're coming after you with every asset we have," said Winder.

The shooting has left Mountain Man Park empty. Families are afraid to return.

Yet, some wonder if the arrests will make a difference.

Nancy Valley, who lives in the neighborhood told ABC 4 News, “I don't know. Whatever is going on isn't right, either, but we're good neighbors and we don't deserve this."

Two of the main suspects were 17 year olds, but prosecutors say they could be charged as adults. If that happens and they're convicted, gun and gang enhancements could put these teens in prison for many years.

Two other adults associated with the two gangs were also arrested. The father of one of the gangsters is an illegal immigrant and another man, Aaron Campbell was booked in jail for being an ex-con in possession of a gun.

 

Two held in gangland spree

Two men were arrested and another two were wanted by police in connection with a gang-related, one-day crime spree in Grand Junction that included a man’s murder, the armed robberies of two businesses and a residential burglary, Grand Junction Police Chief John Camper said Friday.

And while Camper said the threat from the four suspects was “mitigated,” an investigation that involved up to 25 detectives or officers from inside and outside the agency has cast new light on gang activity overall in Grand Junction.

“The investigation brought to light other concerns which we weren’t aware of,” Camper said, declining to give specifics.

Camper did not answer many questions about the case, citing the ongoing investigation and that arrest affidavits for the suspects remain sealed.

Three of the suspects were believed to have come to Grand Junction from California, and one was a local. Authorities didn’t confirm addresses for any of them.

Lester Isaac Miranda-Davis, 18, was booked into the Mesa County Jail just after 2 a.m. Friday on a warrant on suspicion of first-degree murder, first-degree assault, menacing, aggravated robbery, first-degree burglary, plus misdemeanor and felony counts of theft. Miranda-Davis graduated from Central High School in May and had been a member of the school’s varsity wrestling team his junior and senior years, according to School District 51 officials.

Christian Fuentes, 20, is in custody in Alameda County, Calif., where he was arrested for a parole violation, Camper said Friday. Another two suspects, Jaime Cardenas, 19, and Fidel Silva, 24, are wanted on warrants and are believed to have fled Colorado, Camper said.

All three have pending charges in Grand Junction including first-degree murder, attempted murder, aggravated robbery, felony menacing, first-degree burglary and first-degree assault.

Among unanswered questions, authorities Friday declined to specify which of the four men is believed to have fatally shot 31-year-old Jorge Alberto Carrasco around 11 p.m. Saturday outside of the Taco Bell restaurant at 850 North Ave.

Witnesses said at least one person, possibly two, approached Carrasco, who was among a group of three people outside the restaurant, and opened fire. The gunman reportedly said something before brandishing a gun, although police have not specified what was said. Camper on Friday acknowledged the statement was a gang reference.

Saul Holguin told The Daily Sentinel on Monday that his brother, Cesar Holguin, was the second man shot, and he identified Andy Garcia, another friend of Carrasco’s, as the man who was hit by shrapnel.

Saul Holguin said his brother explained that two men, whom the alleged victims didn’t recognize, shouted “XIV 14 (expletive)” before firing multiple rounds.

Internet searches suggest the phrase refers to the Norteno gang, associated primarily with northern California.

‘MAKES ME SICK’

Miranda-Davis’s alleged involvement in gang-related happenings, much less a man’s killing, left his former Central High wrestling coach stunned.

“It makes me sick,” said Laurence Gurule, Central’s varsity wrestling coach and a physical education teacher.

“Absolutely never had any problems with him ... a good kid, hard worker,” Gurule said.

Miranda-Davis had been working at a local fruit orchard, he said. Miranda-Davis competed in the wrestling program his junior and senior years, while Gurule said he first met him during his freshman year when the boy was primarily interested in soccer.

A check of records with the Colorado Bureau of Investigation showed no adult criminal history for Miranda-Davis, who turned 18 last August.

Miranda-Davis had talked about walking on to the wrestling program at Mesa State College this fall, Gurule said.

 

Warren Godfrey ,27, an ex-member of the Yakkies gang, was killed in a suspected revenge attack by Americans gangsters in Mitchell's Plain

The wife of a former Flats gangster says her husband was shot for no reason.

Warren Godfrey ,27, an ex-member of the Yakkies gang, was killed in a suspected revenge attack by Americans gangsters on Sunday just after he and two friends left their Mitchell’s Plain home.

His grieving widow Valencia Godfrey, 27, says: “My husband was a member of (the Yakkies) gang many years ago but for the last seven years since we’ve been married, he turned his life around.”

The grieving widow says Warren lived for his family.

“After he left the gang, he made new friends and he was always with his family,” she says.

“My husband didn’t deserve to die like that. None of them were gangsters not even the people inside the car with him.”.

Valencia’s sister Patricia Ruiters, 33, whose husband Eugene, 36, was the driver of the car, says: “Just after they left, we heard five gunshots and we just rushed out, we had a feeling something wasn’t right.”

Eugene is recovering and police have not made arrests.

*This article has been published on p15 of the Daily Voice

 

Police bust two brothers with ties to UN Gang

Abbotsford Police officers and members of the emergency response team arrested two brothers with ties to the UN Gang following a raid at a house in the 31000 block of Wagner Drive on Wednesday.

Officers seized one kilogram of heroin worth an estimated street value of $170,000 inside the house, as well as another two kilograms of heroin following a search of a fully armoured 2001 Ford Expedition on Thursday, said APD Const. Ian MacDonald.

The overall amount of drugs seized could amount to as much as $500,000, or possibly more said MacDonald.

He added both brothers, aged 33 and 35, are well known to police.

"We obviously knew who these guys were and that this was a drug supply house," he said.

"We're not talking about bottom feeders here."

No charges have been laid yet and both are now free from police custody on promise to appear in court at a later date.

MacDonald said one of the brothers was arrested in the fortified SUV and the other brother, who was at a nearby residence surrendered, himself shortly after.

"That's a good day," said MacDonald.

"I can't think of a better example of . . . our ability to make Abbotsford unpleasant and inhospitable for people who are involved in gangs and drugs."

MacDonald confirmed that the house subject to Wednesday's raid was the site of a targeted shooting that took place back in 2007.

However, it hasn't been confirmed yet if either of the two men arrested Wednesday were involved in the 2007 incident.

 

influential leader of one of the city’s more notorious Syndicate street gang was granted a release from a penitentiary

man considered to be the influential leader of one of the city’s more notorious street gangs was granted a release from a penitentiary Thursday despite having violated a conditional release by meeting with a fellow convict on the outside.

Dany (Lou) Cadet-Sprinces, 40, appeared before the National Parole Board Thursday at the Leclerc penitentiary to answer questions about why he met with another gang member, who was out on parole, in April. Cadet-Sprinces was released from a penitentiary on May 17, 2010, after he reached the statutory release date, the two-thirds mark, on his sentence of more than five years. The meeting was reported to Correctional Service Canada and he was returned behind bars on May 2 of this year.

Cadet-Sprinces, the head of the Syndicate street gang, told two parole board members who presided over his hearing Thursday that he did indeed meet with the convict (whose name is not mentioned in a written summary of the hearing). But Cadet-Sprinces claimed the meeting was not planned and that the person sat down at a table with him for 20 minutes after they met by chance.

The board noted that Cadet-Sprinces followed his other conditions well by taking courses and finding a part-time job before he was returned to a penitentiary in May. He said Thursday he plans to resume his studies and return to the same job. The board determined that, all things considered, releasing Cadet-Sprinces again did not pose an unacceptable risk to society. He was warned that if he violated another condition, his statutory release would be officially revoked.

Cadet-Sprinces was a member of the Syndicate when the gang was created, in 1999, as a sub-group of the Hells Angels during the bloodiest part of a drug trafficking war. He assumed the leadership of the gang after its founder Gregory Wooley, 39, a close associate of the Hells Angels, was arrested in 2000.

Cadet-Sprinces was first arrested in May 2006, in a large-scale investigation dubbed Operation Fusion, along with several influential members of the Hells Angels who controlled much of the drug trafficking in downtown Montreal.

He pleaded guilty on Oct. 2006 to drug trafficking, conspiracy and committing a crime for the benefit of a criminal organization, and was sentenced to a 4-year prison term.

While he was still serving that sentence at a penitentiary in Laval, Cadet-Sprinces was arrested again, on Feb. 10, 2009, as the Montreal police carried out Project Axe, an investigation that focused, in part, on the people who took over from the members of the Syndicate and Hells Angels who were arrested in Operation Fusion.

Project Axe revealed that even though Wooley and Cadet-Sprinces were serving time in federal penitentiaries, both were receiving monthly payments of up to $10,000 from the people who assumed control of their drug trafficking turf.

On May 13, 2010, Cadet-Sprinces pleaded guilty to being in possession of the proceeds of crime and a related gangsterism charge. He was sentenced to a 21-month sentence, but that was folded into his existing sentence which was extended to 5 years and four months.

leader in the Jersey City Fruit Town and Brick City Brims set of the Bloods street gang admitted today to conspiring to murder a rival gang member

leader in the Jersey City Fruit Town and Brick City Brims set of the Bloods street gang admitted today to conspiring to murder a rival gang member and to distribute narcotics as part of a racketeering conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Saleen Neal, 31, pleaded guilty to one count of the second superseding indictment filed against him in January 2011, which charged him with conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Neal entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Neal, a ranking member of the Fruit Town and Brick City Brims set of the Bloods, admitted that he conspired in February and March 2009 to murder a fellow member of the set, identified in court documents as “A.R.” Neal admitted that he declared A.R. to be “food”—meaning he was to be killed by fellow Bloods members—because he believed that A.R. gave a statement to law enforcement, in violation of Bloods rules, regarding the death of a fellow gang member who was killed in Jersey City.

Neal also admitted that he conspired with another individual in early 2009 to sell dozens of bricks of heroin to a confidential informant.

The racketeering conspiracy count to which Neal pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Neal is currently scheduled to be sentenced on October 20, 2011.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI’s Safe Streets Task Force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward—which includes members from the Newark Police Department, East Orange Police Department, Essex County Department of Corrections, Hudson County Sheriff’s Office, Jersey City Police Department, the New Jersey Division of Parole, and the Paterson Police Department—along with the New Jersey Department of Corrections, Special Investigations Division, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea.

He also thanked the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Carolyn Murray; and the Special Operations Division’s National Gang Targeting, Enforcement and Coordination Center, under the direction of Director John Sieder, for their important roles.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melissa L. Jampol, Lisa Colone, and Robert Frazer of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Organized Crime/Gangs Unit in Newark.

Defense counsel: Susan Cassell Esq., Ridgewood, N.J.

Gang-Related Shooting at Party Leaves One Man Dead

suspected gang-related shooting at a party in North Hollywood left a young man dead and another critically injured, police said today.

Francisco Martinez, 24, died of wounds suffered in a shooting in the 7800 block of Lemp Avenue about 11:20 p.m. Saturday, Los Angeles police spokeswoman Karen Rayner said.

A group of people came up to Martinez, who was with a few other people, and someone started shooting, Rayner said. Another person shot, whose name was withheld, was taken to a hospital and listed in critical condition, she said.

A description of the shooter was unavailable. Rayner said detectives believe the attack is gang-related, but they did not say why.

 

Mother of murdered twins denies gang ties

Even though police are still tight-lipped about the murders of twins William and James Beck, their mother, Lori Astley, is grateful every effort is being exhausted to solve the crime.

The 17-year-old identical twins, who spent some time in Newfoundland as children, were stabbed June 26 after they returned to a Fort McMurray, Alta., park where they had been hanging out to get their hats.

"I know as much as what has been in the news," Astley told The Telegram of the investigation. "The police are working 24 hours a day.

"I put a lot of belief in God that he has a purpose. I try to believe every day they are in a better place. Sometimes I am angry, sometimes I am frustrated. It feels like a dream."

Police were called to the Fort McMurray park 11 p.m. that Sunday night. Astley got the call 12:04 a.m.

"You don't want to hear it so you don't believe what you hear," she said.

Nina Heath, a central Newfoundland woman and mother of the boys' former stepfather, has told media she fears they were targeted by a gang.

But Astley said her boys may have looked tough sometimes, but they had big hearts and were never associated with any gangs.

"They were always there if I needed help with anything," she said, adding they helped disabled children, seniors and anyone who needed a hand.

"In pictures they always got their arms around each other. They are always smiling. They were inseparable."

She said James once went to live with Astley's sister on her farm for a time so the boys could develop as individuals, but they talked on the phone and took school breaks together.

William excelled in mechanics and wrote rap lyrics while James played hockey, competed in provincial track and field — javelin, shot put and discus.

William wanted to be a mechanic and James, an underwater welder, so he could make a lot of money to take care of his mom, Astley said.

School scholarships for mechanics and welding have been set up in their memory.

Astley said she continues to receive overwhelming community support and friends and family keep her company.

She said autopsies confirmed the cause of death as stabbing and the family has held a private funeral. More than 400 attended a memorial serviced in the days after their death.

"I take one day at a time," Astley said.

"I just try not to think about negative things. I try to think positive — that everything is going to come together, trusting in police and everyone around me. It makes the day go quicker."

On a camping trip they took together, she remembers William grilling the perfect steak over the campfire and James organizing the campsite.

She said the boys went to school, hung out with friends, and otherwise doted on her whenever she needed help, whatever the reason.

One day she said she ran out of the bathroom in her towel with soap still in her hair after seeing a spider in the shower.

"They came running up over the stairs and said 'What's wrong?' I said 'There's a spider in the bathroom.' They said 'Are you serious?' "

Still they got rid of the spider.

"They were my boys. They were always there for their mother," she said.

"They were happy. They were outgoing. They lived their life."

 

Two people were killed and two more were critically hurt early Sunday in a drive-by shooting in Little Haiti

Two people were killed and two more were critically hurt early Sunday in a drive-by shooting in Little Haiti, hours after a similar incident in Liberty City.


For a second day in a row, Miami police found themselves investigating a drive-by shooting with at least one teenage victim.

Early Sunday, police responded to a drive-by attack in Little Haiti that left two men dead and two others in critical condition. It followed a Saturday drive-by in Liberty City that left a 15-year-old boy in critical condition.

The crimes were separated by less two miles.

In Sunday’s incident, officers received a call about of shots being fired shortly after 12:30 a.m. in the area of Northwest 54th Street and Fifth Avenue, police said. When officers and paramedics arrived, they found four victims who had been shot multiple times.

Two men died at the scene. Two others, a man and a woman, were in critical condition Sunday at Jackson Memorial Hospital’s Ryder Trauma Center, said Detective Willie Moreno, a police spokesman.

The victims were between the ages of 17 and their 20s, Moreno said.

Sunday afternoon, family members of the two who survived gathered at Jackson, but said saying they were too upset to talk. At the corner where the shooting took place, most signs of the violence were gone except for a few leftover strands of yellow police tape strewn in the grass.

Detectives said they were looking for at least two people who were seen opening fire on the victims out of a dark-colored, midsize vehicle. The vehicle sped away westbound on 54th Street.

“They were brazen. They are considered extremely dangerous,” Moreno said. of the shooters. “We need to bring them to justice.”

Rick Bawa, owner of the Bawa Market at 485 NW 54 St., said he had to rent a pressure cleaner to wash away the remnants of the blood outside his store.

“Yeah, I knew every one of them,” he said of the victims. “They were old customers here. They were young. They were all thuggish.”

The victims’ names were not released Sunday. , because all of their families had not been notified.

Police did not release the victims’ names Sunday.

On Saturday, the 15-year-old was walking home in the 1400 block of Northwest 60th Street when three men in ski masks pulled alongside him in a white Nissan and opened fire, police said. The teen was hit multiple times. He was taken to Jackson Memorial Hospital.

Gardai are looking for the gangland's most prolific hitman, suspected of at least ten murders -- including eight in Ireland.

Gardai want to quiz psycho killer Eric 'Lucky' Wilson over a spate of unsolved murders here, which they believe he carried out as a 'freelance' assassin.

Wilson was convicted of blasting 24-year-old British criminal Daniel Smith to death in a packed Spanish bar and now faces a potential 25-year jail term, the Herald can reveal.

The victim was shot a number of times in a row over a woman.

Wilson (27), who has been on the run from gardai since 2006, could then be be extradited back to Ireland.

They also want to charge him over a major firearms seizure in Co Carlow that year and also a serious assault in Co Laois in 2004.

A senior source explained: "Eric Wilson is the most prolific gun-for-hire in the history of Irish organised crime. He is completely ruthless, psychotic and had a solid reputation of always getting his man."

Detectives from the NBCI travelled to Spain earlier this year to question him about these killings, but Wilson refused to meet them when they arrived at the jail he was in.

The hitman, from Cremona Road, Ballyfermot, is suspected of working for a number of Ireland's most dangerous drugs gangs and regularly travelling back and forward from Spain's Costa-Del-Sol to Ireland with a false passport before his arrest in Fuengirola last June.

These gangs include the northside crews that were led by slain crime lords Martin 'Marlo' Hyland and Eamon 'The Don' Dunne as well as notorious hood Paul 'Burger' Walsh's drugs gang.

Wilson has also worked for the godfather of Irish crime Christy Kinahan, and 'Fat' Freddie Thompson's mob.

However he has always been closest to the current 'Mr Big' of Irish crime -- a shadowy major league criminal who is aged in his 50s and has made millions of euro by importing illegal cigarettes into Ireland.

Feud

Sources say that 'Mr Big' has been a "mentor and financial backer" of Wilson since the hitman was only a child but has "left him to hang out to dry" because of the reckless murder in Spain of Daniel Smith which 'Mr Big' considered "highly stupid", according to sources.

'Mr Big', who has major Provo credentials, cannot be named for legal reasons but he was in involved in a bitter feud with the Real IRA last summer which led to two murders and a number of shooting incidents.

This feud has now eased and 'Mr Big' spends most of his time in Spain where he was regularly spotted in 'Lucky' Wilson's company before he was locked up last June.

Sources have confirmed that Wilson is the chief suspect for two gang murders in Co Louth in 2006 and 2007 -- that of Paul Reay and Roy Coddington.

Drug dealer Reay was shot dead in November 2006 on the orders of Finglas gang boss Hyland -- himself shot dead later that year.

The 26-year-old father-of- three was hit three times in the chest after the car he was travelling in was waved down by a gunman posing as a road worker just outside Drogheda, Co Louth.

Gardai believe Reay was targeted because his killers thought he tipped off detectives about a major drugs haul seized near Athboy, Co Meath, in 2005.

Drug dealer Coddington (36) was shot twice in the face and once in the chest at Mornington beach, Co Meath in March 2007.

Sources also suspect that Wilson was involved in the abduction, torture and murder of criminals David 'Babyface' Lindsay and Alan 'Whacker' Napper, who disappeared without trace almost three years ago.

Gardai believe the unfortunate duo were murdered in a house in Co Down on the orders of the notorious drugs trafficker, nicknamed 'The Panda' by the media, after they threatened to kidnap his mother.

Sources say that once Lindsay and Napper were tortured and shot, their bodies were cut up and dumped in the Irish Sea.

Gardai have also been investigating Wilson's links to the murder of King Ratt gang enforcer Anthony Cannon (26) who was gunned down in Ballyfermot in July 2009 on the orders of the 'Fat' Freddie gang.

Gruesome

Another Ballyfermot murder linked to Wilson is that of Martin Kenny (22) who was shot dead as he slept beside his girlfriend in May 2005.

Sources have also confirmed that gardai have investigated if Wilson was responsible for shooting dead gangland figure Andrew 'Madser' Glennon (30) in Blanchardstown just a fortnight before Kenny's murder.

Another gruesome murder that Wilson is suspected of is that of north inner city hood Christopher Gilroy (36) who disappeared without trace in Spain in February 2009.

Wilson is also suspected of involvement in shooting a man dead in the Crumlin area over a decade ago when he was just a teenager. This victim is understood to have given a female cousin of Wilson's a beating.

And a very close associate of Wilson is a feared gangster from the south inner city who is the chief suspect for abducting and murdering 19-year-old Romanian girl Marioara Rostas in January 2008.

COPS investigating a double murder today recovered the charred remains of a body in a burned-out van which had been buried in a pit.

Detectives are expecting to find a second corpse after sifting through the soil-filled vehicle found on farmland.

The find came after semi-professional boxer Brett Flournoy, 31, and pal David Griffiths, 35, disappeared a month ago.

Police are probing whether there is a drugs background to the case.And on Wednesday they arrested a 28-year-old man on suspicion of double murder.

The suspect lives with his haulier dad on farmland near St Austell, Cornwall.

Specialist dogs were being used to search the area on Thursday. Around 60 officers are working on the investigation and radar and excavation experts were used to help spot the van in the ground at Trenance Downs.

Detective Inspector Costa Nassaris said the buried van was believed to be the Citroen Berlingo Brett and David had used to travel to a hotel in Newquay.


Murder probe ... Brett Flournoy and David Griffiths disappeared last month
He confirmed the remains of at least one victim had been found inside.

And he said: "We believe this is the van we've been looking for, although we haven't been able to positively identify the vehicle at this time as it has extensive fire damage and it's currently full of soil.

"We also believe we've uncovered the remains of at least one individual. A full forensic examination is now taking place.

"The forensic examination of the excavation site, the vehicle and body is a slow and painstaking process and is expected to take at least 48 hours before this element of the investigation is completed."

A spokesman for Devon and Cornwall Police added: "The van has been removed from the site and is now undergoing a very careful forensic search because it is full of soil.

"It may well be that we uncover a second body from it."

He refused to speculate on reports that both men had been shot and added: "I suspect the bodies will probably need a forensic post-mortem because of the state they are in."

The families of both men have been informed.


Dad-of-two Brett, known as Soul Man, was a former welterweight and light middleweight who was a 2005 ABA champion and a champion kickboxer in his teens.

He ran a pub in Bebbington, Merseyside, for two years and spent six years in the Royal Engineers, leaving in 2006.

David, a dad of three, was originally from Plymouth but had been living in Berkshire.

Their families have told cops they were making a "social visit" to Cornwall and were due to meet a friend in St Austell before moving on to Newquay.

The suspect is in custody and police have said they expect to make more arrests.

First Nations gang joins battle for turf in Nanaimo

Nanaimo RCMP continue to battle with organized crime as violent street gangs infiltrate Vancouver Island, looking to take control of illegal drug markets.

Police confirmed the presence of the First Nations street gang Redd Alert after the Nanaimo drug squad arrested Kevin Eric John, 32, regarded by police as a full-fledged member of the gang, last week.

Redd Alert joins the Red Scorpions and other gangs that have surfaced in the city in recent years, as each group tries to control turf formerly held by the Hells Angels.

The biker gang's clubhouse was seized in November 2007 under the order of the director of civil forfeiture and since then the gang has seemingly lost its grip on the drug market it once controlled.

Gangs such as the Red Scorpions, United Nations and Independent Soldiers have slowly infiltrated the city in the past few years, according to Cpl. Mike Moyer, E Division's gang awareness co-ordinator for aboriginal policing services.

"When there's a slowdown in the drugs on the street, gangs and other suppliers will move in to take advantage," he said.

The integrated gang task force has been monitoring Redd Alert since it formed in Edmonton during the mid-1990s.

Since then, the group has established a foothold in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver and Moyer said it appears the gang is trying to do the same on the Island.

John was one of four people arrested last Friday following a police search of an apartment in the 1500 block of Boundary Crescent. All four were suspected of trafficking cocaine.

Police seized drug paraphernalia, evidence of cocaine use, a small amount of marijuana and Redd Alert colours at the apartment.

"Friday's arrest is not the first contact our members have had with Redd Alert in Nanaimo but it's the first arrest that I know of," Moyer said.

A 45-year-old woman was found in the apartment and taken into custody and later released on a promise to appear in court on charges under the Controlled Drug and Substances Act.

Besides John, Christopher David, 22, and Terry Aleck, a 21year-old woman, were charged with possession of cocaine for the purpose of drug trafficking.

They have been released from custody and are scheduled to appear in court on July 26.

Both John and one other man, whose name surfaced during the course of the investigation but was not charged, have ties to the Redd Alert chapter in Kamloops, said Nanaimo RCMP spokesman Const. Gary O'Brien.

"The presence of Redd Alert in Nanaimo is not surprising given the lucrative drug market a city this size presents," said O'Brien. "These individual would be here for no other reason than to entrench themselves in the local drug trade through selling their product."

Like all criminal organizations, violence is not uncommon when Redd Alert becomes established in a community, said Moyer. The gang patterns itself after some of the black and Latino inner-city gangs of Los Angeles. Redd is an acronym and a play on words for "red Editorians [Edmontonians] doing dirt," said Moyer.

Moyer said although the gang has spread to B.C., "we are not yet seeing aboriginal gang problems here that we are seeing in other western Canadian provinces."

 

Man, 18, to plead guilty to gun, gang charges in Downtown shooting

Nearly a year after gunfire Downtown tarnished the ending of the Black Expo Summer Celebration, the youth accused of the shootings has agreed to plead guilty to charges that could land him 10 years in prison.

Gang member Shamus Patton, 18, is expected to plead Aug. 3 to two counts of felony battery and one count of felony criminal recklessness. He'll also plead to a felony count of criminal gang activity and a misdemeanor count of carrying a handgun without a license.

Marion Superior Court Judge Carol Orbison can sentence Patton to no more than 10 years in prison.

The agreement, disclosed Wednesday, came one day after city and police officials said they are taking extra precautions to try to prevent violence at this year's Summer Celebration, which ends Sunday. Police this week are warning 70 known gang members to stay away from the event this year.

The shootings happened July 17, 2010, when large crowds of teenagers had gathered near Illinois and Maryland streets for Summer Celebration activities. According to court records, several witnesses saw clothing associated with city gangs and heard people proclaim a rival gang's name before shots rang out. Nine boys and men were injured.

Patton was arrested three days later. Prosecutors said Patton was a member of the Ratchetz Boyz street gang in the Martindale-Brightwood area. The gang is a rival of the Grimme Boyz, located near Haughville.

Prosecutor Terry Curry said a criminal gang enhancement charge that would have doubled Patton's sentence was dropped to assure the deal. He said he was satisfied with getting the criminal gang activity charge to stick. To prove the gang enhancement charge, prosecutors must show that a felony was the direct result of a gang-related endeavor.

"Those can be difficult to secure," he said.

Mayor Greg Ballard praised police and prosecutors for bringing the case to an apparent close.

"The quick arrest of this dangerous criminal by IMPD last year and announcement that he could spend the next ten years in prison sends a strong message that we will not tolerate violence in our city," Ballard said in a written statement.

Vernon Williams, a Black Expo spokesman, said the shootings weren't connected to any Black Expo event, so commenting on it would not be appropriate.

"It was unrelated, and we became interested in it afterward," Williams said.

Black Expo formed a task force that worked through the year to develop security measures intended to keep young eventgoers engaged in indoor events. They also plan to enforce curfews and increase citizen patrols this weekend.

Patton's attorney, Larry Cable, said Patton wanted to close the case and is committed to becoming a better citizen.

"Shamus has shown all the signs that he is going to behave and change his life and everything," Cable said. "This is the best resolution for everyone. He was ready to get it resolved."

He said Curry wanted to send a broader message about crime Downtown or in public spaces with the prosecution.

"I think the whole system was to get the word out to young people that Black Expo or any kind of event is not a place to take their battles and their problems," Cable said. "And that's the thing that I think everyone is most concerned (about)."

Curry agreed.

"If you come Downtown with a gun and engage in illegal conduct, we will prosecute you and send you to jail," Curry said. "For those who would glorify this type of behavior, they should know that the reality is Shamus Patton has spent the last year in the Marion County Jail and will potentially spend a considerable number of his youthful years in an Indiana prison."

 

Emmanuel Jones, a set leader in the Fruit Town and Brick City Brims set of the Bloods street gang, admitted today to murdering an innocent teenager in a case of mistaken identity

Emmanuel Jones, a set leader in the Fruit Town and Brick City Brims set of the Bloods street gang, admitted today to murdering an innocent teenager in a case of mistaken identity in July 2004 and conspiring to murder a rival gang member in October 2006 as part of a racketeering conspiracy, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Jones, 27, a/k/a “Killer E,” a/k/a “Killer,” a/k/a “Emo,” of Jersey City, N.J., pleaded guilty to one count of a second superseding Indictment filed against him in January 2011, which charged with him conspiracy to violate the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. Jones entered his guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler in Newark federal court.

“This case illustrates the horror of gang violence and its devastating effect on innocent children in our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Fishman. “We will continue to use federal statutes, like RICO, to put those responsible in federal prison as we fight to keep New Jersey’s streets safe.”

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Jones admitted that he was responsible for a July 19, 2004, murder that occurred in Jersey City. Jones stated that along with co-defendant Torien Brooks, 30, of Paterson, N.J., a/k/a “B.G.,” a/k/a “T-Bird,” a/k/a “Reek Boy,” he shot and killed a person they believed was responsible for an earlier shooting of a fellow gang member, but was actually an innocent teenager identified in court documents as “M.T.” Three other bystanders were hit by stray bullets during the incident.

Jones also admitted that he was responsible for conspiring to murder a rival gang member in October 2006 while they were both incarcerated in the Hudson County Jail. As part of that dispute, Jones ordered other members of the Fruit Town and Brick City Brims to kill the rival gang member, identified in court documents as “C.C.” As a result of Jones’ order, C.C. was struck with a broom handle, causing him to fall down a flight of stairs in the jail.

Jones was previously indicted by the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office for the July 2004 murder.

The racketeering conspiracy count to which Jones pleaded guilty carries a maximum potential penalty of life in prison and a $250,000 fine. Jones is currently scheduled to be sentenced on October 25, 2011.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Michael B. Ward; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Matthew W. Horace; law enforcement officers from the Hudson County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Frank X. Schillari; the Paterson Police Department, under the direction of Chief James F. Wittig; and the Jersey City Police Department, under the direction of Director Samuel Jefferson and Chief Thomas J. Comey, with the investigation leading to the charges.

He also thanked the Hudson County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Prosecutor Edward J. De Fazio; the Newark Police Department, under the direction of Acting Police Director Samuel DeMaio; the Essex County Prosecutor’s Office, under the direction of Acting Prosecutor Carolyn A. Murray; the Special Operations Division’s National Gang Targeting, Enforcement and Coordination Center, under the direction of Director John Sieder; the New Jersey Department of Corrections, under the direction of Commissioner Gary M. Lanigan; and the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Colonel Rick Fuentes, Superintendent, for their important roles.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Melissa Jampol, Lisa Colone, and Robert Frazer of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Organized Crime/Gangs Unit in Newark.

As for Brooks, the charges contained in the second superseding Indictment are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

A suspect has been arrested in the stabbing death of an 18-year-old man in San Jose

A suspect has been arrested in the stabbing death of an 18-year-old man in San Jose, police said Friday.

Juan Carlos Reyes Cortez, 24, of San Jose was arrested June 30 in the May slaying of Vincent Tran Le of San Jose, said police Sgt. Jason Dwyer. Santa Clara County prosecutors charged him Thursday with murder.

Le was found stabbed in the 1700 block of Shulte Drive, between Highway 101 and Interstate 680, about 4 a.m. May 28. Le was taken to Regional Medical Center in San Jose, where he died a few hours later. Police believe Le was stabbed during a fight between rival gangs in which gang-related slogans and hand gestures were exchanged, Dwyer said.

"It is believed that the victim is affiliated with one of the gangs," Dwyer said.

member of the Simon City Royals street gang has pleaded guilty to federal charges of possession of a firearm

member of the Simon City Royals street gang has pleaded guilty to federal charges of possession of a firearm after a felony conviction and possession with the intent to distribute three grams of methamphetamine, U.S. District Court records show.
Daniel Vashon Cantino, 28, of D’Iberville, was arrested shortly after a Feb. 23 traffic-stop attempt on Intestate 10. Cantino led police on a vehicle pursuit until he stopped and attempted to escape on foot. During the foot chase, authorities saw Cantino dispose of a firearm, later identified as a Glock 9 mm pistol, and a white powdery substance the state Crime Lab identified as methamphetamine.
He’s scheduled for sentencing Sept. 30 in U.S. District Court.


Cantino was first arrested in March 2003 on two counts of commercial burglary of Bingo’s BBQ Shack. Both of the burglaries occurred in 2003, on Jan. 14 and March 28. Cantino was sentenced to five years, with only four to serve under non-adjudicated probation.
His probation was eventually revoked and had to serve his sentence behind bars.

Black Gangster Disciple gang member wanted in connection with the June 2009 murder of Reginald Richardson was arrested

Black Gangster Disciple gang member wanted in connection with the June 2009 murder of Reginald Richardson was arrested Friday, according to Albany Police Department reports.

Sherman DeJaun Northern, 35, was arrested for murder, aggravated assault and concealing a death for his part in Richardson’s beating death on the 700 block of Mobile Avenue, the report added.


“This is part of a continuing investigation,” said Phyllis Banks, police spokeswoman. “Northern was picked up by Colquitt County Sheriff’s deputies at 7 p.m. Friday while he was at work at Sanderson’s farms.”

Northern, aka “GQ,” is expected to be transported back to Albany.

Once formally charged, barring any plea bargain, he will eventually go to trial. Others in the gang are facing trial next week.

Eight men, all said to be Black Gangster Disciples, are scheduled to begin trial July 18 on murder charges in Richardson’s beating death, which reportedly occurred during a gang initiation.

Charged with felony murder, street gang terrorism, aggravated assault and other charges are Orlando Charlot, Antonio R. Crapps, George Edward Ferguson III, Corey Jackson, Gregory Jermaine Marshall, Yaaeil Narvell Shelton, Jason B. Staples and Ernest Thomas III.

Ten local members of a Brooklyn “Bloods” gang were arrested for allegedly firebombing three houses in Norristown to intimidate those suspected of cooperating with gang investigators.

The local members, two of whom are juveniles, are also accused of assaults and robberies.

A six-month, grand jury investigation found that a 23-year-old Brooklyn man, Augustus Anthony Simmons, of the 700 block of East 23rd Street, allegedly ordered all of the arsons. He is charged with attempted murder, multiple counts of arson and robbery, aggravated assault, causing or risking a catastophe, retaliation against a witness or victim, and related charges. Simmons is being held without bail in county prison.

Also arrested for attempted murder and arson were three Norristown defendants — Leon John Lobban, 19, Anthony Ray Knight, 22, and Arienne Dayna Hernandez, 20.

Facing robbery, corrupt organizations and related charges are Steven Kyle Freas, 26, and Jason Allen Freas, 29, both of Plymouth Meeting. Amber Marie Lucas, 19, also of Plymouth Meeting, is charged with perjury and corrupt organizations.

A Pottstown man, Emmett Pearson, 24, is charged with robbery, retaliation again a witness or victim and corrupt organizations.

31 year old "Pipolin" is head of the street gang "La Quiebra" and has been apprehended in the western Comuna 13.

31 year old "Pipolin" is head of the street gang "La Quiebra" and has been apprehended in the western Comuna 13. The group is wanted in connection with numerous murders and forced displacements within the city. According to a Police report, Pipolin is responsible for contract killings and extortion, amongst other crimes.

La Quiebra, which operates in various barrios within Comuna 13, are currently engaged in a conflict with rival group "La Pradera," over the control of the corridor of the west, access to a strategically important motorway which runs parallel to the comuna. The motorway, Highway 62, runs from Medellin to Turbo on the Caribbean coast, making it vital to the trafficking of arms and drugs around the west of the country.

The group La Quiebra is one of the few remaining allies of "Valenciano" of the "Oficina de Envigado," who is currently involved in a war with rival "Sebastian" over leadership of the group, and control of Medellin. Sebastian currently controls the majority of the city, with Valenciano retaining influence in parts of Comuna 13 and La Sierra.

 

shooting death of rapper Christopher Wallace, a.k.a. Notorious B.I.G., is one of the world's most famous unsolved murders. Now, a man named Clayton Hill has confessed to knowing who shot Wallace.

Inmate Clayton Hill says he knows who killed rapper. He says he knows because he was an accessory after the fact. In an interview with HipHopDx.com, Hill even produced the name of the man he said killed the famed rapper -- Dawoud Muhammad.

Hill said it was Muhammad that he met at a bus station in Atlanta. And it was from Muhammad that he received the firearm that supposedly had been used to kill the rapper.

"[Dawoud Muhammad] stated to me that he was on the run for the murder [of The Notorious B.I.G.]," Hill told HipHopDx.com. "He disclosed that he was the shooter of The Notorious B.I.G. because he (Dawoud) was a former Blood gang member and was paid to do so."

Hill said he was under orders to obtain a package from Muhammad. The exchange took place with Muhammad depositing a handgun that Hill said looked like .9 millimeter or a .40 calibre pistol wrapped in a white t-shirt into a trash bag.

This is the story that Hill not only related to HipHopDx.com but in his new e-book, Diary of an Ex-Terrorist, as well. The book documents his life while a member of the Nation of Islam. And part of that life, at least according to Hill, was helping dispose of the murder weapon used on Notorious B.I.G.

Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace was gunned down after leaving a party on March 9, 1997, in Los Angeles. Lore has it that he was shot in an attempt at revenge for the life of rapper Tupac Shakur, who had been shot and killed six months previously in Las Vegas. Both deaths were said to be connected with an east coast-west coast gang turf war. But lore and suspicions aside, both homicides remain unsolved -- even after Hill's confession.

Investigating officer and former LAPD Detective Russell Poole believed that the death of Notorious B.I.G. was the result of an LAPD police officer and a man named Amir Muhammad carrying out the orders of Death Row Records founder Suge Knight. Poole retired from the police force in 1999 because he felt his investigation was being purposely blocked by officers on the force whose loyalty rested with the rap community instead of with the LAPD. David Mack, the police officer suspected of helping carry out the murder of Notorious B.I.G., was sent to prison a few months after the murder for bank robbery.

Oddly enough, an inmate serving life in prison recently told AllHipHop.com that he was complicit in the shooting robbery of Tupac Shakur in 1994. Dexter Isaac said that he wanted to clear his conscience and set the record straight, stating that he had been paid to shoot Shakur by record producer James "Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond. Isaac came forward on what would have been Tupac Shakur's 40th birthday.

Rosemond's attorney denied Isaac's allegations.

As for the validity of Clayton Hill's statements, HipHopDx.com asked if he had identified Dawoud Muhammad as Amir Muhammad through photos. Hill said that he could not say for certain that they were the same person, which hurt his credibility in the eyes of investigators and court usability.

Also problematic might be explaining why a man hired to shoot another man would travel from Los Angeles to Atlanta to get rid of a murder weapon. Or why Hill waited until his e-book was about to be published before going public with his story.

Clayton Hill is currently serving time for Conspiracy to Defraud the United States and Identity Theft.

 

Suspect in Venice shooting faces capital murder

19-year-old alleged gang member has been charged with opening fire on a group of teens at a Venice park, killing two and wounding a third.
Michael Mariscal of Culver City was charged Thursday with two counts of capital murder with the special circumstances of multiple murders and to benefit a gang.
Prosecutors say five teenage boys were sitting on the bleachers waiting to play basketball in Penmar Park on June 22 when Mariscal walked up and made gang references.
He's charged with killing 18-year-old Salvador Diaz and 19-year-old Alan Mateo. A 17-year-old boy was shot in the leg.
He was arrested Tuesday and is being held without bail until his court date on July 20.
Prosecutors will decide later whether to seek the death penalty.

 

Armed police have stormed the Mongrel Mob's Wairoa headquarters, arresting nine gang members and charging two over a shooting in the northern Hawke's Bay town last year.

A 17-year-old man was shot in the chest with a shotgun in an "altercation" with Black Power members outside the headquarters in October.

Detective inspector Ross Pinkham said of the nine arrested, several were senior mob members. They will be charged with offences including participating in a criminal group and offering to supply methamphetamine.

Two men have been jointly charged with the 17-year-old's shooting. Both face a charge of being a party to wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

Houses were also searched in Napier and Hastings, in what police have described as a "concentrated focus on curtailing gang activity" in Wairoa.

There have been a number of gang incidents in the town in recent months, including a second attack days after the first shooting, which police believe was retaliation by Black Power.

A Mongrel Mob member was left seriously injured after he was shot by a masked man through the window of a car at a Mobil station.

Despite releasing video footage of the shooting last week, no arrests in that case have yet been made.

Pinkham said he couldn't stress enough the importance of information brought forward by the public regarding the gang incidents.

"Our investigations have been hampered by both gangs refusing to cooperate with us and we are relying heavily on witnesses or people who may know something about these incidents," he said.

"It is well-known that these gangs are involved in organised crime, drugs and inter-gang rivalry - and have done so for many years."

"Our message to the community is if you want to live in a safe environment, you have to help us.  People need to come to terms with the fact that there is a serious gang problem in Wairoa," Mr Pinkham said.

Those arrested today were mostly from the Wairoa and Nuhaka areas. They will be appearing in the Wairoa, Gisborne and Napier District Courts today.

THE stepson of celebrity gangster Dave Courtney was executed this morning in a suspected hit over drug debts.

Genson Courtney, 23, was ambushed as he got into his car outside his girlfriend's home.

A gunman blasted him in the head and shoulder before escaping on foot.

Genson was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead at 3.43am.

Cops suspect a major drug baron owed thousands of pounds by Genson ordered his killing just before 11pm last night in Greenwich, South East London.

Villains

His stepdad "Dodgy" Dave Courtney, who brought him up as his own son, and his singer mum Jenny were said to be devastated.

Debt collector and former actor Courtney has written a number of books about his underworld exploits in which he claims to have been shot, stabbed and had his nose bitten off.

He organised the funerals of East End gang bosses Ronnie and Reggie Kray and boasts he was the inspiration for Vinnie Jones's debt-collecting hardman in movie Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

Courtney is a central figure in a loose collection of villains who refer to themselves as The Firm and revels in his image as a hardman.

The colourful self-proclaimed gangster lives in a house in Plumstead, South London, called Camelot. It is decorated with Union Jack flags and a large painted depiction of himself as a knight with a large knuckle duster.

Police are now braced for a wave of "tit-for-tat" shootings by Courtney's cronies hell-bent on revenge.

The Met's Operation Trident are investigating last night's shooting.

Detective Chief Inspector Mark Gower said : "At this early stage it is believed a male suspect may have run from the scene in the direction of Christchurch Way, SE10, shortly after the shooting.

"I am appealing to anyone who may have seen or heard anything suspicious to contact the police.

"I would like to reassure anyone concerned about contacting the police that Trident has great expertise in protecting witnesses and there are a huge variety of measures that can be put in place to protect you."

Gang sweep nets 10 Pacoima Project Boys

SWAT teams armed with arrest warrants raided 11 locations in the San Fernando Valley and Palmdale, the suspects' faces were crossed out, one by one.

By the time "Operation Double Header" was over, 10 alleged key players associated with the violent Pacoima Project Boys were in custody on suspicion of illegally selling guns and operating a sophisticated methamphetamine trafficking ring.

Four additional suspects were previously arrested as part of the operation - a nearly two-year investigation that involved wiretaps, undercover officers and surveillance. Four suspects remain at large.

"This is a significant step in breaking the cycle of violence," said Deputy Chief Kirk Albanese, head of the Los Angeles Police Department's Valley Bureau. "Our effort is to cut the head off."

Those arrested are among 18 suspects charged with operating a sophisticated ring that supplied methamphetamine to Pacoima gangs, using coded messages to communicate, according to the FBI.

During Thursday's raids, authorities seized more than $10,000 cash, three handguns, two shotguns and three


rifles, plus ammunition, gun modification parts, three bags of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
One child was taken by social workers, who opened investigations at several other locations.

Investigators also discovered multiple extortion schemes and information on four murders, according to the FBI. No details on those cases were available.

Pacoima Project Boys were targeted by a court injunction issued in 2001 that prohibits members from gathering in public. To subvert the injunction, the Project Boys merged with the neighboring Pacoima Flats gang and became the Project Flats, according to the FBI.

Members of Project Boys, which formed in the San Fernando Gardens housing project in the 1980 s, are responsible for murders, attempted murders, carjacking, rapes, robberies and arms sales, officials said.

The group is heavily influenced by the Mexican Mafia, which controls gang and drug activity by collecting "taxes" in the Pacoima area, officials said.

Project Boys have been responsible for several recent shootings, said LAPD Lt. James Roberts, the head of the gang impact team at Foothill Division.

Despite a citywide drop in crime, violent crime is up 5 percent in Foothill compared to the same period last year. Assaults and the number of shots fired have spiked dramatically in June compared to May, with 11 shooting victims reported.

Gang members may have moved out of the area to escape the injunction, but still consider the San Fernando Gardens their turf and continue their activity there, Roberts said.

"Their activities have been severely diminished," he said, "but it's still going on."

Separately, LAPD also conducted checks on eight of the gang's members who are on probation in the hope of sending a strong message to the rest.

"It's, 'Guess what? We're paying attention to you, too,'" Albanese said. "Really, it's about trying to communicate to them in the only way we think they understand - that if you persist with violence in the community, you're going to see a lot of us."

In 2004, gang members intimidated families living in the projects to a point where the families had to be relocated on an emergency basis. Police foot patrols were then assigned to the projects to clamp down on gang activity.

Those types of patrols will be used again, Albanese said.

Thursday was not the first time city and federal authorities have targeted the gang - hence the name of the operation. In 2009, arrest warrants were served after 24 members were indicted on federal charges.

Officials hope the new arrests, coupled with the previous operation, will send a message to the 250-member Pacoima gang.

"Could there be a third (operation)? Absolutely," Albanese said. "If it's needed, we won't be shy about initiating it. I'd like to think that the membership would see what happened today ... and see that we are really serious, and that they better behave."

 

reputed gang member accused of fatally shooting two men at a Venice park was charged today with capital murder

reputed gang member accused of fatally shooting two men at a Venice park was charged today with capital murder and other crimes.

Michael Anthony Mariscal, 19, of Culver City, pleaded not guilty to two counts of murder, three counts of attempted murder and one count each of street terrorism and possession of a firearm by a felon.

The murder charges include the special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and murder carried out to further the activities of a criminal street gang. Prosecutors will decide whether to seek a death sentence.

The criminal complaint also alleges that Mariscal personally and intentionally discharged a handgun.

Mariscal -- who was ordered to be jailed without bail -- was arrested Tuesday in connection with the June 22 slayings of Salvador Diaz, 18, and Alan Mateo, 19, who were sitting in bleachers near a baseball diamond at Penmar Park in the 1300 block of Lake Street when Mariscal allegedly walked up, made gang references and opened fire, authorities said.

A third person -- described as a sophomore at Venice High -- was shot in the leg.

Two other teens escaped without injury, according to the District Attorney's Office.

Diaz had attended the Venice Skills Center and was already enrolled in a junior college, friends said.

Mateo had been scheduled to graduate last week from Venice High School.