Marvin "Shyboy" Mercado and his brother, Pierre, hid out in the Philippines for 10-years before being caught and extradited back to the U.S

Asian Boyz gang member will finally go to trial for the 15-year-old murder
Marvin "Shyboy" Mercado and his brother, Pierre, hid out in the Philippines for 10-years before being caught and extradited back to the U.S. last May. Both men are reputed members of a Van Nuys clique of the Asian Boyz gang.Investigators say the group is responsible for a mid-1990s bloodbath that left as many as 17 people dead and many more wounded.Pierre faced two counts of attempted murder when he fled. But his big brother "Shyboy" ran to escape prosecution for six murders. According to the criminal complaint, he's been charged with two more murder counts, including the killing of Jennifer Gregory's husband.

Gangland hit squad who executed drug boss Kevin "Gerbil" Carroll used guns previously fired in an attack on a house

Forensic experts have linked the murder weapons with a gangland warning attack on a house near Milton, in the north of Glasgow.Six shots were fired through a front window in the 2007 incident but no one was injured.Now the connection between the shooting and Carroll's execution last month outside an Asda supermarket in Robroyston, Glasgow, has provided detectives with an Aladdin's Cave of evidence.
A police source said: "In the preparation and execution of the murder, there has been a degree of recklessness.
"The killers were careless in disposing of the weapons behind a public library.
"And it beggars belief that the guns had already been used in a previous incident.
"As we examine the background and motive of the earlier case, other people are coming into play.
"Carroll had a lot of enemies and there has been much speculation about who may have been behind the murder.
"But the guns link is opening up opportunities to eliminate different groups and it may provide a clear path to those responsible for the shooting."
Underworld sources have claimed Carroll, who worked as an enforcer for the Daniel crime clan, was killed as part of a running feud with the Lyons family.
Detectives believe that Eddie Lyons Jnr, 30, was shot by Carroll just days before he was assassinated.
Eddie Jnr is rumoured to have been shot three times by Gerbil, with two shots hitting his bulletproof vest and a third striking his arm.
The dad-of-two is understood to have left his £250,000 home in Cambuslang, Lanarkshire, after Carroll's murder and he is now believed to be in Spain.
His dad, Eddie Snr, 51, is the head of the notorious crime clan.
Earlier this week, we revealed detectives raided a house in north Glasgow looking for Eddie Jnr.
Officers swooped on a property owned by his mother-in-law in a bid to question him about Gerbil's murder.
But his wife, Joanne, told cops she did not know where her husband was and other family members also pleaded ignorance.
The police operation was triggered after a black BMW X5 was spotted parked outside his mother-in-law's house in Milton.
Police were alerted about the 4x4, which is believed to belong to Eddie Jnr, and members of Strathclyde Police's Gangs Task Force were scrambled.
Carroll was shot dead as he sat in the back of a black Audi in the car park of the Asda store at about 1.30pm on January 13.
Police revealed more than 10 shots were fired at Carroll as horrified shoppers looked on.The three-man hit squad then sped off in a dark blue Volkswagen Golf, later found burned out in Glenmavis, Airdrie.A fortnight after the hit, their guns were found dumped behind Coatbridge Library in Lanarkshire.

Clark, Harris and other members of the Tre Tre Crips, a northeast Denver street gang, got angry at the Broncos in the club

Clark, Harris and other members of the Tre Tre Crips, a northeast Denver street gang, got angry at the Broncos in the club because Marshall's cousin sprayed champagne around the VIP area when the new year arrived.
Marshall provided a more comprehensive timeline while deleting his cousin altogether. The jury may or may not buy the deletion, but the rest of the tale confirmed several reports that have been floating around since that night. It didn't hurt the drama or value of Marshall's testimony that he has never before spoken publicly about that night.
He testified that the problems began as soon as he and his party arrived at the club. Clark, in the crowd outside waiting to enter, took exception to Marshall's party going right in, saying those on the street had money to spend too.
Marshall said he tried to make a joke, telling Clark if he had money, drinks inside could be on him. Clark didn't laugh. Marshall testified he told the bouncer to let Clark and Harris in, trying to defuse the situation.
That's why he got angry later when he found Clark and Harris confronting Williams and his table in the club's VIP area, he said. By other accounts, the confrontation at Williams' table was about champagne sprayed by Marshall's cousin. Marshall said he wasn't with his cousin at the time and didn't see anyone spraying champagne. In any case, the dispute continued, Marshall now upset his good turn was being repaid with hostility.
By the time they all spilled outside at closing time, Marshall admitted he was angry and helped to escalate the confrontation, eventually getting punched in the jaw by Harris, he said. When he saw Clark's group running off for no apparent reason, he said he had a bad feeling about what was coming next.
"I just remember, like, man, it's time to get out of here," he said.
The defense went after Marshall hard. Some of its attempts to undermine his credibility hit their marks. Still, it's a debatable legal strategy before a jury that's bound to include some Broncos fans. Motive is probably not Clark's strongest suit.
This was defense attorney Abraham Hutt's first question, referring to Marshall's initial 2007 police interview: "The first thing you told them was a lie, wasn't it?"
The issue? Whether Marshall disclosed the names of his entire traveling party that night. Even if he omitted his cousin and teammate Elvis Dumervil on purpose to protect them, it seems likely the jury will view that as a rather minor offense compared to some of the other stuff it's heard about. This trial is not rated PG.
Typically, Marshall didn't give an inch, battling Hutt just as he battled the Crips that night, just as he battled Broncos coach Josh McDaniels last season. It's who he is. The same quality that provided the prosecution's best day so far on behalf of his fallen teammate also contributed to the hostilities that led up to his murder.

Four members of the Bandidos, including president Joe Louis “Bandido Joe” Flores, and a friend of the lone shooting victim, were arrested

Four members of the Bandidos, including local chapter president Joe Louis “Bandido Joe” Flores, and a friend of the lone shooting victim, were arrested, deputies said in a news release Wednesday.The incident at Fred’s on the River escalated into a shooting after the victim, Steven Hoff, 31, 30914 La. 16, Denham Springs, called his friend for help as gang members arrived and argued with him, deputies said.
Hoff’s friend, Brian McDonald, 39, 15357 Joe Sevario Road, Prairieville, arrived at the bar on La. 42 along the Amite River and brandished a gun to get the gang members off Hoff, deputies said.McDonald, who was treated for non-life-threatening injuries at the hospital and released, was arrested on counts of aggravated assault, disturbing the peace and possession of a firearm at an alcoholic beverage outlet, deputies said.In addition to information on McDonald’s arrest, deputies provided the following list of the four gang members arrested and the counts against them:Joe Louis Flores, 31, 34230 Hocks Cove, Denham Springs, attempted second-degree murder, possession of a firearm in an alcoholic beverage outlet and second-degree battery.
Jose Felisiano Flores, 31, 11040 Burgess Ave., Denham Springs, second-degree battery and disturbing the peace.
Derrick Johnson, 35, 13458 Prairie Lane, Walker, second-degree battery and disturbing the peace.
Chester Hunnicutt, 38, 44523 La. 42, Prairieville, principal to attempted second-degree murder, possession of a firearm in an alcoholic beverage outlet, second-degree battery and disturbing the peace.
No bonds had been set early Wednesday afternoon, deputies said. No counts were filed against Hoff on Wednesday, but Hoff’s actions in the fracas remain under investigation, deputies said.

Fresno Police investigators say rival gang members showed up at a party and got into a fight.

One person wast taken to the hospital, and two people were sent to the Fresno County Jail after a weekend shooting. It happened Sunday night in Southeast Fresno, in the parking lot of an apartment complex at Maple and Huntington.Fresno Police investigators say rival gang members showed up at a party and got into a fight. One person was shot in the leg. Police stopped a car with two suspects inside about a half a mile away. The victim is expected to recover.

New York City Mob Tour will cost $50 per person for a two-hour tour.

Mob aficionados will soon get to take a tour of the Mafia’s “greatest hits” in Manhattan.
John Ciarcia is planning a new bus tour that will point out the scenes of some of New York City’s most famous gangland murders.
Ciarcia says most New Yorkers and tourists have no idea about places with a major mob history, such as a Starbucks in Midtown that used to be a barbershop where mob boss Albert “The Executioner” Anastasia was gunned down by assassins.
While there are other mob tours of New Jersey and elsewhere, Ciarcia’s tour is believed to be the first in Manhattan.
The New York City Mob Tour will cost $50 per person for a two-hour tour.
I’d take that tour. Really, of all the horrible tours of that city I would be the most entertained here.

the New Boys are declaring a war on one club, they can expect to cop it from all clubs

The New Boys has been undercutting other dealers, and targeted outlaw bikies, the Hell's Angels, in a series of drive-by shootings in August.The New Boys emerged in the northern suburbs about four years ago and once congregated at pubs around Elizabeth and Smithfield. They use Hindley St as their base, as well as the Norwood entertainment strips, including The Parade, where they sell drugs. The gang has two "chapters" and is extensively involved in selling drugs, including ecstasy tablets and methamphetamine, and street fights, usually using knives.The group said to be headed by a city tattooist, the target of the bungled bomb attack who lashed out at cameramen yesterday when he returned to his home, metres from the crime scene.It was two hours before sunrise on Thursday when Enfield shook with the force of the home-made bomb, ripping apart a hire car and killing two men on Truscott Rd.Convicted drug runner Vahe Hacopian, 31, of Munno Para West, and a 23-year-old Walkley Heights Hell's Angels associate, made it within metres of their suspected target when the explosives accidentally detonated.Their target, a tattooist and New Boys drug dealer, lived just metres from where shrapnel showered the road.They were killed instantly, with one man's body blown across the road while the other remained in the vehicle, secured by his seatbelt.The tattooist was a suspect in the 2008 Gouger St shootings, his Enfield home raided by STAR Group officers hours after the gun battle.Yesterday, he returned home to his wife and children, but stayed only five minutes.A uniformed police officer stood about 40m away, guarding the crime scene around Thursday's bomb blast."Get that camera off the house," he shouted while rushing at a television cameraman. "Haven't you got any respect for my kids and wife? Is this how you protect the community, you maggots? Insects. Dogs."The tattooist has a criminal history dating back to when he was 17, including numerous convictions for serious assault and drug dealing.Yesterday, bikie expert and author of The Brotherhoods, Inside the Outlaw Motorcycle Clubs, Professor Arthur Veno said Adelaide was most likely in the middle of a turf war between drug dealers. "It's extremely unlikely that the (motorcycle) clubs are doing this," he said."The clubs are desperately trying to get rid of these guys."They have to distance themselves from the criminal element because the understanding is if they want to keep their club, they need to get rid of that kind of thing. It's much more likely to be an underworld drug situation or turf war."Prof Veno said if the New Boys wanted a war with one club, they would be shut down by all of them. He said the once-warring bikie gangs had been brought together by the United Motorcycle Council to fight the state government's anti-bikie laws."If the New Boys are declaring a war on one club, they can expect to cop it from all clubs, who will join together and stop it real quick," he said. "The bikie clubs are under so much pressure and they've reached a consensus through the United Motorcycle Council that they will push out the criminal element."They are desperately trying to keep a lid on things.

targeted killings in Monterey County during the past year are the result of gang orders to cleanse the area of those considered traitors by Norteños

targeted killings in Monterey County during the past year are the result of gang orders to cleanse the area of those considered traitors by Norteños and their parent gang, the Nuestra Familia.Recent slayings of at least seven people not in good standing with the gang in Greenfield and Salinas led investigators to conclude that a "cleanup" of the streets in the wake of two large federal racketeering cases is continuing."We're dealing with violence that is spread across the Salinas Valley and beyond," Greenfield Police Chief Joe Grebmeier said. "The issues are not in any one city and the solutions will have to involve the region."Gang members, agents and federal prosecutors -- all of whom asked not to be named -- say the FBI is working a new gang conspiracy case in the Salinas Valley. Only San Francisco U.S. Attorney Joseph Russoniello said on the record that the FBI and his office are investigating more gang crimes in Monterey County.The brazenness of some slayings remind longtime gang cops of a bloody era more than a decade ago, when gang leaders in Salinas and points south ordered dozens of killings in a civil war and power struggle within the gang.

In late 1998, several regiment leaders and so-called traitors were slain, with attempts made on many more as Nuestra Familia crew bosses fought over control of the valley.The slayings of three people in and near the Pueblo Inn.motel in Greenfield in December and January point to the possible involvement of a higher "shot caller" presumably still at large, investigators said.
Israel Cota of Soledad, who police say is a Nuestra Familia boss for Salinas Valley, is wanted on warrant by state parole officers. Police declined to say if he is a person of interest in the Greenfield slayings.Police continue to try to apprehend 18-year-old Francisco Tamayo, believed to be the shooter of two women at the motel, but investigators do not consider him to be the gang authority who ordered the crime.
Yliza Martinez and Veronica Gallegos, both 30, were shot in their motel room Dec. 5. Gallegos died that night, Martinez died a week later.Shortly after the slayings, fire crews were summoned to put out a mysterious fire in the motel's hallway.Although police have not speculated on a suspect or motive behind the apparent arson, gangs for years have used arson and fire bombings as warnings to tell would-be crime witnesses not to cooperate with police.On Jan. 14, Gallegos' half-brother Angel Gutierrez, 40, was shot and killed not far from the motel.About that time, officers learned Cota failed to show up for a parole appointment. Cota was released from Monterey County jail in late December.Citing an ongoing investigation, police declined to say whether they are aware of a specific motive for the three slayings, although Gutierrez was known to have had a falling out with Nuestra Familia years ago. Before that, he was "very active" with the gang in Soledad, an investigator familiar with his history said.Some killings likely ordered Salinas police detective Lalo Villegas said that just because a gang member is on a hit list doesn't necessarily mean his killing was ordered by the gang."Norteños can be on a hit list forever and nothing ever happens to them," he said.
Nonetheless, in the past year, he said, "we've also seen some of the true hits."
Gang officers from Monterey, Santa Cruz and Santa Clara counties say current levels of violence are in part the unforeseen consequences of large federal prosecutions.
A leadership struggle at the gang's highest level emerged after the FBI's Operation Black Widow took out the Nuestra Familia's top captains and generals and sent them to a federal supermax prison in Colorado in 2005. Since then, it has been well-documented that two factions in the Central Coast have struggled over control of the gang: Those still loyal to the leaders in federal prisons, and those loyal to the new general, D.C. Cervantes of Chino, in Pelican Bay State Prison, the gang's traditional headquarters.During the past year, investigators say, the Pelican Bay faction has asserted its authority after the government's Operation Valley Star in 2007 swept up key figures in the Salinas and Central valleys still reporting to the old leaders.
A second likely factor in the violence is competition from rival Sureño gangs.
The bloodshed has stepped up in part, police say, because the Nuestra Familia is trying to re-establish territory lost to its archenemy during the Nuestra Familia's recent years of organizational chaos.

"Sureños are definitely getting more organized," said Villegas. "We do know that we've been having some high-ranking people trying to unite them. They're starting to be a little more structured than we've seen before.

"Villegas said the Salinas Valley is seeing Sureños targeting suspected traitors within their ranks, although he said he hasn't seen evidence the killings were ordered by higher-ups.Links to '98 homicide?One curious aspect of the investigations is that police are looking into whether at least two of the past year's victims may have known something about the slaying 12 years ago of Nuestra Familia's Salinas crew leader Miguel "Mikeo" Castillo by Rico "Smiley" Garcia, a case that made dramatic headlines at the time.In 1998, Alberto Arizpe contacted police in an apparent attempt to mislead officers shortly after Castillo's killing, according to a police report.He told skeptical detectives that Castillo's attackers were three Sureños -- members of the Norteños' rival gang. But Garcia later admitted to conspiring to kill Castillo and is serving a life sentence in a federal prison in Florida.Arizpe eventually left the gang after he was assaulted and beaten by Norteño gang members in Monterey County Jail.Last summer, he was 28 years old when he was killed along with a female friend in a brazen home-invasion attack on a Salinas residence.Authorities are looking into whether last week's slaying victim, Gutierrez, was connected to Castillo's murder.Suspect not believed to be gunmanThe only person charged in the Pueblo Inn killings is a 15-year-old boy held in Juvenile Hall. Prosecutors say he was not the triggerman in the slayings of the two women, but was present when they were killed.On Wednesday, a county court is expected to decide if the boy will be tried as an adult on two counts of murder.

Hells Angels violent biker war with the Rock Machine Motorcycle Club

Rising tensions between two biker gangs have Winnipeg police closely monitoring their actions.Police paid close attention to a bar at a St. Boniface hotel Saturday night following a tip that a fight could be imminent.The news follows a serious attack against a Winnipeg member of the Rock Machine Motorcycle Club inside a business on St. Mary's Road about three weeks ago.Sources tell CTV News the victim was lured to the business where he was then beaten.The victim had such serious injuries that he was unrecognizable.Officers say they had received information that the people responsible for the attack were Hells Angels members and a few of their associates.
The group was allegedly unhappy with the victim because he is a former member of the Zig Zag crew, which is a puppet club to the Hells Angels.He had apparently been seen around the city wearing his new gang's vest, which drew negative attention from the Hells Angels.Since the attack, police have been preparing to deal with some sort of retaliation.There were suspicions that members of the Rock Machine were going to attend a bar on Saturday night at the hotel because they knew associates of the Hells Angels frequented the place.Nothing appeared to happen at that bar Saturday night.Still, a number of Rock Machine members from outside the province have been seen in Winnipeg over the past week.Saturday night's events follow the execution of several search warrants, including one last week on Mighton Avenue in Elmwood.A 30-year-old man was arrested and a loaded nine millimetre handgun was seized at the home.CTV News has learned the man who was arrested is a member of the Redlined Club, a group which is considered a friend club to the Hells Angels.This arrest is also believed to be connected to the rising tensions between the gangs, say sources.Police have confirmed they were at the bar on Saturday night, but will not provide any further information.The public's safety was one of the main reasons police say they were there in such large numbers.
There has been trouble between the Hells Angels and the Rock Machine in the past. Both groups were involved in a violent biker war in Quebec in the mid-nineties.
A truce was made but police say they are worried violence could erupt again.

24-year-old Howard Astorga, found guilty of first-degree murder

Four-year-old Roberto Lopez loved creating artwork out of glitter and sequins at a neighborhood arts and community center in the southern edge of Echo Park. It was while Roberto was near that neighborhood center that he was fatally shot a year ago last month by a gang member on parole. Today, a jury found that gang member, 24-year-old Howard Astorga, found guilty of first-degree murder, according to Associated Press. Astorga was firing his gun at a speeding car but one of those bullets struck Roberto instead. Astorga faces a prison sentence of 82 years to life.Since the murder, several groups have tried to organize residents of the neighborhood, wedged between Temple Street and Vista Hermosa Park, against crime.

Morgan Hill police are offering $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the gang-related death

Morgan Hill police are offering $5,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the gang-related death of a 24-year-old Hollister man, the city's first homicide in four years.
Sgt. Jerry Neumayer said today that detectives are still trying to figure out who killed Juan Jose Arrellano Jr. on Oct. 2.
Shortly before midnight that day, police responded to 911 calls from residents who heard multiple shots fired near the Crest Avenue apartments. The arriving officer found Arrellano on the sidewalk, bleeding from a gunshot wound in his upper body. He was pronounced dead at 11:35 p.m.
Witnesses told police they saw at least two young men, between 16 and 20 years old and wearing dark blue clothing, shoot Arrellano with a 9 mm handgun while shouting gang-related slurs.
Arrellano was the first homicide in Morgan Hill since 2005.
Officers flooded the area with the help of dogs from the Santa Clara County sheriff's K-9 unit and air support from San Jose police, but to no avail.

Capture of Raydel Lopez Uriarte and Manuel Garcia Simental apparently wipes out the existing leadership of the cartel headed by Teodoro Garcia Simenta

Capture of Raydel Lopez Uriarte and Manuel Garcia Simental apparently wipes out the existing leadership of the cartel headed by Teodoro Garcia Simental, who was captured last month. Teodoro and Manuel Garcia are brothers.Lopez, known as "El Muletas," and Garcia, known as "El Chiquilin," were arrested Monday in La Paz, a city in the southern end of the Baja California peninsula, said Amy Roderick, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.Mexico's Public Security Department confirmed the arrests in a brief statement, describing Manual Garcia as the gang's leader after his brother's arrest and Lopez as the current second-in-command. It said the arrests were the result of leads starting with the capture of Teodoro Garcia in La Paz on Jan. 12, but offered no further details on the operations.Roderick said there were no U.S. indictments pending against the suspects.The gang was known for its brutality, having executed, beheaded and mutilated hundreds of rivals in Tijuana, which is across the U.S. border from San Diego. Gang members pinned notes to corpses and dissolved bodies in caustic soda.Tedoro Garcia's arrest netted 19 mobile phones and two laptop computers. Twelve more cartel suspects were arrested in two raids in late January, including two men and a women who were allegedly about to dissolve a body in a bathtub with chemicals.Manuel Garcia is the youngest of three brothers. The oldest brother, Marco Antonio, was arrested in a shootout with Mexican authorities in Tijuana in 2004.
Teodoro Garcia was once considered a top hit man for Tijuana's dominant drug gang, the family-run Arellano-Felix cartel. He launched a new group affiliated with the Sinaloa cartel after law enforcement arrested or killed most of the Tijuana cartel leaders in 2008.

The splintered organizations have been involved in a violent turf battle in Tijuana, a valuable trafficking corridor to the U.S.

More than 1,500 people have been murdered in Tijuana since the beginning of 2008.

Across the country, more than 15,000 people have died in drug-related violence since President Felipe Calderon launched a crackdown on cartels when he took office three years ago. More than 2,500 of the killings occurred last year in Ciudad Juarez, across the border from El Paso, Texas.

The military announced Monday that soldiers had seized more than 12 tons of marijuana found beneath a false floor of a tractor trailer. The drugs were found during a routine search at a checkpoint near San Felipe, a town in the central part of the Baja California peninsula.

Today another Mexican cartel leader was taken off the street and is no longer able to carry out his bloody turf war

Teodoro Garcia Simental, blamed for a years-long campaign of massacres, beheadings and kidnappings that chased away tourists and caused social upheaval in northern Baja California, was arrested by Mexican federal police without the suspect firing a shot, and immediately flown to Mexico City.The heavyset Garcia, believed to be in his mid-30s, with close-trimmed hair and a goatee, scowled and dabbed at his mouth as he was paraded before television cameras at a police base wearing a zippered warm-up jacket.Better known for savage killing rampages than narco-business acumen, the man nicknamed "El Teo" bedeviled Mexican authorities for years and narrowly escaped capture several times. Last January, authorities arrested the man they said admitted being Garcia's body disposal expert. Known as El Pozolero, or "the stew maker," he claimed, authorities said, to have dissolved 300 bodies in barrels of caustic chemicals.Mexican federal authorities, acting on intelligence provided by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, said they tracked Garcia down after a five-month surveillance operation. He was captured in an upscale area in the southern part of the city."Today another Mexican cartel leader was taken off the street and is no longer able to carry out his bloody turf war," said Michele Leonhart, acting administrator of the DEA. "This was not an isolated event: It exemplifies the growing effectiveness of our information sharing with [Mexican President Felipe Calderon's] administration, and our continued commitment to defeat the drug traffickers who have plagued both our nations."Though Garcia was not considered to be in the top echelon of Mexican drug lords, few reputed crime bosses have had such a ruinous effect on a region. Mexican authorities say he was responsible for hundreds of killings during a nearly two-year power struggle with rivals in the Arellano Felix drug cartel, in which he had once been a top-ranking lieutenant.Garcia is said to have branched out from traditional drug trafficking and focused his criminal empire on extortion and kidnapping, targeting all levels of society. During his reign, hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Tijuana residents moved out of the border city to avoid being kidnapped, and more than 42 police officers were killed.

masked gunman walked into a southern Sacramento County Vietnamese restaurant Wednesday afternoon and executed a 22-year-old man at close range.

authorities are calling a likely gang hit, a masked gunman walked into a southern Sacramento County Vietnamese restaurant Wednesday afternoon and executed a 22-year-old man at close range.No words were exchanged before the unknown assailant fired a black semiautomatic handgun multiple times at the victim, hitting him in the head and chest, said Sacramento County Sheriff’s Sgt. Tim Curran.The gunman fled on foot down 53rd Avenue, and had not been identified by evening, Curran said.Few homicides investigated by authorities, he said, are “as cold and as calculated as this one.”
“It’s very scary,” he said.Curran said detectives suspect the killing to be gang-related because the victim had been validated as a gang member by law enforcement and because the area – near Stockton Boulevard and the 65th Street Expressway – is known for gang activity.Deputies were called to the Pho Ga Hung Vietnamese Cuisine restaurant on Savings Place for a shooting just after 2:15 p.m., Curran said. They found a 22-year-old man, whose name was not released, on the restaurant’s floor. Paramedics pronounced him dead at the scene.

He is the fifth homicide victim within the Sheriff’s Department’s jurisdiction in 2010.The victim was eating with three friends – a man and two women – when the suspect walked into the restaurant, up to their table and unloaded his gun, Curran said.

Three employees also were inside at the time, but nobody else was shot at or injured, Curran said. For that reason, he said, detectives suspect the victim was targeted.Witnesses described the suspect to deputies as a man between age 28 and 35, 5 feet, 7 inches tall with a medium build. He wore a dark ski mask and a dark jacket.
Curran said the victim’s friends, who later wept in the parking lot, and the employees were cooperative with detectives. At this point, he said detectives do not believe they were involved in the killing.The call drew roughly two dozen deputies and detectives, including a number of investigators from the gang unit. It also drew spectators, who stopped along the sidewalk of the busy 65th Street Expressway.Richard Sims said he walks by the shopping center often while on his way to the grocery store. He described it as fairly quiet and humble.But he agreed with the Sheriff’s Department’s assessment about gang activity in the area, and noted that people he believes are gang members often congregate at one of the businesses in the center and at another across the street.“There’s something going on,” said Sims, 52. Gesturing toward the deputies, he added, “These cats know – the police know – but they don’t come by here.”
Curran said that’s because budget cuts and resulting layoffs mean deputies have little time for anything but emergencies.“Unless there’s a call for service there, our deputies don’t have time to be proactive,” he said. “They’re going from call to call to call.”